Here's what you need if you stick a live round in a Redding Body Die.

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Uzi2

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I was recently sizing some loaded .223 in a Redding body die and happened to grab a round that was a little too dry of lube.....well sure as the day is long it stuck in the die and the rim was damaged upon trying to pull it out using the ram.

Sooooo, having what is basically a loaded gun, I decided to remove the bullet by using the pointed shaft of the pictured spring loaded center punch. I mounted the die back in the press, inserted the center punch and wobbled it around the bullet loosening the crimp a little bit. The body die does not contact the neck of the cartridge so the case mouth was free to expand by pushing the bullet around.

The bullet then fell back into the casing and I used the centerpunch to further expand the case mouth. I then hit the bullet end of the die on the end of the block of wood ( like an inertial bullet puller) and the bullet and powder came out on the fourth hit.

Having emptied the casing I put the die in my freezer for 3 hours then put it back in the press and used the AK pistol grip screw and hammer to tap the casing out. It came out quite easily. The AK screw is hardened and fits pretty well in the .223 case mouth and has enough length to reach the web of the casing in the die.

And that's how its done......W.E.C.S.O.G. style. image.jpeg

Disclaimer: This is not a recommendation for anyone to do this and you take your own chances. This is just an explanation of how I did it quite successfully. It can be done.

image.jpeg
 
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H mm, since theres no supporting the neck or restricting the bullet would enough pressure generate to do any damage to the die or would the bullet just pop out if you struck the primer?

Note : there is really no reason to try to resize live loaded ammo?
 
BTSDOG said:
Why, just why would you need to size a loaded round ?
Click to expand...

Because sometimes you run into rounds that are a little snug entering the case gauge. Brass fired in very loose chambers doesn't always size down enough in regular resizing dies.

The body die sizes the case down to minimum specs and bumps the shoulder back a couple thousandths without disturbing the neck.
 
Uzi2 said:
Because sometimes you run into rounds that are a little snug entering the case gauge. Brass fired in very loose chambers doesn't always size down enough in regular resizing dies.

The body die sizes the case down to minimum specs and bumps the shoulder back a couple thousandths without disturbing the neck.
Click to expand...
If your firing rounds in a chamber so loose that a small base full length sizing die wont do the job, then i feel its time to rebarrel that rifle. Or have it blueprinted, then have custom dies made for that particular chamber. Ive been reloading sinc 1974 and this is the first time EVER, that ive heard of sizing a loaded round. But then again, I didnt stay at a Holiday Inn Express last nite either........
 
BTSDOG said:
If your firing rounds in a chamber so loose that a small base full length sizing die wont do the job, then i feel its time to rebarrel that rifle. Or have it blueprinted, then have custom dies made for that particular chamber. Ive been reloading sinc 1974 and this is the first time EVER, that ive heard of sizing a loaded round. But then again, I didnt stay at a Holiday Inn Express last nite either........
Click to expand...

Yes, I understand all that, all my chambers and the brass from them is fine. Sometimes you'll get a few pieces of range brass fired in who knows what.
I don't use it often but it's there if I need it. I just happened to stick one that was a bit dry. Any reloader that tells you they've never stuck a case is a liar.....it happens to the best of them at some point.

My point was that they can be removed easily and actually safely. There are no threads at the top of the die like Dillon and others where the center piece can be screwed down to remove a casing.
 
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I dont understand... why would you ever size a live round?

What are you accomplishing with a live round that you cant accomplish with an empty piece of brass?

I am so confused and this sounds so dangerous.
 
Broccoli Iglesias said:
I dont understand... why would you ever size a live round?

What are you accomplishing with a live round that you cant accomplish with an empty piece of brass?

I am so confused and this sounds so dangerous.
Click to expand...
greencobra said:
i'm right there with you
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jct61765 said:
Yes it is. Trying to size a live round is stupid and possibly dangerous.
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jct61765 said:
Why not use this while sizing.
www.midwayusa.com

L.E. Wilson Case Length Headspace Ga 22-250 Remington

L.E. Wilson has been making precision reloading tools for over 80 years. The Case Length Headspace Gauge allows reloaders to measure case length from...
www.midwayusa.com www.midwayusa.com
Click to expand...
image.jpeg image.gif
 
Just learned another term - It stands for "Wile E Coyote School of Gunsmithing". It generally refers to an inexperienced assembler of a weapon based on a kit, the reliability and safety of which are quite questionable - thank you.

I'm both impressed by what you did, and scratching my head about the resizing of loaded bullets; glad it worked out well for you.
 
Broccoli Iglesias said:
I dont understand... why would you ever size a live round?

What are you accomplishing with a live round that you cant accomplish with an empty piece of brass?

I am so confused and this sounds so dangerous.
Click to expand...

Do you seat and crimp rifle rounds by putting loaded ( powder and primer installed) ammo into a shell holder and pulling the ram?

Then do you take that loaded cartridge and put it in a crimping die and pull the handle on the ram?

Have you ever squashed a primer sideways into a primer pocket because the crimp wasn't removed on that particular piece of brass?

If you understand the mechanics of a cartridge and how primers operate you wouldn't be so paranoid.

Ever remove a bullet from a cartridge with a pair of pliers? Or just press it on a bench top a few times to stretch the case mouth so the bullet falls out? OMG!!!!!!

I did the same thing with a round securely held in the die with nothing near the primer to even hint at initiating it.

Ever dump loaded ammo into an ammo can?

Ever see industrial hoppers in an ammo plant with tens of thousands of loose rounds being dumped into huge vibratory bowls for final cleaning?

Do you know how many millions of rounds of pointy FMJ rifle rounds are shipped all over the world loose in ammo cans or in plastic bags inside boxes monthly?

Pressing a lubed, loaded rifle round into body die to squeeze the base near the web a couple thousanths of an inch and set the shoulder back a couple of thousandths is not going to cause the round to go off.

How about that rifle bolt slamming home on a loaded round while stripping it off the top of the magazine??? Quick get the sandbags!

Ever work with compressed loads? OMFG!!!!!!! Thry're compressing smokeless powder in a seating die with a primer installed......EVERYBODY RUN!!!!!!!
 
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I get what you sre saying, and I still dont think those things are very safe. Just because I destroyed a few primers and nothing happened, doesnt mean I dont care, it doesnt mean I shouldn't be careful and it doesnt mean it is not dangerous.

Whatever works for you.

But you still didnt answer my question:

What are you accomplishing with a live round that you cant accomplish with an empty piece of brass?
 
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Broccoli Iglesias said:
I get what you sre saying, and I still dont think those things are very safe. Just because I destroyed a few primers and nothing happened, doesnt mean I dont care, it doesnt mean I shouldn't be careful and it doesnt mean it is not dangerous.

Whatever works for you.

But you still didnt answer my question:

What are you accomplishing with a live round that you cant accomplish with an empty piece of brass?
Click to expand...

The few rounds that I was processing in the body die were already loaded. They were the few oddballs that simply needed a little tweak at the base to properly chamber.

I don't use that body die for every round. My point of posting the removal of the stuck round was to show it can be done safely and successfully with some thought and minimal tools.
 
Uzi2 said:
Yes, I understand all that, all my chambers and the brass from them is fine. Sometimes you'll get a few pieces of range brass fired in who knows what.
I don't use it often but it's there if I need it. I just happened to stick one that was a bit dry. Any reloader that tells you they've never stuck a case is a liar.....it happens to the best of them at some point.

My point was that they can be removed easily and actually safely. There are no threads at the top of the die like Dillon and others where the center piece can be screwed down to remove a casing.
Click to expand...
doesnt matter where the brass came from. A good set of dies for a particular caliber will resize a case back to or slightly more than SAMMI specs. There should be absolutely no need to resize a LOADED round. Ive reloaded tens of thousands of rounds, many of them range picked brass, and never ever needed to resize a loaded round. I hope you have good medical insurance, because you are flirting with disaster..........
 
BTSDOG said:
doesnt matter where the brass came from. A good set of dies for a particular caliber will resize a case back to or slightly more than SAMMI specs. There should be absolutely no need to resize a LOADED round. Ive reloaded tens of thousands of rounds, many of them range picked brass, and never ever needed to resize a loaded round. I hope you have good medical insurance, because you are flirting with disaster..........
Click to expand...

Bye bye.....
 
Broccoli Iglesias said:
I get what you sre saying, and I still dont think those things are very safe. Just because I destroyed a few primers and nothing happened, doesnt mean I dont care, it doesnt mean I shouldn't be careful and it doesnt mean it is not dangerous.

Whatever works for you.

But you still didnt answer my question:

What are you accomplishing with a live round that you cant accomplish with an empty piece of brass?
Click to expand...
my best guess is the cartridge was checked with gauge after completing the loading process, not after the sizing process or it die not feed.
 
EddieCoyle said:
I'm sure the resulting ammo is really accurate too.

If I screwed up the initial sizing process, I'd just toss it. But then again, I'm not a skinflint.
Click to expand...
At any point in the loading process the primer where to set off and ignite the powder after the bullet was seated how much pressure would actually be produced.
If theres nothing supporting the primer im guessing you would get a nice WTF was that when the primer blows out
If your using a body sizing die the bullet might pop out the top and might hit your cieling.
Honestly i would not bother and toss the offending rounds in the dud bucket .
 
What I also dont understand ... if your sizing die sizes all brass and it works fine in that gun, how did you end up with a few pieces of brass that werent properly sized?

Was the die removed from the press and maybe it wasnt adjusted properly when you put it back in?
 
jct61765 said:
Why not use this while sizing.
www.midwayusa.com

L.E. Wilson Case Length Headspace Ga 22-250 Remington

L.E. Wilson has been making precision reloading tools for over 80 years. The Case Length Headspace Gauge allows reloaders to measure case length from...
www.midwayusa.com www.midwayusa.com
Click to expand...

Remember, the L.E. Wilson case gauge is not used for measuring case diameters precisely. It is for measuring the datum to establish the correct shoulder position for reloaded brass in your specific rifle.
I made this mistake with some neck-sized brass used in a former bolt gun. The reloaded rounds dropped into the case gauge, as advertised, but bound up solid in an autoloader. The shoulder area diameter was oversized and the round wedged into the AR chamber. The Wilson gauge does not measure case diameters to SAAMI specs.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuJYpm-qplQ
 

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