Thread: Help - Decapping road stuck in case

Hi team,

I was trying to deprime a 308 case. Using the Hornady Custom Grade Dies for the first time.
Pushed the case up into the full length sizing die. But when I lowered the press ram, the whole decapping rod came down with the case.

There is a small ring around the rod that is preventing me from pulling the rod out of the case.

Tried putting the whole thing in boiling water but did not help.
Tried putting oil in but did not help.





Any suggestions?

Thanks very much

Cut base of case and push back through , its only a dollar case

Originally Posted by m101a1

Cut base of case and push back through , its only a dollar case

I can do that, but what if the same thing happens again with the next case?

Is it a ring for resizing the neck for the projectile ?
That rod should be screwed into the top of the die shouldn't it? If there is no nut etc holding it in the die then I think I would try poking it back through the bottom of the die out the top and clamp some vice grips on the rod to prevent it pulling back through die and work the upward stroke on the press again and see if it pulls it out.
Make sense?

@Synthetic

Clean the resizing die and nuts at the top completely (e.g. with with alcohol) to ensure no oil around to ensure they can grip the decapping rod well.

Then place the .308 case in the case holder, push it up enough until you can lock the decapping pin end into the nut at top of the sizing die.

Lower the case, decapping rod should stay up and separate from the case.

Do put some oil into the case prior if you like, to help the rod slip out, I think the ring you talk about is the expander button which is part of the decapping rod. Once it's out, polish the expander button to mirror shine with some 2000 grit sand paper -- really helps it slip in and out of the neck with less friction - even when there is no lubricant on it.

Originally Posted by m101a1

Cut base of case and push back through , its only a dollar case

Yes this... but still begs the question why did it pull rod out of die...

Originally Posted by Ftx325

Yes this... but still begs the question why did it pull rod out of die...

Sometimes the nut at the top of the die does not hold it properly, or rather it held it ok until lubricant got into it.

Other thing is, did he anneal the case before sticking the decapping rod and expander button through. He could candle anneal the neck before trying to pull the button out again, would surely make it a bit easier.

Sounds like nut at top wasn't tightened up, pit it back in dir, tighten nut properly and lower back down, expect case will come off with ease

Hopefully not stripped the thread on the nut.

Follow Cordites advice. Its quite common, the nut was not tightened down enough. Dont be shy to tighten it down good before you try using it again.

Dont forget to oil this case before you try to extract the shaft.

Hornady's pathetic zip lock system. The shaft locks by friction. All other die manufacturers have threaded rods with threaded locking nuts or rings. On the Hornady there are are series of thread like rings on the shaft to assist it being gripped by the locking nut.

On their old dies the shaft was smooth and you had to tighten the mother out of the nut to stop the shaft slipping when pulling the expander back thru the neck.

Just ensure the nut is REAL tight and it shouldn't slip. That is once you have removed the case from the rod. Lube inside the neck as well as on the outside.

Originally Posted by zimmer

Hornady's pathetic zip lock system. The shaft locks by friction. All other die manufacturers have threaded rods with threaded locking nuts or rings. On the Hornady there are are series of thread like rings on the shaft to assist it being gripped by the locking nut.

On their old dies the shaft was smooth and you had to tighten the mother out of the nut to stop the shaft slipping when pulling the expander back thru the neck.

Just ensure the nut is REAL tight and it shouldn't slip. That is once you have removed the case from the rod. Lube inside the neck as well as on the outside.

Also polishing the expander ball helps with Hornady dies. When you get it out stick the thing in drill and polish the hell out of it with some metal polish like Autosol. Dont use sandpaper you are trying to polish it not change its diameter

this used to happen with mine it needs to be really tight

Originally Posted by distant stalker

Sounds like nut at top wasn't tightened up, pit it back in dir, tighten nut properly and lower back down, expect case will come off with ease

This is the answer. I've done it too, just tighten the bloody nut up like a man

When tightening the nut which also holds the decapping rod put a open ender on the die also, give the lock nut a decent tightening.