Extracting a stuck cartridge case...

[benaires]

I have a cartridge case stuck in the chamber of my Bushmaster M4A2. I'm new to ARs and need help getting it out. I measured with a cleaning rod and the bullet is gone, the cleaning rod goes into the empty case.

I can't get any tools that I have down into the breech inside the star shaped chamber to grasp the end of the cartridge case of which only about 3cm is sticking out of the chamber.

Should I try driving it out from the muzzle using a cleaning rod and wooden mallet or is there a tool I can get that will let me reach into the star-shaped chamber from the bottom and get a grip on the end of the cartridge case?

I tried gently using a screw driver to snag the rim and pull the case free and this was not successful at all. And would spraying Break Free around the cartridge help?

Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks,
JB

[DJ Niner]

Point the muzzle up, and tap, tap, tap the cleaning rod up and down until the case falls out. You shouldn't have to smack it hard; just let the repeated light taps take care of it.

You may want to hold the bolt to the rear with the charging handle as you do this, otherwise the tapping may release the bolt, driving the case back into the chamber.

[RMTactical]

Originally posted by DJ Niner
Point the muzzle up, and tap, tap, tap the cleaning rod up and down until the case falls out. You shouldn't have to smack it hard; just let the repeated light taps take care of it.

You may want to hold the bolt to the rear with the charging handle as you do this, otherwise the tapping may release the bolt, driving the case back into the chamber.

That's the way to do it!

It's amazing how simple and easy it is to do... and most people would have never thought of it on their own.

[Critter]

If it gets so bad that it knocks the base of the case off, they make an extraction tool for that also. I think its about 5.00 or so, so don't sweat it if that happens either.

[NailShooter]

There is a better tool to use than your (expensive?) cleaning rod.

Go down to your local ACE hardware store and buy a 3 foot length of 3/16" brass rod (measures .1875"). It will be heavier than the cleaning rod, you won't screw up the threads on the end, also works great to drive out a squib round from the bbl--should you ever encounter a powderless round. Regards,

NS

[RWBlue]

I have to ask:
Hand load or something commercial?

Good extractor and spring or..?

[ARWizzard]

I think DJ Niner is right on the money. I would remove the bolt carrier group before starting, so theres no way the carrier will release and slam the case back into the chamber.

[benaires]

It was factory ammo, Wolf or Silver Bear. I generally use bore snakes rather than cleaning rods but I did have two old ones lying around.

This morning, I bought long nosed, narrow angle pliers on my way home from work...and promptly snapped the tip off. I've pulled the bolt and charging handle out so it doesn't get in the way.

One cleaning rod was a coated, one piece rod and the other was an aluminum three piece rod. The coated rod promptly bent when I started tapping the first time...maybe I was tapping too hard or it was too long? I used tape to cover the junctions in the 3 piece rod and the promptly bent it too...

The casing is really stuck in there. I sprayed some break free on it, just in case, and tomorrow I'll pick up either the brass rod from the hardware store or another cheap cleaning rod and try light taps. I wasn't using an awful lot of force with my cleaning rods but maybe because they were so long it made them easier to bend.

I thought about pulling the barrel off and using channel locks to move the casing back and forth until it gradually came free but that's a lot of work if I can tap it out.
Most of my rifles have been bolt action and I've had casings get stuck before, especially when going awile without cleaning, but never stuck quite like this.

The gun only had about 60 rounds through it so it wasn't too dirty and I wouldn't have expected a lot of carbon build up in the chamber but maybe using cheap ammo built it up quicker.

Thanks,
JB

[DJ Niner]

Wow. That sucker sounds like it's REALLY stuck in there.

When I said tap, I didn't mean tap on the end of the rod; I just meant slide the rod maybe halfway out of the barrel (barrel pointing up), and let it drop back in under it's own weight. If it's aluminum, you could give it a little push as it starts sliding down, but I've never seen a case so stuck that a person couldn't bounce a (usually steel) cleaning rod on it 20-30 times and not have it fall out. If it's so stuck that you have to DRIVE it out with a brass rod and a hammer, then I'd have a gunsmith take a look at the chamber, throat, and bore after you're done to make sure the casing didn't damage anything.

Good luck!


Also: tagged for the next time someone asks me why I don't shoot Wolf/Silver Bear ammo...

[RWBlue]

Lacquer buildup?

Steel cases expand like brass, but don’t contract like brass.

Maybe someone has a better idea than I, but if it was me, I would separate the two halves. Point the barrel down put enough breakfree around the case head that it can penetrate. Wait a day. Invert and tap with brass rod that is 2 inches longer than the barrel.


Good luck

[Spydermonkey]

So did you get it yet? Inquiring minds want to know how you got it out and what caused it to get stuck in the first place.

[benaires]

I got the casing out last night. I couldn't find a brass rod but Home Depot had a steel 3/16 inch rod so I bought one of those, the shortest they had was 3 feet long.

I tried rapidly tapping the rod itself into the stuck casing and when that didn't work after about 2 minutes, I used a small ball peen hammer to rapidly tap and it popped out very quickly. I didn't have to smack it hard at all with the hammer.

I inspected the chamber, bolt, and casing and still can't figure out why it got stuck. I ran a clean bore snake through the rifle and got some fouling out but no metal shavings of any kind. Breech, chamber, and barrel looks good.

The casing didn't have any marks on it, was intact and looked like other spent casings in my range bag except where the rim was ate up from trying to get it with long-nosed pliers.

The new rod is going to be left in my truck behind the seat as part of my standard range gear.

I've never had a casing stuck that tight that I can remember although it seems like I've had .22lr casings get stuck and I've just grabbed under the rim with a pocket knife and pulled them out. The biggest problem was getting to this one down inside the bolt.

I've shot the brands of ammo I was using without any problems out of my SKS for several hundred rounds per range session and never had a stuck case. Wolf and Silver Bear.

Something else I noticed that day is that in my gray USGI mags with the green followers, the first two rounds had problems chambering and I had to re-seat a mag once before the round fed. When I downloaded the mag by 2 rounds, it fed fine.

Like I said, it's a relatively new AR and had only 60 or so rounds through it since being cleaned. Overall, it only has maybe 150 rounds through it total.

Thanks for all the help and positive thoughts. It's the most expensive rifle I own and I didn't want to screw anything up.


JB

[Spydermonkey]

Glad you got it out. Just be careful with the steel rod. The reason everyone suggests brass is because it is a softer metal than the steel used in the barrel rifling so it will scratch the brass and not your barrel. Interesting that you couldn't find out why it got stuck, must be the case was way outta spec.

[benaires]

I'm guessing it was just an out of spec case because I went back today and put another 60 or so rounds of the same ammo through without any problems.
JB