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*UPDATE: ITS OUT***Round stuck inside 308 can, what now?!

Posted: Tue Jan 18, 2011 10:28 am
by drycan
Oh man, long story short there is a 380acp round stuck inside my phantom 308 can. It’s about right in the middle of the can ,2 baffles away from the back/thread end. We have tried just about everything to get it out, problem is that the fit is so tight that there is no clearance to just "shake and jiggle" it out. I was able to get it to jump a few baffles back and fourth but never all the way. My thoughts is to a) cut the can in half and re-weld it or b) drill the 2 baffles and overbore them to give a bit more clearance to get it out. Tried the "chute" method where I folded a peace of paper and stuck it in to try to catch it and slide it down, no go it’s just too tight in there. This is probably the most frustrating thing I have ever dicked around with. Any ideas guys?

Can is YHC Phantom 308

---its out, details on page 7....

Re: Round stuck inside 308 can, what now?!

Posted: Tue Jan 18, 2011 10:42 am
by este
Before people come on here and berate you tirelessly... Did you drop the round in or fire it through the can?

Re: Round stuck inside 308 can, what now?!

Posted: Tue Jan 18, 2011 10:45 am
by cmdecker
I'd call YHM and see if they can help you out before you cut it in half and/or bore it out.

Re: Round stuck inside 308 can, what now?!

Posted: Tue Jan 18, 2011 10:48 am
by shooting systems
I will let others here comment on what surely is to come.

My advice is to contact YHM, so you can arrange sending it back to them.

Re: Round stuck inside 308 can, what now?!

Posted: Tue Jan 18, 2011 10:52 am
by NFA-Addict
Be patient! The worse thing you clould do is cut it in half or drill drill it. Try grabbing it with a small dowel rod with somethiing sticky like duct tape on it. If it went in, it will come out.

Re: Round stuck inside 308 can, what now?!

Posted: Tue Jan 18, 2011 10:52 am
by drycan
este, its a live round (case/primer/powder and all) not a bullet. It's not important how it got there i just got to get it out :lol: called YHC they said can does not come apart needs to be cut. i am sure there have been a few people with the same problem

Re: Round stuck inside 308 can, what now?!

Posted: Tue Jan 18, 2011 10:56 am
by MAJ MALFUNCTION
drycan wrote:Oh man, long story short there is a 380acp round stuck inside my phantom 308 can. It’s about right in the middle of the can ,2 baffles away from the back/thread end.
This reminds me of the time that my 5yr old cousin got his jimmy stick inside of the opening on a aluminum soda can - all you can say is "don't ask..." :shock:

Re: Round stuck inside 308 can, what now?!

Posted: Tue Jan 18, 2011 10:57 am
by Libertarian_Geek
So, it's just rattling around in there like a pick inside of an acoustic guitar (but 1000 X worse)?

Before cutting the can...

I'm envisioning a thin plastic straw like tube cut in 1/2 longitudinally. Stuck through the bore, then shake the can in a direction perpendicular to the bore. Maybe the round will land in the cut tube and it would cause the bullet to line up with the bore. Then you may be able to slide it out (or move it to the next baffle section). If it helps, I believe the Phantoms are slant baffles (parallel) and they are closer together towards the muzzle side.

It may help to try the whole effort in a tub of water so that you have a bit more time to react to your own jostling of the bullet.

Instead of the water...You may be able to make the 1/2 straw out of masking tape (sticky side in/sticky side concave). Thread it through the bore and keep it under tension by holding the tape (or having a friend hold it) on both ends. Don't let the tape stick to itself. You want to shake and jiggle until the bullet sticks to the tape longways.

Re: Round stuck inside 308 can, what now?!

Posted: Tue Jan 18, 2011 11:04 am
by ick
Can you get the tip to fall inside the bafbaffle and then use something like a dowel rod to get it through the snug fit? Perhaps put something slighty sticky on the end so when you press on the flat back of the slug you get a good grip when you get it through.

forget it, someone responded that already whist I was on the phone

Re: Round stuck inside 308 can, what now?!

Posted: Tue Jan 18, 2011 11:07 am
by STL/N.E.R.D.S.
Take a piece of paper,you will have to play with the width, fold it in half with a nice crease in the middle, open it up so it looks like a wide V, insert in the can to the stuck round, roll and shake it around a bit, when it lands on the paper slowly pull it out, it works well on most cans, had a friend who did this with a 9mm can and light sub load, worked very well.
Those sub caliber inserts work well with good ammo, if that's what you were using..

Re: Round stuck inside 308 can, what now?!

Posted: Tue Jan 18, 2011 11:08 am
by Libertarian_Geek
Perhaps a large wooden badger...

Re: Round stuck inside 308 can, what now?!

Posted: Tue Jan 18, 2011 11:15 am
by Mageever
Option 1:
If you randomly bounce it around in there it will eventually line up and fall through the bore hole like how it went in. Since you don't have the time or maybe even the forearm strength (I'm not judging here either), you ought to just throw it into the washer with a load of laundry and see where it ends up. :D

Option 2:
If it's an exposed lead based bullet, several rounds of "the dip" will completely dissolve the lead out of the copper jacket (and probably mostly erode it as well). You may then be able to scoop the copper jacket with a wire and push it out through the bore. I think I'd try this one first so as not to piss off my wife with Option 1.

ETA: Just noticed you said it's a live round. Try the dip anyway and tell us what happens--it will take a few days. In fact, you could test just a cartridge by itself to see how it will react before you dip the whole can. If the can is stainless steel you don't have anything to worry about, though. I'd still put some type of teflon or silicone grease over the engraving just to be extra careful in case it hasn't passivated after the laser engraving.

Re: Round stuck inside 308 can, what now?!

Posted: Tue Jan 18, 2011 11:28 am
by tsunami33
:( Never tried, but will a .380 float? Not sure if there is enough air with the powder to get it to float, projectile down, and float it out? I doubt a bullet would float, I'm just trying to think outside the box with this one. :|

Re: Round stuck inside 308 can, what now?!

Posted: Tue Jan 18, 2011 11:35 am
by drycan
nah rounds dont float...

whats this "dip" ?

and guys i have been shaking this thing for a week trust me coming here was my last resort before we start cutting and drilling

Re: Round stuck inside 308 can, what now?!

Posted: Tue Jan 18, 2011 11:37 am
by este
Vaccumm cleaner and shake.

Re: Round stuck inside 308 can, what now?!

Posted: Tue Jan 18, 2011 11:39 am
by jt526
Got a friend who works at a paintcenter? I'm thinking an hour in the paint shaker (face down) might work. "Da'Dip" is 50/50 vinegar/hydrogen peroxide and eats lead (and not aluminum/people/animal safe) but not steel. On an unfired cartridge, I'm not sure what it would do. Hollowpoint it would remove all the lead (over time) from inside the bullet.

Re: Round stuck inside 308 can, what now?!

Posted: Tue Jan 18, 2011 11:43 am
by Mongo
Image

Re: Round stuck inside 308 can, what now?!

Posted: Tue Jan 18, 2011 11:48 am
by drycan
The round is a FMJ .380 now i am curious if "dipped" for a while what it would do.

there is NO way to grab it with anything as its inside and even if shaken once you grab it it still has to line up with the baffle hole which is the hard part

Re: Round stuck inside 308 can, what now?!

Posted: Tue Jan 18, 2011 11:51 am
by Libertarian_Geek
este wrote:Vaccumm cleaner and shake.
That reminds me of a cool little trick when pulling cables using air compressor or vacuum to get the string to go wherever you want it.

For this, I'd still be tempted to curl up a long length of masking tape into a C shape (sticky to the concave side) through the bore to get the bullet to line-up.

Re: Round stuck inside 308 can, what now?!

Posted: Tue Jan 18, 2011 11:54 am
by Libertarian_Geek
jt526 wrote:Got a friend who works at a paintcenter? I'm thinking an hour in the paint shaker (face down) might work. "Da'Dip" is 50/50 vinegar/hydrogen peroxide and eats lead (and not aluminum/people/animal safe) but not steel. On an unfired cartridge, I'm not sure what it would do. Hollowpoint it would remove all the lead (over time) from inside the bullet.
You'd need to dissolve the copper first. Ferric Chloride maybe? To dissolve the copper, then "the dip" for the lead? Might take a while though.

Re: Round stuck inside 308 can, what now?!

Posted: Tue Jan 18, 2011 12:00 pm
by doubloon
Take the tool mongo linked or something like it, shake the can around until the base lines up with the hole, superglue a string to the primer then dangle the bullet lead first one baffle at a time out the bottom of the can.

Re: Round stuck inside 308 can, what now?!

Posted: Tue Jan 18, 2011 12:20 pm
by wi75
i like the superglue idea.

Re: Round stuck inside 308 can, what now?!

Posted: Tue Jan 18, 2011 12:21 pm
by drycan
if i can get the round to line up with the baffles then the round will just fall throught no need to pull it or push it. Its line line up part thats the hardest, the baffles are V shaped or something its a LOT harder in practice than in theory

Re: Round stuck inside 308 can, what now?!

Posted: Tue Jan 18, 2011 12:27 pm
by Libertarian_Geek
The shopvac thing may be worth spending about 5 minutes on. The airflow may help you line up the bullet.

Re: Round stuck inside 308 can, what now?!

Posted: Tue Jan 18, 2011 12:41 pm
by Mageever
jt526 wrote:Got a friend who works at a paintcenter? I'm thinking an hour in the paint shaker (face down) might work. "Da'Dip" is 50/50 vinegar/hydrogen peroxide and eats lead (and not aluminum/people/animal safe) but not steel. On an unfired cartridge, I'm not sure what it would do. Hollowpoint it would remove all the lead (over time) from inside the bullet.
The dip will corrode steel, but not stainless steel. It corrodes copper as well, although I'm not sure how aggressively. If the lead were exposed it would dissolve it in a couple of days with a couple refreshings of the dip.