Stuck cases ...

[bigjeepman]

I have ordered my first Handi rifle in .223 that will be here Tuesday. The gunshop owner, who is a friend of mine, told me there are problems at times with stuck cases. He is also concerned about my satisfaction with expected accuracy with my rifle as he knows I work hard to get small groups in my bolt action rifles. Today I shot 5 shot groups with 55 gr Nosler BT in my Savage that he measured at .266" and .288". I do not expect that from the Handi though I will look forward to improving group size each week with new loads. I will probably break it in with WIN white box 45 gr bullets.

Have any of you have problems with stuck cases in your new rifles? Couldn't I just bore brush it real good and help prevent some possible problems?

[quickdtoo]

Aside from keeping the chamber clean and dry, you can polish the chamber with a bore mop wrapped with a patch and some JB Bore compound or Flitz metal polish. Add the tip section of a 3 piece cleaning rod chucked in a drill and polish for a minute or two staying away from the throat and moving the mop in and out of the chamber so the polish job is even. Change the patch and add more polish a few times....works for me, have never had a stuck case that wasn't my fault for not wiping out the chamber before firing a round. :wink:

Another method is to deprime a spent case, run a screw into the flash hole, cut the head off the screw, then chuck the screw shank in a drill and polish the chamber with flitz or JB Bore compound for a few minutes.

Tim

[bigjeepman]

quickdtoo ...

Man ... that was a quick answer to my questions. You guys don't waste any time in this section. I have some JB bore paste and I will do this before I fire the first round.

As I was giving the shop owner a hard time (jokingly) today about his concerns about the Handi meeting my standards, a young fellow came off the range behind his shop with a stuck case in his .243 Handi. He had a good time giving me that "I told you" look. I am not concerned and am looking forward to my first single shot rifle that I plan on taking on my first prairie dog hunt in late May if I get to go.

[quickdtoo]

I would make sure you have a rod handy at the range to get any stuck cases out....just in case! When hunting, some of the experienced Handi shooters carry a piece of metal. drill bit, brass rod, cleaning rod section, to drop down the barrel to dislodge a stuck case....doesn't hurt! The design of the Handi ejector lends itself to a stuck case now and then, the spring driven ejector just isn't real strong. Currently built Handis have or will have an extractor that is mechanical, not spring driven so the stuck case issue will soon be illiminated completely. The down side of the new extractor is you need to pluck the spent case from the chamber mouth since the extractor just raises it out about a 1/4" inch....saves brass though if you intend on reloading it! :grin:

[mpftech]

I have an alternate solution to the "Stuck Case" dilema.
If anyone is interested, please contact me at the following email address.

mpftech@cableone.net

[mt3030]

Quick..
I found your statement about "the spring driven ejector just isn't real strong" interesting. I have agreed 100% for years and now it appears NEF does too. Last summer there was a thread where board members were trying to equate the NEF's ability to throw empty cases three feet over their shoulder to being strong ejectors. To me, being a strong ejector is the ability to get the darn case OUT of the chamber under all practical shooting conditions, not being able to throw the brass. Thanks for your post.
mt

[James B]

I have had a few reloads stick in the new 243 Stainless. However the chamber was really rough in it. I polished it good but have not been back out the the range yet since then.

[Gusman14]

I used Flitz on my 243 and have not had a stuck case sent.  I did have my sons 20 gauge get one stuck this weekend.  A good cleaning shall fix that up I hope.

[jdseven1]

I had some problems with my .223 when I was using wolf ammo with the steel cases after about 30 rounds. Gave the wolf to away to a guy at the club as he said his ar15 chewed  right thru them. Been using remington and wnchester and no problems

[quickdtoo]

IIRC, mpftech's method is to add a second stronger spring within the H&R ejector spring that increases the spring pressure by 12lbs.

[icthus153]

bigjeep , i had a stuck case dilemma during a rain storm . i missed the deer , and could not get the shell casing out to reload. i was pretty ticked. i dont want to carry a rod or any thing to drop down the barrel so i used a dremel and cut a notch in mine. it is just enough to get the tip of a knife in and works great. i can email you pics if you are interested. i got the original idea from fred m .

[bigjeepman]

I really hate to beat this topic to death with some of you veterans of the Handi World but this one has me puzzled. I am sooooo satisfied with my new Handi .223 and Swift scope combination. I was back at the range today and shot the following test loads:

Hornady Vmax 50 gr
Varget 26 gr
WIN brass
Rem 7.5 BR primers
OAL 2.261"
5 shot - .696"

Nosler BT 50 gr
Varget 26 gr
WIN brass
CCI 400 primers
OAL 2.261"
3 shot - .248"

Hornady Vmax 55gr
IMR 4198 22.3 gr
WIN brass (new and trimmed to 1.750")
CCI 400 primers
OAL 2.261"
first 4 shots - .325"
5th shot spread group to .903"

As you can see, my Handi is doing very well except for one thing. When I shoot the 55gr Hornady Vmax (it is a flat base bullet), every case sticks. It is the only bullet that does this and I have polished the chamber but maybe not enough. This load had tremendous potential as you can tell by the first four shots. I was getting frustrated and could have quit after four shots but this was a planned 5 shot group.

Should I polish even more or is it the bullet itself causing this as no other fired round has stuck since I bought the rifle?

[Fred M]

Bigjeepman.
Since you have no trouble with Varget, why not use it with the 55gr V-max. In itself it produces the highest velocity with the pressure curve stretched out. This would be my choice of powder.

Depending on your case volume start below Hodgdons amount and move your bullet out so the bullet is not below the shoulder junction or about 3/4  bullet diameter in the neck.

26.5gr of H4198  is 1.5gr more than Hodgdon manual. But that in it self is not a big deal but it will develop considerable more pressure in a small case not at a danger point.

There is a difference in  peak pressure pressure time with 4198, it accures at 1.2" of bullet travel while Vaget is at 1.55". What this means is that highest  presure is  further away from the chamber. This could be the difference between a stuck case and an ejected case.

[bigjeepman]

Thanks for your reply Fred. I will try Varget in some test loads today with the Hornady 55 gr Vmax. I checked my log book and IMR 4198 is the only powder I have tested with the 55 gr Vmax. I have had so much success with the 50 gr Nosler BT that I have been concentrating on fine tuning it.

The powder of choice for my Savage 10 FP .223 turned out to be H-335 which produces less than .500" 5 shot groups consistently. I have not tried this powder in the Handi with the 55 gr Vmax either. I will start with Varget as it has always done very well for me even in my .243 Ruger.

You mentioned 26.5 gr of IMR 4198. The most I used was 22.3 gr of 4198. I use many manuals for cross referencing but mostly Sierra's and Nosler's.

Thank you for the help. I might just seat the bullet out a little further too as you suggest but will see first how the Varget does at 2.261" OAL on a few rounds.