Alternates to a professional squib rod

Please don't stick the screwdriver in your Sig's barrel! You could do a lot of damage to it.

Go to a home improvement store and get some 5/16" wooden dowel, then cut it to a manageable length to fit in your range bag. You might want to pick up a rubber mallet to give the rod a few taps if you need to.

I'd recommend a brass rod.

Based on my personal experience, I know that a dowel can splinter against the round nose of a bullet and may make it harder to remove the bullet. I have a brass rod in my range bag for this sort of thing. I have had a squib from commercial ammo, so it just isn't limited to handloads.

do not use a steel screwdriver in your barrel. get a brass rod, homemade or commercial.

You can buy a 1/4" brass rod at Ace Hardware for less than $8. Won't mar your barrel and can be cut into an 8" piece and a 28" piece and you will have a pistol and rifle rod.

When you remove a squibb, which if you pay attention is a very rare occurance, you dont hit it with sledgehammer blows, you lightly tap tap tap tap very light to light blows. Make sure the gun is unloaded first. If its a revolver you may not be able to open the cylinder. My three revolver squibs all bridged the forcing cone and the cylinder, so I had to tap them back into the case in the cylinder to open the gun. Make sure the butt of the gun is supported on a solid non marring surface, and lightly tap 20 or thirty light taps until the bullet is back in the casing.

Be patient, I use a peice of hardwood dowel almost the barrel diameter. In 100,000 or so reloads, I have had to do it 4 times.

Alternates to a professional squib rod:

Professional reloading. Hand weighing and charging each round will ensure correct powder charges consistantly.

Can you tell I don't like progressive machines?

On a semi-auto like a P226, should I field strip the barrel to get the squib out?

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I would.

Brass rod only!
Steel can damage the barrel.
Wood can splinter and really jam a bullet.

But if you do get a squib load, ever, with a reload, you need to re-appraise & change your whole loading technique.

A squib should be neither expected, nor tolerated, ever!

If you failed to get powder in one, how do you know you didn't double-charge the one before or after it?

rcmodel

In thirty some years of reloading I have only ever had one squib load and three dead duds. Now I know why the three dud loads happened; it was because all three shells were in the magazine when I sprayed done the gun with WD40 after an all day Elk hunt in a snow storm. However, the squib load was done on my single stage press and not my progressive; I simply missed charging one case on the block. It is very easy to guarantee that you never double charge by designing your load around the 65% rule. Make sure that your powder fills the case by at least 65% or more a rule I believe in especially when reloading on a progressive press. If you find more then one squib then do what rcmodel said re-appraise & change your loading technique.

Definitely go with the brass rod. If you can disassemble you P226 I would and clamp the barrel in a vice between to pieces of soft wood. That way you will have better control because you can hold brass rod with one hand and tap it with the other. Like the others said use small light taps. Like I said I have only had one squib and it was on a 1911 and that was how I removed the bullet.

I have 2 brass rods in my box,one for 357 dia and a slightly larger dia rod for 44 and up. A brass hammer comes in handy has the mass you need and soft enough if you miss you won't mar anything

pop ssshhhhhhhhh

my squibs came from some lube used on cast boolits that melted & made the powder inert.
i use a steel push rod from an engine with several layers of electricial tape on it ,but i agree brass rods is the way to go , i just can`t remember to .....
what where we talkin about???

GP100man

Hand weighing and charging each round will ensure correct powder charges consistantly.

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You have a lot more time than I do.

If you failed to get powder in one, how do you know you didn't double-charge the one before or after it?

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Cause I was rocking with such a great groove going I ran the powder measure dry!

I set the last 50 aside and shot them up. Lots of light loads that didn't cycle fully, several didn't eject at all, but only one true squib needing the rod.

With a non auto indexing press like the Dillon 550, your only real defense is a bulky powder than over flows the case on a double charge. Unique and Blue Dot fills the bill for me -- impossible to double charge and not notice when you insert the bullet.

--wally.

For mass-production plinking loads, I use Unique almost exclusively, and for this very reason. Being able to see the powderline every time helps a lot.