Reno - I have a broken shell stuck in my AR

[jfrey123]

I've heard people talk about broken shell extractors in the past, on the interwebs and such, but had never seen the phenomenon... Well, I was out shooting on the 4th with my AR that had function flawlessly under it's first 400 rounds. I switched to a box of Ultramax that had been given to me as a gift and I'm here to tell you the stuff is utter crap. One round bent as it chambered, should've been a warning to stop using it but I continued to shoot. Maybe 10 rounds later, my rifle jams with what looked like a weird stovepipe. The bottom of the casing ripped off and got stuck in my bolt, the rest of the brass is stuck in the chamber.

So... Anyone have access to one of these tools? Is this a common enough problem that I might need to get my own? Assistance is appreciated, I pay 6 packs of your choice beverage.

[vegasdave901]

Had that happen few months ago in my AR and I posed the same question. First I bought a cheap shell extractor on ebay. Didn't work. Then bought the expensive one from Brownells website and that worked. It didn't work exactly as advertised where you pop it in like a round and extract it out, I had to load it in and then tap it out from the inside with my cleaning rod to get the thing to grip the top of the broken shell.

[jfrey123]

Thanks, that's great advice! Unless I can find one to use, I was planning on buying one of the nicer extractors. I figure I can spend the $$$ once and get a good one, or spend the same $$$ at a gun smith and have them laugh at me...

[mbogo]

Pull the rear pin on the lower and tip the upper.

Remove the bolt carrier.

Install a bronze brush sized for a .45 bore onto your cleaning rod.

Insert said brush into the back of the stuck case segment and twist 90 degrees.

Pull the bore brush out; the broken case should come out with it.

mbogo

[reno911]

Take in to US Firearms Academy. They should be able to take care of it for you.

[vegasdave901]

correction. I had the broke shell in my galil clone. and I'm glad I got the good extractor because it's still happening (2 more times so far) so it's already paid for itself.

[Joe]

Sticking your upper in the freezer overnight usually works if a puller wont do it by itself. Also dribbling some Kroil between the case and the barrel then letting it soak for a couple of hours helps.

In the field, chambering another round, letting the bolt slam home, then banging the butt down on the ground while pulling the bolt handle back will normally get a stuck case out. Making sure not to get your head in the way of the muzzle!

Stuck cases in an AR are almost always due to a dirty chamber. One needs to clean the chamber with a brass chamber brush & a good solvent intermittently.

[NYECOGunsmith]

Originally Posted by Joe

In the field, chambering another round, letting the bolt slam home, then banging the butt down on the ground while pulling the bolt handle back will normally get a stuck case out. Making sure not to get your head in the way of the muzzle!

I CAN NOT EMPHASIZE THIS ENOUGH FOLKS!!
DO NOT EVER DO THIS WITH ANY FIREARM REGARDLESS OF THE ACTION TYPE!

It is just begging for an out of battery discharge, and since you CAN NOT control the direction of the muzzle with 100% accuracy during a maneuver such as this if it does discharge, in addition to the pressure being unconstrained with the chamber as it would be if the breach were locked, and the possibility that the projectile may exit the muzzle and strike someone/something, the projectile is going to be going up what is essentially a BLOCKED BORE!

Ruptured barrel, injury, damage, death, all are possible with this method, and are actually highly likely.

And even if you were to do this with a gunsmith's functional dummy, the chances that the full length round would get a solid enough grip on the portion of the separated case to allow it to be extracted without tearing the rim off the second case are slim at best.

A separated case extractor made for the purpose of extracting a separated shell casing is made of spring steel, the extractor will not rip the rim off of it, and as long as the forward end of the extractor gets a good grip on the mouth of the separated case, you can get it out with the bolt.

Using a brass case to try to do this will most often result in the rim being torn off or through by the extractor if the half of the case still in the chamber is really in there tight.

When using the correct shell extractor, you may have difficulty putting enough rearward pressure on the bolt to extract the case, but you can put a wood or brass rod down the bore and tap on it as well to help free the stuck case half.

Putting the receiver in the freezer overnight will also help get the case out, as the brass and the steel will contract at different rates and the brass will be freed up by this.

The KROIL is also a good idea, it creeps in and will help free the brass.

In extreme cases, it may be necessary to plug the bore just a bit ahead of the chamber throat with a cotton patch on a rod, then using a metal funnel, pour molten Cerro-SafeŽ down into the stuck shell half, filling it and a bit of space beyond it into the throat, up to the patch/plug.

Once it cools, use a brass rod or wooden dowel to drive the cartridge half and Cerro-SafeŽ out of the chamber.

You can then melt the Cerro-SafeŽ out of the case so you don't waste it.
You can purchase the Cerro-SafeŽ from Brownell's or Midway USA.

BUT AGAIN , NEVER, EVER CHAMBER A LOADED ROUND INTO A CHAMBER THAT IS OBSTRUCTED BY ANYTHING, INCLUDING AND ESPECIALLY A SEPARATED SHELL CASING.

[vegasdave901]

Agreed. @Joe, using a live round to fix a firearm problem?? You really want to rethink that.

[jfrey123]

Thanks for all the great advice guys!!! I'm glad to have so many methods available.

So here's my update: I decided to try the brush idea, but I don't have a .45ACP. My .40S&W brush worked like a charm though, I was able to push it forward enough that the brush reopened from the other end of the stuck shell. It pulled right out on the first try.