Went to range today and fired my trusty 642 which has never had a malfunction of any kind. After two good rounds, the third went "psst," not bang, and no bullet left the barrel. I ejected the rounds and brass and saw three empty cartridges but only 2 holes in the paper. The third round was stuck in the barrel. Why did this happen? I know about a light load but that's about it. Thanks.

Reloads or factory ammo?

Have you been able to clear the round from the barrel?

Bad round. It happens sometimes.

It is normally a round that missed the powder station in loading. It can happen to any reloader and even with a factory round. If you are reloading it gives you an incentive to be extra cautious and check to make sure the powder dropped.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

Had the same thing happen to my M36 a while back...jammed up the gun with the bullet half in barrel and half in chamber.

That was NO FUN! Had nothing with me to drive the bullet back into the cylinder. Had to wait until I got back to the ranch to fix it.

Kinda glad it locked everything up, preventing me from doing something dumb like pulling the trigger again!

Chalked it up to a bad round of old reloaded ammo. Looked like the primer went but no powder ignition.

It happens........

Squib loads happen on a rare occasion. Either it was reloaded ammo and someone forgot something, old ammo, or whatever. It's no big deal and has nothing to do with the reliability of the gun. Just grab a wooden dowel and a small hammer or similar tool and a couple light wacks and you're back to chootin' again...

FYI I carry a modanock d jammer on my keychain.



Great for removing tough cases and if this event ever arises - squibs

Thanks everyone for the info. It was a reload from Freedom Munitions. I have been shooting this ammo in 9, 45 and 38 for years with few problems. I've never had a problem with a 38 round. The range gunsmith was able to "tap" it out after a lot of effort. No problems with the next 25 rounds. I guess it was just a "bad round." Next question, would it have fired again if I just pulled the trigger with disastrous results?

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As an RSO I have tapped, pounded, and hard hammered dozens of squibs. Good to have available,
Padded jaws for your vice.
I avoid wood like the plague. It can splinter and make a easy removal become a day spent in hell.
I avoid steel for potential damage to the barrel.
I strongly prefer a brass rod slightly less than the diameter of your barrel.
Hammers ranging from a light gunsmiths hammer to something with real meat on the business end.
Start light tapping and work your way up harder as needed.
A tiny bit of oil may help.

I carry a rod in my range bag.
Squibs happen.
Especially in .38 for some reason.
I have a steel rod wrapped in cloth tape.
Even a screw driver handle is enough to tap out a primer only squib.
Those usually lodge just north of the forcing cone in a revolver.
If it were a light charge squib it might take a bit more effort.
Sounds like you had a light charge judging by your statement that it took some effort to remove the slug.
Its all part of the fun as long as you don't pull the trigger again, I suppose.

Yes a second round fired on top of a stuck bullet can have bad results ranging from annoying (a light round may also become stuck, causing a bulged or ringed barrel and a more difficult removal) to catastrophic (exploded cylinder and personal injury). Also known as a KABOOM! In any case this is a firm reminder to pay attention.

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Some collect art; I shoot it!

Yeah this was a wake up call for me for sure (since I haven't had this problem before). I ejected the shell casings and they were all there--empty. The bad one had black residue all over it. Looked in the barrel and saw the round and thought about what would have happened had I just pulled the trigger again. Although I have been shooting for years, I readily admit I haven't "seen, or know, it all" and that's why I come here for you experienced shooters to provide some education. Thanks.

If you shoot long enough, it will eventually happen.

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Centennial Every Day

I've been shooting for 45+ years and had my first squib about 6 months ago. It was my own reload; so I know it was my own doing :-(

I knocked that bullet out of the barrel and it now hangs prominently in a ziplock over my reloading bench as a reminder -- PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT I'M DOING.

I also added a brass rod to my shooting bag.

If you shoot long enough, it will happen. Hopefully not when you're shooting speed drills.

I've seen a lot of QC problems with Freedom ammo. I'd use something else.

I've had two squibs over the years. The first one was a factory loaded round and the RO really had to pound it out. It was 9mm ammo.

The second was one of my .38 special reloads. I was able to knock it out with a dowel and a hammer when I got home.

Thank God neither of us pulled the trigger again mltndw3!

I had my one & only squib with Dept Issue practice reloads at a course I paid for. An intense drill with multile "hostile" IPSC targets on the other side of the Patrol Unit. My first round misfired & I was left with nothing to do but take cover while my parter shot it out with the bad guys. BUGs were not allowed. It tied up my M66-1. I didn't have a range rod... I had one on my key ring from then forward.
Wakeup call.
I have never had a squib or malfunction on any load I've loaded... even when I loaded on a progressive press but WHEN I had a hang up, I removed every round from the press, inspected & single fed them to completion.

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NRA LIFE
Reserve Officer 9yrs

Once upon a time I had a squib w/ a handloaded revolver round. Was shooting slow fire, single action. Cast lead bullet was not hard to remove. Just used a pencil and a Coke bottle for a impromptu hammer. Very happy that it caused no damage to the 28 I was shooting. That is the one and only time I've ever had a squib round of any sort in 38 years of shooting handguns. Embarrassing to have to say it was one of my handloads. Guess it taught me a lesson b/c ever since then, my handloads have been problem free. Sincerely. bruce.

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If anybody is looking for good less expensive reloaded ammo check out Georgia Arms. I have been shooting this in many calibers for 10+ years with no problems at all. They are a great company.

If I'm not mistaken, there was a recent thread about a shooter receiving some Freedom rounds where at least one had a ruptured case.

I once read somewhere

" There are two types of shooters in the world, Ones that have HAD a squib and ones that WILL have a squib."

I was lucky I didn't blow up my favorite gun.

I guess that two squibs in around 60 years of shooting isn't too bad.
First one was with a 30/40 Krag back in the 1950's. We were shooting what I seem to remember it as milsurp Krag ammo (Sp.Am. war??) and were getting a lot of misfires. Just jack the dud out and chambered a fresh round. On the squib I realized that a loaded round went in, but an empty came out. Luckily I didn't stuff another in behind it.
My second was with a reloaded 45/70 in a Ruger #1. Never did figure out why it didn't go bang as there was definitely powder in the case. (It spilled all over when I ejected the round.) My best guess was that the powder was compromised as it was somewhat "caked". I pulled down the rest of the rounds from that batch and started over.....
They both pushed the bullet far enough down the barrel to allow another to be chambered.

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Dean
SWCA #680 SWHF #446

If a squib is a round that doesn't clear the barrel, what are numbers 2,3,4,5 & 6 in this picture? They sure didn't clear the barrel either.



(The white stripes are unburnt tracer compound and the last bullet looks like the tracer cooked off....)
Betcha that got his attention....

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Dean
SWCA #680 SWHF #446

Most revolver squibs make it into the forcing cone and not all of the way in either....leaving you with a locked up revolver in need of a good squib rod to drive it back into the casing and then you get to clear the revolver.

Autoloaders seem to get the round far enough in but not far enough to allow another round to chamber.....
Just my experience in working with many students over many years.

Randy

I'm big into the ammo forum over on ARFcom. Freedom Munitions and UltraMax are two infamously know manufacturers ... of complete **** ammo... If I was given that ammo I would simply throw it in the trash; it's that notorious. YMMV.

I'm sorry you had a squib OP. Every manufacturer can have problems. But the 2 aforementioned have exponentially more problems than any other I know of.

I have had the same experience with Freedom Munitions with their 38 reman product. 3 squibs in 100 rounds in my 442.



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I have had two squibs in over 50 years of shooting.
Both were 38 special and both were my handloads.
The first locked up the action, the second had the bullet partially exit the barrel, probably a partial powder charge. Since the last one, I purchased a powder cop die for my LNL progressive. It's hard to visually inspect the powder charge in a 38 special. The powder cob die works great. Also added brass squib rods to my range bag.

Yes, the squib I mentioned earlier, stopped in the forcing cone / cylinder throat tieing up the revolver.

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NRA LIFE
Reserve Officer 9yrs

Back in the 80's when I was shooting in competition, PPC, IPSC, I had one squib load, and immediately made up a set of squib rods. Brass rods with a large knob attached on one end. One is 38/9mm/357 size and one in 44/45 caliber. I put them in my range bag and although I didn't need them myself for over 25 years, they got loaned out several times. Wouldn't be without them.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244