Had my first squib today

[BillBloggins]

Had a great day at the range going, popping my 9mm reloads through my Sig and M&P, and throwing some .45's downrange with my Para.

Was on the last 15 rounds in my Sig 226 9mm when I had the weirdie- squeeze but no boom, the gun did not cycle. I observed a tendril of gunpowder smoke so I knew some ignition had occurred. Did the usual hang fire drill, then dropped the magazine, then racked the slide- the blackened case popped out and I reckoned: this is squibbery.

Squibbage it was- the bullet was about 1 inch down the bore. It tapped out easily and no damage was done to the bore. As I would imagine every single person that has had a squib can relate, I thought through the 'what could have happened' and had a few spine chills. I have rolled thousands of my own with no problems- until this one. I can see all too easily how one could be on a speed fire drill and in the need for speed just assume a FTFire, rack to clear, the new chambered round is fired and then ... bad things happen.

 

[ADKWOODSMAN]

Do you use a progressive press and how many years have you reloaded.

 

[edfardos]

The worry some part is 'where did that missing powder go?'

 

[engineermike]

if it is like the ones i have had the powder was in the powder throw. I've had several but that was corrected when I bought a $2.00 flash light. I load on a single stage press and now I load several cases with powder and I check them with the flash light to be sure they are all full (Full not being an exact description) before I seat the bullets. Now if he is loading on a progressive press then I too would be worried as to where the powder went...

 

[BillBloggins]

Loaded on a LCT, RCBS powder measure attached to a Hornady case activated powder drop and I make it a point to shine a light in my cases to ensure powder is present.

Just to be clear: this squib was my fault, I must not have thrown the charge on this round. Now, if a person's preference is to color me with the oft-used 'darn fool must be a darn fool' brush of the anonymous internet couch commando there is nothing I can about that (and I daresay the cure for that condition is sorely needed but unfortunately is sometime off in the future).

But I will wager that most everyone that reloads, if they reload enough and are honest about it, has had a squib or two. My little story was just how I dealt with it and how I felt about it. The lessons of it are still rattling around in my forebrain.

 

[wgaynor]

There's risk in all things. Even walking on the sidewalk. The important thing is that you knew what to look and listen for and how to react (which was to not pull the trigger again).

 

[fiftybmg]

After reloading for many years, I've racked up a handfull of squibs.

My latest one was when I recently substituted the old eyeball method with a powder die, the kind that shows the powder level in a case, on my Hornady LnL.

A 38 special brass infiltrated a batch of 357 brass, and lay low. I saw the loaded 38 special round in the ammo box, saw that it was seated out to 357 magnum length, and thought nothing of it.

Turns out it was a squib, because the 38 special length was not enough to activate the powder drop properly, and to add insult to error, the new powder die I was using avoided eye contact with me on that one case.

I bought the powder die because I started reloading 223 on my Hornady, and it's impossible to see the powder level in the case even with an angled light source, and I tested it on my batch of 357 magnum.

No amount of fancy equipment can substitute for a lapse in concentration, so squibs will happen.

 

[cwbys4evr]

I had a squib with one of my first batches ever. Lucky for me I was so paranoid about it that I was loading one round at time in the mag while I was testing. I figured well hey, at least I know what a squib is like now (glass half full kinda guy)

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk 2

 

[BBQJOE]

I have reloaded for about 5 years, the only time I have had squibs was in .38 spl when loading light for the wife.
I'm not convinced that it's not impossible that the powder moved all the way to the front of the case and just didn't light.
There sure is a lot of empty case on the .38 with a mouse load.
But the 9mm case...pretty hard to miss an unloaded or shorted load.

 

[silicosys4]

Ask me about my first squib, and I might tell you a story about a new reloader who thought that sending wadcutters at 350 fps out of a .38 spcl. was just a hoot.....right up till the cylinder in his revolver locked up with a bullet stuck halfway between the throat and the forcing cone.

 

[natgas]

I've had a few myself and am always concerned when I go to do some fast fire drills. I've always caught them before anything bad happened but they sure could ruin a good day at the range.

 

[Josh45]

Happened one to me when reloading .357 Mag.
I was at around my tenth round and the squib happened. I stopped shooting the other 40 I had with me, Took them home and pulled them all. Weighed each one out and found out none of them was over loaded.

I just happened to not put enough powder into the one round that squibbed.
I still wasn't gonna take a chance knowing well enough that I could have placed that extra powder into another round.

Ruger's are strong and all, But I wasn't interested in finding out how strong they were.
Good catch on your end.

 

[DeadFlies]

I had a squib on the third round of 30-30 that I had ever reloaded. It got stuck halfway down the barrel. Ugh.

I put it in the freezer for a few hours and tapped the stuck slug out with a dowel and hammer. Easy peasy. Lesson learned.

 

[bigdaa]

Stuff happens.........and you did the right drill.

I've shot the reloads of others 30 years ago at the request of a longtime friend, but to test for just that: SQUIBBERY!

The rounds were old .38 with wax long since drained in different directions due to heat cycles.

We had about 200, shot half a dozen, experienced 3 squibs and subsequently destroyed the rest in oil.

I also had a 223 squib of my own. That's another story.

 

[engineermike]

Dagnabit! I knew i wasn't the only one, i knew it!

 

[balderclev]

Ask me about my first squib, and I might tell you a story about a new reloader who thought that sending wadcutters at 350 fps out of a .38 spcl. was just a hoot.....right up till the cylinder in his revolver locked up with a bullet stuck halfway between the throat and the forcing cone.

Been there, done that.

 

[Hondo 60]

Yup, unfortunately, I too, have had a squib.

The first time, I didn't know what a squib was.
My S&W Model 10 (4", standard barrel, square butt) sounded like a pop gun.
You know the kind that used a cork.

I just knew that wadn't the right sound.
It locked up the cylinder too.

 

[Still Shooting]

Been Lucky, but Not Infallible!

I've been reloading for exactly 50 years, and have yet to have a squib myself, but I remember one back about 30 years ago when I was doing a lot of handgun shooting. I had Colt 45's, a S&W .357, a 9mm, and a .380 auto, and I used to shoot 3-4 times/week.

Just in case, I always carried a piece of hardwood dowel and a plastic mallet in my range box. I was at the outdoor range one afternoon with a friend/neighbor, and he was shooting his Colt Python .357. I heard a "pop" next to me, and sure enough, he had a locked-up cylinder. We took the dowel and mallet, and tapped the bullet back down into the cylinder, then out of it after disassembly.

I only shoot rifles now, but I keep a dowel (long one!) in the car trunk, just in case.

 

[1SOW]

Mine (in 9mm) was a partial powder drop. The bullet went about 4" down the 4.72" bbl.
I "WAS" in the middle of a double tap on a USPSA target. I caught it, and so did the R.O. who shouted 'stop'. It ejected the case and sent the next round into battery. It would have damaged the bbl---at least.

I still don't know exactly how it happened with the LEE Disc system, but I have uber good "AC" light shining in the cases now--no batteries to get weak.

Glad you heard/sensed the squib.

 

[gamestalker]

For those who are working loads down to a minimum functioning load, squibs can certainly be a fairly common occurrence. A guy who is searching for that mouse load, for what ever reason, is, or should be expecting to have a few now and then. But that type of work up, or down as it may better be described, has a limited risk when being performed by someone that is on the constant watch for such, as he is actually trying to locate that defining marker, no problem I would think.

But for the average every day reloader that is working with published data, they should not ever feel that squibs are just a part of the risk involved in this hobby. With the massive increase in the number of shooters that are taking up reloading, I have seen a growing problem with regard to reloading safety. And it doesn't just end with, or involve squibs, there are a number of other very serious and preventable issues I'm hearing about that greatly contributes to the apprehension I'm feeling more recently.

My fairly recent post about having confidence in your reloads, sums it up in a nut shell. I truly believe that any reloader who is doing things in accordance with common sense, and attention to detail, will have an uneventful life of reloading. But for those who skimmed through the pages of their books, if they bought any, will not. It's not brain surgery, but it can certainly lead to needing brain surgery, and other forms of medical attention, if not afforded the respect this hobby demands of us.

GS

 

[Lj1941]

It happens to the worst and best of us.Thank god you caught it. I had a similar experience a week ago.It reminds me to be extra careful.:banghead:

 

[gab909]

So far I have been lucky as far as Rifle and Pistol, I think. At least I have not had any stuck in the barrel, except for the first (and last time) my neighbor reloaded some 41 mag for me. So none of my own to claim yet. But Shotgun...... that is an entirely different story. New machine, sticky bars on MEC's blah blah blah. Hundreds of those

 

[Searcher4851]

Glad to hear you recognized something was wrong, and proceeded to check out what it was instead of pulling the trigger again.
I hope you also recognized there is something wrong in your reloading procedure that a squib load would pass on through. As gamestalker said, squibs are NOT just part of reloading unless you are seeking the lower limits of a load. Squibs are an indication of lack of or lapse in concentration while reloading. I'm far from a perfect person, but in over 30 years of reloading, I've never had a squib.

 

[Certaindeaf]

Glad to hear you recognized something was wrong, and proceeded to check out what it was instead of pulling the trigger again.
I hope you also recognized there is something wrong in your reloading procedure that a squib load would pass on through. As gamestalker said, squibs are NOT just part of reloading unless you are seeking the lower limits of a load. Squibs are an indication of lack of or lapse in concentration while reloading. I'm far from a perfect person, but in over 30 years of reloading, I've never had a squib.

You forgot to say knock on wood. Knock on wood.

 

[FROGO207]

So far the only ones I have had with my reloads were when trying to load down my handgun ammo for my 30 Carbine Blackhawk as low as I could go. I only load in blocks using the batch method. Really hard to get a squib or overcharge when looking into each casing in 60 lot blocks with a good light. One of the main reasons I have never gone to a progressive, the other being I shoot a bit less knowing how much effort/time it takes to carefully hand craft each round. I always look for the recoil/sound to be identical round to round and will investigate every time when thing are not so. The only time I had an unexpected squib was years ago in a box of factory WIN 357 ammo. Figured it out right away thank goodness.