I have a PSA Stainless Freedom upper with a live round stuck in the chamber so badly I have now broken a bronze cleaning round in the barrel trying to extract it.

The barrel has now been removed from the upper.

I need some ideas on how to get this sucker out of there.

eta: .223 Rem Cartridge in a 5.56mm chamber.

Drill it out.

That wont set off the primer?

You say that like there's a difference.

Is this a reload or factory cartridge?  Are you 100% sure it's a 223, or is that just the headstamp?

How did it get stuck?  Normal chambering? Use of forward assist?

Is the cleaning rod now stuck in the barrel or did you remove it?

If you were beating on a cleaning rod enough to break it your barrel is likely trashed anyway.

We are waaaaay past this but, thanks.

Maybe try putting some penetrating oil on each side of the round. From the muzzle and from the bolt side and see if that will loosen it up a bit.

try putting the upper into the freezer overnight, and have a go at it again with a one piece rod or a wooden dowel from home depot / lowes.

Every replace a pilot bushing in the end of a crankshaft?

I haven't tried it but it might work -

get a dowel rod close to the same OD as the ID of the barrel.

See if you can use a grease gun to pump some grease into the barrel.  ]

When the barrel won't take more grease, use the dowel rod to push the grease into the barrel.

Once you've got grease coming out of the barrel around the dowel rod, or you can't push easily with just your hand, take another piece of wood, or a wooden mallet, and smack the end of the dowel rod.  Keep adding grease and smacking the dowel rod till you've got the air out of the barrel and it only has grease and the dowel rod in it.

It's using hydraulic pressure.  Its amazing how easily you can remove a pilot bushing out of the crankshaft.

I've even used soap (carve off slices with a knife and push into the bushing).  Not sure if it would work in this case, but it might work better than grease since the "viscosity" of soap is higher than grease and it wouldn't pass between the barrel and dowel rod as easily as grease.

As I said, I've never done this with a stuck round in the chamber, just with pilot bushings in gas engine crankshafts.

I was just going to say whack it with a wooden dowel, but the grease trick is brilliant.

would have to plug the gas port with something or you will lose all the pressure you are trying to build up

sorry double tap

A woman was killed at a Benchrest match in Indiana when she held a rifle from the rear (bolt removed) as her husband attempted to knock a live round from the chamber with a cleaning rod. The round fired, driving the casing rearward and through her torso. Explosions follow the path of least resistance. Try a lot of Kroil and perhaps a night in the freezer might help. Make double sure that nobody is behind the chamber as you hit the cleaning rod.

There is no reason why any round should be stuck this tight. Perhaps a cleaning patch was in the chamber when you closed the bolt? Something else a wrong other than just being "stuck". Use caution, Good Luck.

You would only need to fill grease up to the gas port. Once the dowel is past the port you can build pressure.

As for the danger of the stuck round discharging. You can push the bullet down into the case and then pour a bunch of oil down in there. Doing so will ruin the powder.