Quote:
Originally Posted by k22fan
That's a well timed Model 15. I could hear the cylinder lock up long before each double action hammer fall.  Nice bluing too.
While the factories were running new employees on double shifts and could still not meet the demand for .22 LR cartridges I had some terrible bulk packs from the same manufacturer that had been my favorite so I'm not surprised that a bad factory cartridge slipped out into the world. I've had few over the decades. I have a big name brand factory .45 ACP cartridge that has no extractor groove. I could fire it in a revolver without using a moon clip but I prefer to leave it in my oddities box.
With a warning added to delay opening the action that would make a good training video for hunter's safety or entry level handgun classes. While hangfires with modern cartridges are rare I've seen a few. More importantly, you knew how to handle a squib. |
I don't think a warning to delay opening the action is needed in this case. A squib is decidedly different than a hang fire. With the squib you know it went bang, it's just an under powered or primer only bang.
It's worth mentioning though that unburnt and/or partially burnt powder is usually evident with a squib load, and is clear visual cue that something is amiss and that the round may still be in the barrel.
The biggest threat with squibs is in low recoiling cartridge and firearm combinations like the .22 LR in a K frame revolver, where the shooter may not note the lack of recoil, and must note the lack of report that would be made by a full powered round.
Cowboy action shooting doubles down on this threat if the shooter is using 158 gr .38 Special cowboy loads that are near the velocity floor of 400 fps (power factor of 63) in a fairly hefty SA revolver. Here the time pressure and low recoil can combine to encourage the shooter to cock and fire again before fully considering what just didn't happen.
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As an aside, it's the lesser of the two reasons that I think SASS's 400 fps velocity floor and 60 power factor floor are bad ideas for what is supposed to be a "practical" shooting sport.
My biggest objection is that the the black powder era .38-40 used a 180 gr bullet at 975 fps. That would be a power factor of 175 in an SASS match. That .38-40 black powder cartridge performance is identical to what you have in a modern .40 S&W, and that's not a surprise as stopping people who are trying to kill you wasn't any easier then than it is now.
The .38-40 was already a "light' load as the black powder era .44-40 used either a 200 gr bullet at 1245 fps (power factor of 249) or a 217 gr bullet at 1,190 fps (power factor of 258). The .45 Colt used either a 255 gr bullet at 950 fps (power factor of 242), or a 230 gr bullet at 1050 fps (power factor of 242), with 40 grains of BP. The US Army preferred load was a 255 gr bullet at 790 fps driven by 30 grains of BP (power factor of 201) which was in fact a light load designed for easier training of troops.
In that regard, a more realistic power factor floor is 175, not 60, if we're concerned about authentic shooting - as opposed to the excessive and obsessive interest in period correct clothing leather soled boots, etc.