Had my First (and hopefully last) Squib

My only squib to date was with factory (sorry, don't remember which factory) Russian steel-cased ammo in my CZ 82. I didn't notice a problem until the next round, which bulged the barrel. So I learned a little bit about gunsmithing rebarreling it, though it's never really been the same....

Lighting for reloading is really important. I use a Dillon 650. Wal-Mart has LED lamps with spring clips for about $8. They're great. Very bright, last forever, versatile, and cheap. I have one mounted on the side of my 650 shining right down into the cases on the turret which really helps me ensure that charging is occurring as it should. You can also get them with standard base like a desk lamp. Worth a lot more than they're charging for them in terms of great lighting.

DHart said:

Lighting for reloading is really important. I use a Dillon 650. Wal-Mart has LED lamps with spring clips for about $8. They're great. Very bright, last forever, versatile, and cheap. I have one mounted on the side of my 650 shining right down into the cases on the turret which really helps me ensure that charging is occurring as it should. You can also get them with standard base like a desk lamp. Worth a lot more than they're charging for them in terms of great lighting.

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These are usually made with rejected LED chips that half the pixels are out. Still good enough to have light but still defective. I don't mind paying for something defective as long as the price reflects it.

kingmt said:

These are usually made with rejected LED chips that half the pixels are out. Still good enough to have light but still defective. I don't mind paying for something defective as long as the price reflects it.

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There is no apparent defect of any kind in terms of the usefulness of these lights. The output and color quality is good. And for $7 to $8, they are a no-brainer.

I use a couple of these lights at my gunsmith table as well, for exceptional illumination. Good lighting is extremely important to me when I'm doing any kind of precise work.

Go to Wal-Mart and look in the lamps aisle for them - they're an amazing product for a steal of a price.

I'm not disputing. I use the second all the time cause they work fine for me also. I was just explaining to you why they are cheap. I forget what the stranded is but maybe something like 10%of them out of range. You will never be able to tell if there is 50% out under normal use.

lpsharp88 said:

Thanks for the heads up about the lights from walmart

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You're welcome... I'm really glad I found them myself. They have helped my reloading and my gunsmith work immensely. Being able to choose between (or buy both) spring-clip mount or desktop mount is great. I have a few of both now.

The one I have mounted on the side of my Dillon 650 shines straight into the cases, making a glance into the charged case very quick and easy. I actually am in the habit, now, of peering into every charged case before turning the turret. It also shines into the primer carrier, which helps a lot as every once in a while my primer carrier fails to deliver a primer and powder charging a case without a primer in it is, as most of you would know, just a bit of an irritating annoyance of clean up.

lpshart88 wrote:
My guess is I zoned out a little, need to improve lighting at my bench, or both (probably the first option honestly).

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I use written reloading procedures that include a written checksheet that is printed out for each batch of cartridges that I load. Having to stop at each step, verify that it has been completed and then check it off helps maintain focus and avoid districtions.

As far as charging cases, my reloading procedures are similar to Shaq's #1 bullet (See post #17); each case is taken from the loading block and charged before being returned to the block. This makes it harder to "jump over" a case since the open space in the reloading block is the next case you pick up.

As others have also indicated, I use a flashlight or automotive trouble light to aid in the visual inspection of the loads before bullets are seated. Each case is visually inspected to ensure that there is powder present. Then, the block is held up at about a 30 degree angle and lightly agitated and inspected again. A light charge will generally produce a different angle which is easily spotted. If there is any doubt in my mind, I dump the case into the pan of the scale and verify that the charge is correct. When the loading block is returned to level, the flashlight/trouble-light is used a third time to verify each case has powder in it. In 38 years of reloading, I have never had a squib load, but I have more than once caught an un-charged or under-charged case during the second or third inspection.

Finally, when the cartridges are assembled, I set up my scale to the weight of the case, primer, bullet & powder less one grain and weigh each cartridge. Any cartridge that doesn't cause the pan to drop is disassembled and the components weighted. I have never found an un-charged case, but I have found under-charged cases before.

About a year ago, I bought some new ammo at a gun show. Then went to the range and shot some of it and encountered a squib load. Trying to figure out what went wrong, I went through the rest of the ammo and weighed each one and recorded the weights. It was an interesting excise. I was shooting 115g 9mm and I found that I had a dozen rounds that weighed 10g more. Then I started disassembling some of rounds and noted the differences in shell weights and powder weights. It turned out that there were 12 rounds that had 124g bullets, where the rest were 115g.

Then I called the guy that I bought the ammo from and gave him my results. He invited me over to his place while his supplier was there. The supplier admitted that they had had a problem with a bullet supplier that had sent them bullets that were of mixed weight; which they thought that they had captured all of the heavier bullets. They gave me all of my money back and took all the ammo that I hadn't shot.

After this experience, I've become a little paranoid about checking my reloads.

rsrocket1 said:

What you ought to do is to load up progressively lighter charges and FEEL the progression from a normal shot to a weak shot to a FTE to a squib. Believe me, that experience is invaluable in recognizing when to stop your shooting and prevent a kaboom. Just like practicing changing a tire in your driveway instead of learning on the side of the road in the rain at night, you should learn how to drive a stuck bullet out of your gun in a controlled situation rather than learning at the range or by yourself in the field for the first time.

Glad everything turned out OK for you.

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This is a GREAT idea!!! I don't want first experience to be on the front end of a double tap!!! I am going to give this a go.

We do the same in a cycling sport I do. You practice at decreasing tire pressures until the tire folds over or rips off the rim. You have now found your lower limit for a given ride surface (changes based on surface/moisture etc)

otisrush said:

Ok......rod from Home Depot? I heard someone once suggest a rod from a toilet repair kit. But that seems the same as a cleaning rod.

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Using one from a toilet kit. It's a cheap alternative (3.49) to the commercial squib rod one, still brass, and I cut it down just a bit.

otisrush said:

If you're using the brass rod on the nose end of the bullet......and it's a round nose....how do you keep the rod from slipping off the crown and wedging against the barrel? I'm obviously thinking cleaning rod maybe I need to think of having a bigger diameter rod

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If you drill a dimple in the end if the rod it will give the bullet tip a place to center itself and not slip. Just a thought. Howie

For those interested In the lamps I mentioned earlier... here's a pic showing the one on my Dillon 650

Clipped to the corner of the bullet tray. On a flex shaft, so you can direct the light right down into the cases.



As an aside... I found these great little military pouches on Amazon for $7 ea. Perfect size for ammo - they hold about 200 rounds of .45auto, which is as much weight as I would like in one bag. I got different bags for different loads. Easy to pull from when loading magazines at the range.


The bags are really well made. Heavy material, well-sewn, good quality zippers on main and side pocket. Even includes a shoulder strap (which I don't use). A steal at $7 each and free 2 day shipping for Prime users.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01FZJSXGS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1