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Old 03-16-2011, 03:45 PM
shil shil is offline
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Default First squib

I thought I'd share an experience. I've been successfully reloading for over 30 years, with thousands of pistol reloads through my progressive loader and just as many through my single-stage.
Today, I was firing .38 Special. One shot didn't sound right. I stopped shooting and tried to open the revolver, but it was firmly jammed. I found a bullet lodged in the barrel breech, tying up the cylinder. Squib! I suspect I lost rhythm when I stopped to check a charge and probably missed charging the case. I'm about to begin pulling apart the remainder of the box of 50 in case there's another mischarge. Guess there's always a first time! Be careful!
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Old 03-16-2011, 04:29 PM
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I had the same thing happen to me recently. After 25 years of careful reloading I had a squib in a .38 or .357 that lodged across the B/C gap and tied up the gun. Don't know why or how, but like yours, the shot just didn't sound right. I didn't pull the rest of the box apart...I didn't have any reason to think it was anything other then a one-time operator error.
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Old 03-16-2011, 04:40 PM
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yep...i too had a recent squib in 41 mag.it was a one time thing...so far
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Old 03-16-2011, 04:53 PM
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Were you able to dislodge the boolit and did it damage anything?
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Old 03-16-2011, 08:01 PM
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If your going to reload, sooner or latter your going to have a squib. I always keep a 7" section of 5/16" ( for 38) and 7/16" (for 45) wooden dowl in my shooting bag for just this sort of thing. Just slide the dowl into the barrel, put the other end on a table and slide the gun ( barrel down) up and down to tap the bullet back.
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Old 03-16-2011, 08:58 PM
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I've had quite a few, my powder measure doesn't return all the way sometimes to pick up another charge. I also keep a piece of wooden doweling in my range bag to tap the bullet back. The trick is if it don't go bang...Stop!
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Old 03-17-2011, 05:41 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by novalty View Post
Were you able to dislodge the boolit and did it damage anything?
The in-house gunsmith at the range took care of it. I presume he used a range rod to tap the stuck bullet back into the chamber enough to free the cylinder. No damage.
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Old 03-17-2011, 05:43 AM
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So since I'm a newbie and already had one squib, does this mean I have 25 - 30 years to wait before the next one?
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Old 03-17-2011, 08:13 AM
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"So since I'm a newbie and already had one squib, does this mean I have 25 - 30 years to wait before the next one?"
Well. maybe...but it's like living in the 100 year flood plane. If you get washed away on Monday the odds are that you are OK for the next century, but you might get washed away again next monday.
Try to figure out what went wrong...In my case I gave it considerable thought and still have no idea.
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Old 03-17-2011, 08:15 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by shil View Post
I thought I'd share an experience. I've been successfully reloading for over 30 years, with thousands of pistol reloads through my progressive loader and just as many through my single-stage.
Today, I was firing .38 Special. One shot didn't sound right. I stopped shooting and tried to open the revolver, but it was firmly jammed. I found a bullet lodged in the barrel breech, tying up the cylinder. Squib! I suspect I lost rhythm when I stopped to check a charge and probably missed charging the case. I'm about to begin pulling apart the remainder of the box of 50 in case there's another mischarge. Guess there's always a first time! Be careful!
You don`t have to pull the bullets, just weigh them and then you`ll see if you have any light loads.
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Old 03-17-2011, 08:18 AM
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Shil,
Thanks for your honesty. Some folks act like they will never have a squib because of their superior loading practices. Nothing could be further from the truth. Hopefully it will never happen but you can never know.

Ever had a factory round squib on you? Yep. Ever had a handload from a single stage squib on you? Yep. Had any from your progressive setup? Yep. They can happen to anyone at anytime and we need to have a "back up" procedure to take care of it.

Stuff like this is why Clint Smith of Thunder Ranch says: Guns, one is none, two is one and three could get really interesting!

Be prepared.
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Old 03-17-2011, 07:25 PM
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Originally Posted by jack oconnor View Post
You don`t have to pull the bullets, just weigh them and then you`ll see if you have any light loads.
I tried this once after a squib. However due the variations in once fired mixed brass, cast bullets and the low charge weight of 2.7 gr. I was not able to consistently identify an undercharged case.

Jeff
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Old 03-17-2011, 08:09 PM
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So since I'm a newbie and already had one squib, does this mean I have 25 - 30 years to wait before the next one?
I most sincerely hope you NEVER have another squib!
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Old 03-17-2011, 08:42 PM
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I never go to the range without my brass punch and a ball hammer. It is better to have a squib stuck in a barrel from time to time then a piece of a cylinder firmly wedged in your face!
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Old 03-17-2011, 10:05 PM
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I tried this once after a squib. However due the variations in once fired mixed brass, cast bullets and the low charge weight of 2.7 gr. I was not able to consistently identify an undercharged case.

Jeff
Agreed. It's tough with mixed components in a small handgun case. Even cast bullets can vary by 2-3 gr. Sometimes you can hear the powder if you shake the round but that only tells you if your empty vs short of powder.
If it were me, and your sure you didn't double charge one, I'd just shoot the rest of the 50. A couple of squibs is not going to damage the gun. Heck I had about 50 one year when I was having issues with my Dillon Square B.
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Old 03-17-2011, 10:23 PM
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FWIW,
I had a squib once with my single stage, due to reloading more than 50 shells when I only had a 50 hole block. I must have not been paying attention and one got through with no powder. I now only reload 50 at a time to completion. Also, once all 50 shells are sitting in the block ready for bullet seating, I take a penlight and visually confirm powder in each shell. First, row by row, and then column by column. This takes less than a minute. This method won't work for progressive presses, but for a slowpoke like me it has kept me out of trouble.

Cap
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Old 03-17-2011, 11:27 PM
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I've been most lucky as the only squib I had was at the range and I was shooting the 45 Auto...fortunately not rapid fire. The bullet tied the gun up as it just did make it into the lands but I couldn't retract the slide. The gunsmith had to remove it for me. It was not a reload, however but a factory round.

This is why after I charge a series of 50 cases I always take it close by to another light source and scan over the cases to see if something got missed or worse yet, go double charged. With 90% of the powders I use I don't think I could miss a double charge easily.
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Old 03-17-2011, 11:55 PM
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I've been running ranges where it's happened with a .38,357,5.56 and .380. The revolvers had the slug stopped between the cylinder face and forcing cone, an M16 had a slug just beyond the chamber, the .380 auto poofed the bullet out about there feet.
The first consideration is how to make the gun safe-while taking care of the problem-determining that that is in fact the problem, getting the gun off the line to an area where it can be worked on without posing a hazard, clearing the slug, then function checking. What you want to avoid is taking a jammed up pistol or rifle in a car.
If it's a misfire-wait at least 10 seconds before opening the firearm-or ejecting/extracting.
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Old 03-18-2011, 11:48 PM
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oh yea had a few.... check, check, and double check your loads along the way,,,, and be tuned in at the range
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Old 03-19-2011, 11:59 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bigmoose View Post
FWIW,
I had a squib once with my single stage, due to reloading more than 50 shells when I only had a 50 hole block. I must have not been paying attention and one got through with no powder. I now only reload 50 at a time to completion. Also, once all 50 shells are sitting in the block ready for bullet seating, I take a penlight and visually confirm powder in each shell. First, row by row, and then column by column. This takes less than a minute. This method won't work for progressive presses, but for a slowpoke like me it has kept me out of trouble.

Cap
Cap - I'm pretty much a fifty-at-a-time slowpoke too. So far it's worked for me but whenever I read these threads I realize one can never say never.
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Old 03-20-2011, 02:23 AM
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...it's like living in the 100 year flood plane. If you get washed away on Monday the odds are that you are OK for the next century, but you might get washed away again next monday.
Thanks.
(no squib yet)

Reading posts like this reinforces to me how critical sequence and cadence are, and NO interruptions. I don't allow myself to goof with or adjust anything while I'm reloading; rhythm is king. It also helps to place the finished loads in a 50-round plastic rack that come in the factory boxes, salvaged from the trash at the range. Plus my Lyman 1200 has a round counter, which I check against the loaded rack on every round. I use my Dillon 450 semi-progressively, so this works for me. I also take a break after every 50 rounds.

Though I do all these things, I still had the nagging suspicion that I'd done something wrong not long ago, so I weighed the whole 100 rounds, pulled the 3 lightest and 3 heaviest and whacked them apart with the kinetic puller, then weighed the powder in each one. They were all fine- but not because I was confident that I could tell by weighing them, as was posted a couple times above.
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Old 03-20-2011, 02:29 AM
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I've never had this happen with a firearm, and granted, I don't have the experience that 99% of the folks here do, so please bear with me and my noobish question:

What does one do when they realize they have a squib load? what kind of damage does this do to the firearm?

Thanks in advance.

NgNl
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Old 03-20-2011, 06:07 AM
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I had one squib load several years ago using a progressive press. I pay closer attention now but there is still always the possiblility of another. One second or two of inattention is all it takes.
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Old 03-20-2011, 08:38 AM
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NGNL, we were all noobs at one time.
When you realize you've had a possible squib, first, cease fire immediately. Then, pull your magazine if an autoloader or open and unload your gun, then check for a bullet lodged in the barrel. If you find one, you'll have to carefully drive it back out with a dowel and hammer. If you can't open your gun, as happened in my case, and don't have the tools handy or a safe place to work, seek assistance. I was fortunate in that my indoor range has an in-house gunsmith. A squib, as far as I know, won't cause any damage unless you have a stuck bullet and fire again, slamming a second bullet in behind the first.
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Old 03-20-2011, 10:14 AM
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Elmer Keith wrote many years ago that it is not possible to stop cycling the action of a DA revolver in rapid fire after hearing that nasty little click.

There's a nice little ring in my Brazilian M1917 that proves that out. It went bang, bang, bang, click, bang before I could stop. The gun still shoots well but I feel the ring every time I clean the gun.

The problem turned out to be that the powder measure on my Lee Progressive 1000 would stick at random intervals and not throw powder for a case or two. This after maybe 40,000 rounds or reloading .45 ACP and .44 Spl. on that press.

I don't know a way to overcome this other than checking the powder level in each case as it comes around. A PIA when loading a thousand at a time.

I have since switched to a Dillon 650 with a low-powder sensor alarm, but still pay attention to the powder level in the cases.
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Old 04-13-2011, 03:55 PM
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Thanks for the post shil - it reminds the many experienced members here including myself that mistakes happen - if it don't go bang or sounds or feels wrong - stop and find out why!
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Old 04-16-2011, 01:07 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by blujax01 View Post
So since I'm a newbie and already had one squib, does this mean I have 25 - 30 years to wait before the next one?
I had a squib on the 7th round of my reloading career.

I used a powderless but primed .357 case setting up my dies. I saw the thing sitting on my bench & considered tossing it. I knew what could happen. Nah...

Sho' nuff that thing found it's way into the box of ammo (I blame gremlins!). Fired six. YAY! Reloaded... Pffft. Huh? Bullet lodged in the CB gap. Range gunsmith tapped the bullet back into the cylinder. No harm no foul, lesson learned.
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