Stuck case question - The Firearms Forum

sparks1 · 11-21-2009, 10:59 AM

I reloaded some .308 once fired Military brass for a friend's DPMS .308 for deer season. All brass trimmed to proper length and full length sized (shoulder set back .003").
He had a few that chambered but could not extract. Had to use a cleaning rod to free the stuck round from the chamber. (Not a great idea, but field expedient according to him.)
Any ideas as to the solution? Should I use a SB .308 die for his AR-10? I thought a semi-auto chamber would be somewhat larger than ,say a bolt gun, and thought full length re-sizing would be sufficient. I do use a SB die for my AR-15 because I had the same problem with it.

sparks1 · 11-21-2009, 03:00 PM

Thought so...thanks. Just wondered if there was something else I should be looking at.

Bindernut · 11-21-2009, 05:05 PM

You're right in that a semi will usually have a slightly larger cut chamber than a bolt gun in the same caliber. On firing, this will allow the case to expand a bit larger than usual.

Also because a semi has just a spring pushing the action closed/locked (with a bit less force than what you can close the action on a bolt gun by hand. Plus you've got the camming action of the bolt lugs to help with chambering that last bit too) and things are happening much faster, resizing with a small-base die will help the case slide back into the chamber the next time around.
You found this out on your AR...and I'm sure your friend's AR-10 is no different.

11-21-2009, 10:59 AM	#1
sparks1 Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 11	Stuck case question I reloaded some .308 once fired Military brass for a friend's DPMS .308 for deer season. All brass trimmed to proper length and full length sized (shoulder set back .003"). He had a few that chambered but could not extract. Had to use a cleaning rod to free the stuck round from the chamber. (Not a great idea, but field expedient according to him.) Any ideas as to the solution? Should I use a SB .308 die for his AR-10? I thought a semi-auto chamber would be somewhat larger than ,say a bolt gun, and thought full length re-sizing would be sufficient. I do use a SB die for my AR-15 because I had the same problem with it. -->

11-21-2009, 03:00 PM	#2
sparks1 Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 11	Re: Stuck case question Thought so...thanks. Just wondered if there was something else I should be looking at.

11-21-2009, 05:05 PM	#3
Bindernut Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: ND, USA Posts: 2,453	Re: Stuck case question You're right in that a semi will usually have a slightly larger cut chamber than a bolt gun in the same caliber. On firing, this will allow the case to expand a bit larger than usual. Also because a semi has just a spring pushing the action closed/locked (with a bit less force than what you can close the action on a bolt gun by hand. Plus you've got the camming action of the bolt lugs to help with chambering that last bit too) and things are happening much faster, resizing with a small-base die will help the case slide back into the chamber the next time around. You found this out on your AR...and I'm sure your friend's AR-10 is no different.