Birdshot squib question

[Caliper_Mi]

So, I made a mistake while reloading and made a squib 12ga round. By that, I mean it had no powder at all. I caught it, marked the round, checked my other reloads, and was more careful to check for powder on each shell after that...

But, I was curious, what happens when you fire a squib load in a shotgun? I know with a handgun or rifle it's common to lodge a bullet in the barrel, but there is a lot more force involved with rifled barrels than a smoothbore. This shell had a primer, wad and 1oz of #8 shot, so I decided to pop it off. There was no recoil and a funny "bloop" sound. With the barrel level, the shot flew out and I could see it land about 10-15yd downrange. I didn't see the wad go anywhere so I pulled the barrel off and had a look. Sure enough, the wad had stopped about halfway down the barrel so I and pushed it out with a rod. Just plastic sliding on a smooth bore, it came out with almost no effort.

Here's my question then... Has anyone out there seen what happens when another round is fired behind just a wad in the barrel? Yes, I know this is bad news in a rifle, but removing a stuck bullet in a rifle also requires a mallet. I could have blown the wad out like a blowdart if I had wanted to. Would the wad just get pushed out in front of the next charge? Would it act as a hard obstruction and bulge the barrel? Surely someone has witnessed what happens next? (no, I didn't try it!)

 

[rbernie]

Shotgun barrels are very thin, and from what I've seen they commonly split when they hit a wad bore obstruction.

 

[rcmodel]

Blooper stuck wads more often then not result in at least a bulged barrel the next shot.

So, Don't Do That Again!!

rc

 

[Panzerschwein]

I think the barrel would easily have burst, if not worse.

Be careful out there.

 

[1911 guy]

Yep, blown up barrel would have been the likely result. I saw a friends nephew do it hunting pheasants. Bird flushed and he shot, but it was a squib. We started yelling, but before he realized what we were saying, he shucked and fired again. Lucky for him, the wad was toward the end of the barrel. When it split, it was well forward of his hands and face. But it put a rather nice Ithaca 37 out of action for a while.

 

[Virginian]

Depends on the gun. Repeaters typically have much thicker barrels than O/Us or SxSs. I have seen a 12 gauge 870 and a 12 gauge Mossberg 500 fired with a 20 gauge shell in the barrel. It did absolutely nothing. I wouldn't do it, not advocating it, and another gun of the exact same make might have split the barrel. Just saying there is no way to know for sure what exactly will happen with any obstruction, so try to avoid the situation.

 

[Jim Watson]

My Trap & Skeet club keeps a clearing rod at each field for removing stuck wads.
You can get a brass weight small enough to go in your pocket or shell bag that is still heavy enough to drop down the barrel to knock out a wad. Might take more than one drop if it is into the choke.

The Virginian reports a bonehead move that a couple of shooters got away with.
Parker once advertised that their barrels would stand blowing out a 20 with a 12.
But that is not the majority result.

 

[PapaG]

Most trap shooters, or at least a lot of them, carry a "wad knocker outer", a piece of brass rod or taped steel rod to drop down the barrel to knock out that pesky wad. Most trap clubs have rods at the gun racks to do the same.
Never shoot anything out that is stuck in the barrel, please.

 

[Ranger Roberts]

Definitely a bulged barrel if not a burst barrel. I'm not sure if you are a hunter, but if you are, do you remember the section in your Hunters Safety Course that talks about the 20 12 bang? I think that is what they called it, it's been 25 years since I took the course. Basically someone inadvertently loads a 20 ga shell in a 12 ga. The round goes off but the shell gets stuck a few inches down the barrel and goes unnoticed by the shooter. He racks the gun and touches off the next shell... boom... Elmer Fudds the barrel.

 

[AndyP]

I had a friend who fired another shot after the squib, he thought it would blow the wad out. He had a mossberg 12 pump, it blew the barrel over the forearm. only thing holding both ends together was the rain bowed vent rib. Blew the wood forearm away, and dented up the tube mag. You could look in the barrel and see the wad still there, a couple of inches in front of where it blew.
He got really lucky, didn't get his hand blown off. The concussion knocked him out, he woke up with some pretty good powder burns on his face and a junk gun.

 

[jakk280rem]

I'm surprised the primer had enough force to spread the petals open, let alone launch the shot.

 

[FL-NC]

I had a squib once dove hunting 30+ years ago using some cheap shells. The wad and shot exited (I could see it- it went almost nowhere) followed by a hissing sound and some smoke coming out of the chamber. I unloaded, checked the bore, and continued hunting. The hull was burned near black- weird.

 

[au_prospector]

An obstruction is an obstruction, mud or shot wad.

The good news is likely the wad and shot would have left the barrel having been propelled by the primer alone. I have done this myself on purpose with a 20 ga shell or two which were rejects on the bench due to no powder. I cut the shell to remove the shot then shot the wad using the primer only. The force of the primer igniting easily blew the wad forcibly out the barrel. I imagine if the shot were still there it would just kind of sputter out followed by the wad. At any rate a shotgun shell squib would easily be detected by the shooter and you would be given ample opportunity to check and clear the barrel before pulling the trigger again.

 

[Caliper_Mi]

An obstruction is an obstruction, mud or shot wad.

Yup, I'll agree on that based on the feedback of others in this thread. My question was based on the low inertia of the wad and tiny force needed to push it clear, but I guess that's canceled by the thin barrel walls of a shotgun.

[QUOTE ]
I imagine if the shot were still there it would just kind of sputter out followed by the wad. [/quote ]

Nope. Check the original post. 1oz shot left the barrel, the wad did not. It was left about half way down a 18" barrel.

[QUOTE ]
At any rate a shotgun shell squib would easily be detected by the shooter and you would be given ample opportunity to check and clear the barrel before pulling the trigger again.[/QUOTE]

Maybe. It could also feel like a misfire. Since I view shotguns more from a defensive role (birdshot loads are required when we use shotguns on my clubs pistol range) the "tap, rack, bang" reflex could come in.