A live round jammed

[Merc]

There I was, at the range, shooting my 1925 Springfield M1903. After three shots, I chambered a live round that went part way into the chamber and stuck. I pushed the bolt harder - bad move on my part. Now the round is jammed and would not move in either direction. Not wanting to pound on the bullet from the muzzle, I consulted the Brownells web page and found and ordered one of their Stuck Case Pullers. It was on backorder so it took several weeks to get, but it was worth the wait. The puller is a well built, well designed tool that worked perfectly. The instructions are clear and there is even a tutorial video on their web page.

It had to be the round, right? But I examined the case and it looked fine, I even pulled the bullet, primer and powder and put it through my resizing die and found nothing wrong.

I tried to lightly chamber a dummy round in the rifle and it got stuck but the bolt extractor was able to pull it out. I looked inside the chamber with a bore light and could hardly believe that a tiny piece of grit on the chamber wall was causing the problem. It was easily removed with a medium bore brush soaked in bore cleaner. The dummy round would then completely enter the chamber smoothly.

Obviously, a live round that is stuck part way into a chamber of any firearm immediately becomes a very dangerous condition. The puller is the safest way to remove it.

One lesson I learned from this experience is to always gently chamber every round and stop pushing the bolt forward if resistance is felt. The bolt extractor might be able to pull it back.

The thing I wondered about - how often did something like this happen on the battlefield?

[togor]

Probably not rare and probably they just hammered on the bolt to clear the jam. (It's possible that might have worked here but no need for you to try.) If that didn't work, then throw the rifle away and find some other way to stay alive.

[Merc]

Probably not rare and probably they just hammered on the bolt to clear the jam. (It's possible that might have worked here but no need for you to try.) If that didn't work, then throw the rifle away and find some other way to stay alive.

You do what’s necessary but your life can actually depend on a clean rifle.

Maybe a few Vietnam vets can tell us about their experiences with their M16s.

[togor]

How close to home was the round when it jammed? Guessing pretty far. Was the grit at the neck or below the shoulder?

[Merc]

The collet on the puller looks like it needs about 1/8” of free space between the chamber opening and the case head to grip the head and that is about all that I had. The grit particle was below the shoulder.

[togor]

Glad you and your rifle were unharmed. Always worthwhile to pass such stories along. Thank you for posting.

[Merc]

Glad you and your rifle were unharmed. Always worthwhile to pass such stories along. Thank you for posting.

You’re welcome. My favorite saying is: You never forget a lesson learned the hard way.

[Allen]

Another reason I don't care for the AR15 system with the bolt assist. One push, as expected, may cause a stuck case.

[Merc]

Another reason I don't care for the AR15 system with the bolt assist. One push, as expected, may cause a stuck case.

My grandson’s AR 10 had a round jam the last time he went shooting with me. Fortunately, he was able to retrieve it. It may have come out of the mag at a bad angle.

[Sunray]

That a reload or factory? If it's a reload, it's probable that the case neck got pushed down during bullet seating or sizing. Look for a wee bulge on the shoulder. It's not usually fixable as it will probably not fit in the sizer die. However, as you got it out it's possibly the OAL is too long and the bullet was stuck in the rifling.
That "Stuck Case Puller' is not that. It's a ruptured case puller. Meant to remove cases that has the head pulled off.
The normal method of removing a live round, assuming you can get the bolt out, is a 1/4" brass rod(about $4 in Home Depot) into the barrel and a plastic mallet applied forcefully to said rod.