How many here have had a squib?

I am going to post my stories then go back and read what others have written.

I had some planned back surgery a while back, was to knock me off my feet for a week or two, well a year or two later I feel like doing something again. I had a feeling going in this was going to be rough so I got guns cleaned (I usually don't clean after every outing) and checked and lubed the different guns that "lay around the house". In their prep I coated some Ballastol on an old police positive and stuck it in its little hidie hole. Forgetting it was there I stumble across it many moons later, and it is still just as slimy as it was the day I stuck it in the closet. I go to take it out to shoot it. BANG, bang, pfffft. Hmm that ain't right. Bullet got stuck about 1/4" into the barrel, glad it made it that far, opening the gun up would have been a struggle. What the hell just happened. I open the gun, the cases that have been fired are greasy from the ballastol, as well as the three unfired. Pulling down the bullets and the powder inside is just like tar, I crimp as well, so hmmm....that Ballastol made it into the case and killed the powder. I put the cases back in the gun after having been dumped and pop the last three primers. Had to drill the bullet out of the barrel, not hard a simple jig and lead is real soft.

Had a buddy out plinking and I look over and he is fighting his gun, does not want to go into battery.....good guy but not really a "gun guy". Let me see that something is sideways, sure enough squib, not in far enough to let that next round chamber. Gave him a little lesson on you need to keep in the back of your mind to watch for bullet impact. Now in his defense the berm we shoot into is pretty grassy and unless you hit a plate (something he does not do with much regularity) you are likely to not see an impact. Just knocked that out with a rod, and gave it to him as a reminder that he could have been really hurt.

Only had one and it was my own fault. I caught it before another round was chambered. It's a humbling experience to say the least.

I only shoot factory ammo and I have never had a squib thus far.

That being said, I do pay a little extra attention whenever I am shooting .22 CBs or Colibris in a rifle.

Handshaker said:

Being a range master he should have noticed.

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I think the most common misconception is that “people should know better”.

What are the qualifications and tests that had to be studied for and passed at some acceptable level of proficiency (thats still not 100%). If it was he walked up and said, “I like guns do you have a job opening?” That doesn’t count for much.

It’s also unfortunate that we don’t last forever and over the years, I have seen some people I hold in very high regard loose mental capacity. May be time to pass those tasks to someone else. I can’t imagine damaging $2000+ firearms is good for business.

I have yelled “stop” and a hand full of matches, when the shooter didn’t know or realize what was going on with the firearm they are holding, so you don’t have to be past your prime to miss them but stacking them in there one after another, would be a further reach from reality.

Aside from wads not making it out of the barrel while trapshooting (not uncommon, they keep a 3' rod clipped to the scorer's chair to knock them out with) I have had one DEWC stick in a Smith snub. It was not one of my handloads, it was someone else's my son gave me, and against my better judgement, tried some. It happened in the second cylinder full, I had a short rod in my range bag , and pounded it back down into the case.
It was the one time I broke my rule of not shooting other's reloads until I've thoroughly vetted them.
There are very few people who's handloads I'll shoot.

Handshaker said:

I was at a gun store a couple days ago and talked to the owner about squibs. He said he just got in an original colt python from a local shooting range master that had 3 squibs in his Python and he was working on it as we spoke. How do you not notice 3 squib loads in the same firearm? Being a range master he should have noticed. The gunsmith said the barrel was slightly bulged out and i said he was lucky he still had his hand. Its kind of a testament to the toughness of a python.

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"Its kind of a testament to the toughness of a python."

If all three were squibs, probably not very much pressure.

The owner might want to be a little more careful if they were his reloads.

Drilling out the center allows a bullet to compress on itself a little and easier to drive out.

My granddaughter had one with factory ammo at sasp nationals. bullet went off and went just far enough that the next round would not chamber. this was in a ruger pcc. neither she nor the RO called it a squib. they only fond it after I told her to remover the barrel and check the bore. Glad it didn't go any further. She has been shooting for 10 years now but in the heat of a timed string all you think is tap rack bang. Also saw it at a 3 gun match I was RO guy got a few rounds off when his gun didn't cycle he tried to clear, I had to tap him on shoulder to stop.

Yep..

I have had three: One poorly designed reload, one water damaged factory load, one bulk .22 LR.

I have had a few squibs all but one I caught before I pulled the trigger again. The one I was shooting fast & wasn't paying attention. It hurt in more ways than one.
I lost a nice gun.

And a thumb nail. It could have been worse if I had lost an eye or something. Squibs are not to be toyed with.

Many years ago while hunting woodchucks with a Ruger Blackhawk in .357 Magnum. I was sneaking up on a chuck in an open hay field that was feeding far away from his hole. I crawled about 100 yards towards the hole and every time he stood up, I stopped and lay down. When he continued eating again I crawled. Finally as soon as I lifted a knee, he stood up so I stopped for several minutes to let him settle down. I got up and ran to his hole beating him there. As I sat on his home, he stopped about 6 feet way looking at me holding the revolver with hammer cocked at the ready. After a bit I caught my breath and figured it was time to end the standoff. I had 125gr jacketed hollow points which I had hand loaded and used before. The 1st round hit him below the chin and traveled through end to end which rolled him back a few feet at which point he got back up really pissed off. I cocked the hammer again, pulled the trigger and the shot did not sound right and he was still pissed so I cocked again. Luckily I thought better and did not pull the trigger. The chuck was still upset, but not moving as fast so I grabbed him by the tail dragging him away from his home to buy some time and returned to the hole. I removed the cylinder and could not see through the barrel and there was unburned powder around the cylinder gap. My uncle was combining wheat in the next field so I carried the chuck by the tail to where I knew there were vise grips on the tractor to complete the chuck elimination. When I got home it took a brass rod and a hammer to push the bullet out of the barrel. I never did determine what the cause of the situation was. I always look inside each case before seating the bullet to check powder level. I suspect some type of contamination in the case because of the way the unburned powder looked, but I really don't know.

NRA Benefactor Golden Eagle

AK Hunter said:

I have had a few squibs all but one I caught before I pulled the trigger again. The one I was shooting fast & wasn't paying attention. It hurt in more ways than one.
I lost a nice gun.
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And a thumb nail. It could have been worse if I had lost an eye or something. Squibs are not to be toyed with.
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every time you show that photo, I cry inside a little

FLG has a split Kimber barrel on his shelf of defective and damaged parts. A stuck bullet in front of a full charge or +P is the leading suspect.

On the other hand, a friend stuck a .45 SWC in his Colt and blew it out with the next round. The only damage was a bulge in the barrel which jammed tight into the bushing. A mallet to get it apart and a new barrel fixed it right up. The difference being it was a light target load.

I had a few when I started reloading. I thought I was being careful. Fortunately, I caught them before I pulled the trigger again. I learned from my mistakes and have changed my reloading habits to where I haven't had one in quite a while. From what I have read and heard, reloading practices are the biggest cause of squibs.

Several years ago though, I did some experimentation with my Glock 29. I intentionally loaded "squibs" to see how far the bullet made it down the barrel. I found that with the short barrel, a large pistol primer will almost always get the bullet all the way out. Small pistol primers on the other hand, very rarely. There is a very different feel as well. The large pistol primer will function the action while there is usually a stoppage with a small pistol primer.

The squibs Ive had with autos, 9mm and 45acp, that left a round in the barrel, did not cycle the slide.

Ive had a couple of "off" feeling and sounding rounds with a 1911 that left the barrel, but didn't hit the target at 10-15 yards. Those rounds didnt cycle the slide either.

Rounds can still leave the barrel and still not cycle the slide too. I had that problem when I got my first Glock, and it wouldnt cycle the 9mm load I was using for my HP's, P38, and HK. The rounds still left the gun, and hit the target, but just wouldn't cycle the slide. The other guns all ran fine with that load. Had to bump the load up a good bit too to get the Glock to function.

Another thing Ive noticed too is, Ive had more trouble with this with jacketed and plated bullets than I have with lead bullets.


What you're looking at here is a 124 grain FMJ stuck in the end of my one 17. It was the result of leaving a handful of my reloads in a glass full of water for a few days, brought about by a discussion elsewhere on whether or not ammo was waterproof. It kinda sorta is, but not always.

All five of the five rounds fired, some sounded and felt like full power, and some sounded off, but did clear the barrel and cycle the slide. And this one didn't, and ....almost... made it.



4 days worth of wet.

Never have fired a squib but i did buy a 9mm that had a squib in the 16" barrel, which i, being careless at the time, didn't notice until i took it apart to clean it within a few hours of buying it at a gun show. I was so excited to find one that looked to be shot very little and damn near 1/2 the going price that i missed the squib. My mistake. I normally check everything before buying a firearm, and always before shooting it.
I called the bank early on Monday to hold the check, and contacted the dealer. He stated that he was unaware of the issue because he sold it for his son...who reloads. I told him that whatever it costs to have the squib removed will be on his son. He didn't like being told that, but the FFL/gunsmith who removed the squib informed me that the FFL who sold it in that condition could have been in a big bind with the feds. I took his word for it.
No issues with the firearm since, it shoots flawlessly. Please don't be like me when I'm all excited...check the barrel before buying any firearm.

I've had one, and it was with a handload.
The bullet barely left the cartridge case. There was no pop at all. I missed it in the charging block and it didn't have any powder at all in it.
The primer was just enough to push the bullet out of the case.

I field stripped it and punched out the bullet with a cleaning rod. I didn't do any mag dumps for a while after that.

Nope.
I've had a few dead primers on cheap commercial ammo, though.

what you guys think??? very bad reloads with primers only? you real deal live ammo and 9 lives

I'm thinking a nit wit with no idea. If you didn't notice, they reloaded and started again.

trackskippy said:

I'm thinking a nit wit with no idea. If you didn't notice, they reloaded and started again.

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Such a shame! very nice look revolver too

Mark_Mark said:

what you guys think??? very bad reloads with primers only? you real deal live ammo and 9 lives

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How could anyone but a deaf person fire that many times into a plugged barrel?