Squibs anyone ?
- Thread starter Empe
- Start date
O.P. doesn’t post enough information to give a informed answer. What was the gun used, the powder, the powder charge, primer and bullet?
I recently had a learning experience with squib loads. I had two squibs in a new Glock using the same bullet, powder and powder charge that has always worked fine in my other semi-auto pistols (S&W, Beretta and Ruger). My powder charge was at the recommended starting load in one reloading manual and above the starting load in another.
The cause was insufficient powder charge. The bullet lodged about 1/2” or so in the barrel and left a lot of powder in the chamber and action. Increasing the powder charge resolved the problem.
The lesson is even recommend starting loads can cause problems. This is (and most likely will be) the only Glock I will ever own so I don’t know if this is typical of Glock handguns.
I have a small borescope camera attached to my Dillon 550 that looks straight down into the case at position #3. I visually check each case before I place a bullet for seating.
.327 Federal Magnum - YouTube
.327 Federal Magnum - YouTube
I bought a Lee Turret press in 1987. I found that their dies and drop system can cause bridging with flake powders like Unique, Herco, 800X etc. I make sure I manually dump powders through a clear funnel and check each case when I load those powders in that press. I also try for loads that a double charge will be immediately noticeable. The good news is that if it bridges in the powder through expanding die it will usually clear as they turret swivels. I am super attentive to that and keep rounds where I can tell which order they came off the press for at least 10 rounds.
ArchAngelCD
Moderator, SWCA Member, Absent Comrade
Never had a squib from my reloads. (maybe I shouldn't have said that lol) A friend did and he didn't know it. Luckily I heard the difference and before he shot again I yelled STOP! (so loud everyone on the outdoor line stopped lol) He was about to ruin a really nice revolver.
Getting case lube inside the case can cause the powder to fail to ignite properly, even though the primer goes bang.
Bullet may stay in the barrel, get stuck between cylinder/chamber or you get a Swoosh.
A Swoosh is when some of the powder ignites just enough for the bullet to go downrange and hit the target, but it's a quieter bang and softer recoil.
I named that a PMS load.
Poor Man's Silencer.
Getting too much lube in a Casing, will ruin the taste of the sausage.
I often have people walk up behind me,
while shooting the 460, and they scream,
"IS THAT A 500?"
Shooters close by stopped shooting as well.
The Mrs solved that problem with this on my the back of my shirt.
pic is of an early one before we bought a GEO KNIGHT heat press.
Bullet may stay in the barrel, get stuck between cylinder/chamber or you get a Swoosh.
A Swoosh is when some of the powder ignites just enough for the bullet to go downrange and hit the target, but it's a quieter bang and softer recoil.
I named that a PMS load.
Poor Man's Silencer.
Getting too much lube in a Casing, will ruin the taste of the sausage.
I often have people walk up behind me,
while shooting the 460, and they scream,
"IS THAT A 500?"
Shooters close by stopped shooting as well.
The Mrs solved that problem with this on my the back of my shirt.
pic is of an early one before we bought a GEO KNIGHT heat press.
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I've had only one squib load in 9mm. Recoil and sound was different so I checked the barrel. Bullet was half way up the barrel. Now I carry a steel rod in my range bad along with a hammer to remove stuck bullets.
Paul in Nevada
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The fact that the slide cycled suggests a low charge. It's also possible to get erratic ignition with low volume powder charges if all the powder is forward in the case, away from the primer.
I had a lot of trouble using Lee's powder measure on top of the Lee turret. I got a lot of inconsistent powder drops. If you are using it in auto-index mode it's very easy skip past a die station on accident or to miss mistakes like a low/no/double charge. I highly recommend slowing down. Maybe disable the auto index, throw the powder charges by hand. I installed one of the UFO light kits which made seeing into the cases much easier.
My only squib to date was on a progressive press. I was still figuring out how the system worked and there were some distractions going on in my loading area. That was a lesson I shouldn't have had to learn all over again after 20+ years of loading. A progressive or an automatic turret like the Lee are great time savers but if anything you have to be even more observant and vigilant about the process. There is a lot going on at once and it's easy to miss mistakes.
I had a lot of trouble using Lee's powder measure on top of the Lee turret. I got a lot of inconsistent powder drops. If you are using it in auto-index mode it's very easy skip past a die station on accident or to miss mistakes like a low/no/double charge. I highly recommend slowing down. Maybe disable the auto index, throw the powder charges by hand. I installed one of the UFO light kits which made seeing into the cases much easier.
My only squib to date was on a progressive press. I was still figuring out how the system worked and there were some distractions going on in my loading area. That was a lesson I shouldn't have had to learn all over again after 20+ years of loading. A progressive or an automatic turret like the Lee are great time savers but if anything you have to be even more observant and vigilant about the process. There is a lot going on at once and it's easy to miss mistakes.
OP
I just wanted to thank everyone who took the time to reply . As I stated earlier I am pretty new to reloading and have much to learn . Just to clarify I am using a beam scale and am loading 4.3 gr of HP38 along with a 230 gr LRN. This is a starting/minimum load per the Hodgdon website .I have been loading the powder into each case by hand and had thought I was being quite careful but it would seem the general consensus from the members here is that for that one load at least I did indeed load too light .
Time to start reloading again.
Time to start reloading again.
