Will a squib cycle an automatic?

[shovelwrench]

To answer your question, a locked breach semi-auto will not fully cycle on its own unless the bullet leaves the barrel.....

A blowback semi-auto will....

 

[Yorkie Man]

When we received the Glock 19's to replace our 686's we were issued WW 9mm 147 subsonic rounds that were supposedly used by the Seals in their MP5's so the could use a suppressor. These were very weak loads and while I was shooting one day I fired one round the empty ejected and fired the next round which forced the first bullet out of the barrel. the first bullet had just made it to the muzzle. Needless to say the barrel had a slight bulge at the muzzle. It did not effect the accuracy at all which was terrible to start with. We changed to the 115 +p+ and traded to pistols for .40's a few months later. I also had some of the 147's fire and not extract the case. I would not have thought a squib load would have ejected the case but mine did. It did not feed the next round.

 

[blujax01]

The third generation guys (see the semi-auto forum) will tell you that the 5900 series S&W's will cycle empty cases!

One of the first things I learned as a new reloader was to listen very carefully when on the firing line. And Be Prepared to cease fire in mid-string lest I chance bulging a barrel.

"Pffft" means my brass failed and may mean trouble.

"Click no bang" definitely means trouble.

It's a chance we take with either our own ammunition or purchased, (*coughWinchesterWhiteBoxcough*).

As someone else posted, a "range rod" or a wooden dowel the diameter of the barrel, is something you may want to keep in your range bag.

And stay alert.

 

[Engineer1911]

Dangerous Assumption!!

As said previously: You don`t have a squib because it won`t fire without a good primer. I`ve been reloading since 1978 and early on I loaded (on purpose) a 45ACP with "just" a primer and a 200 gr LSWC. .......

My squib load in 45 ACP did not clear the barrel, but did cause a jam. I cycled the slide, cleared the jam and the next round cleared the barrel, locking the barrel bushing on the barrel bulge. Squibs do not feel like a normal round. Squib loads don't feel right, always check for an EMPTY barrel.

The proper load will cycle the slide correctly with a 10# spring (light 675 FPS target load) or with a 24# spring (bowling pin load with max charge).

 

[pawpaw1967]

Easy fix.... Pull em. I mean how much do you value your fingers,eyes, and gun?

 

[mtgianni]

Perhaps. You do not want a squib to cycle the action. You want to manually extract and check your bbl when that happens. Not a lot worse than a squib stuck in the bbl and enough pressure to eject. A new shooter may not have noticed the lack of recoil.

 

[66snub]

I was breaking in my new S&W 1911 E Series last Saturday and experienced a squib load about 5 rounds in.

The projectile got stuck about 1/4 of the way down and the report was just a "pop". I was evaluating the operation of the gun, so I was slow-firing and checking for accuracy. I'm glad I wasn't doing a string of double-taps.

There's definitely a difference in sound and feel of a squib versus a proper round. It did not cycle my gun. The brass didn't eject and the next round was still in the mag, waiting to be picked up. YMMV.

 

[jwalts27]

When i was a reloading rookie i had a double squib in my M&P40 with one of my reloads. The first squib sounded normal and cycled the gun no problem. The 2nd shot made a poof sound then i knew something was wrong. I said to myself,"hey its a squib". Sure as **** when i got home i pushed out 2 rounds. They were 155g Frangibles, and man were they a b!tch to get out. I have no idea how the gun wasnt destroyed or at least bulge the barrel. To this day i still shoot that gun with no issues stemming from a double squib.

 

[gwpercle]

John, the danger is when the round fires but the bullet doesn't have enough force to exit the muzzle, it stays in the barrel, then the trigger is pulled again. Unless you are paying close attention and shooting slowly, listening to the sound of each shot and counting the holes in the target, it is very easy to pull the trigger again and have a big problem. You get into a motion of shooting and can't stop.
I load on a single stage press, yesterday I charged 25 cases and seated bullets in them, glancing down in the shooting block, one hole had some powder in the bottom.... I knew one case was short. So I pulled all 25 bullets , resized, charged , carefully looked at each and seated the bullets. I thought about just shooting them but that is a foolish thing to do.
You know the correct thing is to pull them all down and start over.
Load safe...gary

 

[roundgunner]

I have a Ruger LCP that I use with my CCW class. The last shot from one student squibbed, the next student had it blow on his first round.





The good news was no one was hurt, and Ruger replaced the gun. Pretty nice

 

[rwsmith]

Look at the rounds....

Do they all have new primers? Plunk test the rounds. If one wasn't sized it probably won't pass the plunk test. If you hear a pop rather than a bang and feel low recoil, check your barrel before firing another. Don't do rapid fire with problem ammo. It sounds like you would more likely have a dud over a squib. A dud doesn't go off at all.

 

[ironhead7544]

Yes, a squibb round may cycle the pistol and the bullet may or may not clear the barrel. If something doesnt "seem" right when firing, stop and check the pistol. As mentioned above, this can happen with factory or handloads.