mcb
Member
How does a squib damage a gun barrel? By definition its a low pressure round that leaves the bullet in the barrel.
interesting way to clear a squib
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How does a squib damage a gun barrel? By definition its a low pressure round that leaves the bullet in the barrel.
Master Blaster
Member
Brass rod tap tap tap tap tap ....... lots of gentle taps with a brass rod and the bullet falls right out. The big mistake people make is to use a flexible rod that breaks and jams worse, or a huge hammer and hit it as hard as they can, which expands the bullet and makes it harder to get out!!
Shooting it out with a live charge is a bad idea.
Shooting it out with a live charge is a bad idea.
Remington1911
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Just no.
It is the bullet after the squib that damages the barrel. When a squib bullet is hit by a full powered bullet, the barrel bulges at the location of the stuck bullet.
I don't know if pressurizing the barrel up to the squib bullet is a good idea but I don't think so. The only part of the barrel designed to carry combustion pressures is the breech, and it is thicker for that reason. The rest of the barrel, pressures are low, very low. I do not want to add stress to the barrel sidewalls when I don't have to.
The safest thing to do with a stuck bullet is remove it by mechanical means.
Remington1911
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No where revolvers suck is when the bullet just barely moves, to the point you can't open the gun and unload it. It is just far enough in to grab the rifling so you are not going to pound it out, and you are looking at a locked up gun with X# of live round looking at you in the face......that sucks.
What I did is long drill bit, very thin and drilled out the bullet, working larger and larger bits till the bullet was so weak I could pound it out backwards.
mcb
Member
Yes its very dangerous to fire a live round behind a squib. But the squib itself never puts the barrel at risk.
In this specific case of a pistol barrel the barrel is basically the same thickness all the way down, except the part that locks into the opening in the slide. That extra thickness is there for lock up not pressure containment. Look at a M9 barrel for an example of a uniform thickness pistol barrel. A 9mm will have a peak pressure when the bullet is a small fraction of an inch past the chamber of ~35,000 psi but will still have 5,000 - 10,000 psi at muzzle exit depending on the barrel length and the particular load.
I agree the safest way to deal with a squib is mechanical removal but at least in the case of a pistol doing what was done in the OP was not exceptionally unsafe IMHO. I would not do it with a modern bottleneck cartridge rifle especially if the bullet was near the muzzle due to some interesting dynamics of slow burning rifle powder that really needing pressure to burn right. Combined with that is the danger of a partially burning charge of powder moving very fast down the barrel and encountering a lodged bullet. A pistol is a very different animal in that regard.
But as with all things there is some risk inherit and it may be more than some are willing to accept. I would choose to drive it out with a squib rod but in a pinch I personally would try the OP method if I really needed the handgun back in action. -rambling
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JTHunter
Member
Okay, if you don't think what the guy did in the OP's video was all that smart, how about using a primed round with NO powder? In an automatic with a one-piece barrel, that might create enough pressure to push the bullet out.
This might not work for a revolver due to the gap between the cylinder and the forcing cone.
Thoughts?
This might not work for a revolver due to the gap between the cylinder and the forcing cone.
Thoughts?
Double Naught Spy
Sus Venator
An obstructed barrel most definitely does put the barrel at risk.
However, who says this is the first squib? More correctly, who says the bullet in the barrel was from the squib load? Unless it is the first round you have fired, all you know is that it is the last bullet in the barrel. You don't know if it was the first or not. You may not know if it is the only one or not. I will give you a real life example. We were shooting El Presidente drills. Bill was up and I was running the timer. Bill is working through the targets at a pretty good clip when his gun locks up on the 3rd target before the mag change. It had locked up because the barrel bulged and would not cycle. The barrel bulged with only one bullet in it, however. So now you are asking, how could a squib damage a barrel when it is a low pressure event? Simple. The bullet recovered wasn't the low pressure squib event. That, as it turns out, was the 1st or 2nd shot on target #1 as target #1 only had one hole in it. He had fired at least 4 or 5 more rounds before the gun locked up. What happened was that Shot 1 or 2 was a squib and went unnoticed. The next shot pushed out the squib and the next shot's bullet then became lodged in the barrel and became the new squib or stuck bullet. Think of it as a Newton's Cradle sort of event where the impacting ball forces the ball at the opposite end to move. This was repeated until the lockup at which time the last round fired managed to push out the previous squib, but the barrel started to outwardly fail and expanded with internal cracks that resulted in the outward bulge appearance. There was one visible external crack as well. We figure the bullet in the barrel was the 4th or 5th stuck bullet. So the barrel had undergone 4 or 5 cycles of overpressure between the bullets as the trailing bullet would be shot toward the back of the leading stuck bullet (maybe hitting or not) before the leading stuck bullet was forced out. This wrecked the barrel.
I will give you a second real life example. Who says you have only one "squib" in the barrel? We had a guy manage to lock up three rounds in a rifle barrel before he realized he had "A" squib. The outward appearance of the barrel was nominal. Somebody produced a brass rod and we could not get it tapped out. However, in putting the rod in from both ends, we were able to determine that the distances inserted came up nearly 2" short when added together, meaning there was a 2" obstruction in the barrel. The bullets aren't 2" long and it was determined that there was likely more than one bullet stuck in the barrel. So, he took the rifle to a gunsmith who ended up being unable to remove the bullets without cutting open the barrel, which he did, revealing the stuck bullets.
So do you really want to put a charge behind a squib before assessing the condition of the barrel and gun? Is that going to be the charge that produces the kaboom?
Ignition Override
Member
Entertaining topic. Not worth risking a bulged barrel. I had commercially-reloaded .380 ammo from a company in the Memphis area. Just once.
The very nice Sig 232 (.380 auto) suddenly would not allow the next round to chamber.
I took it to the gun smith, who removed the bullet it from the leade/chamber - by tapping - in less than a minute. Maybe ten seconds were necessary.
For lazy people or those without a Spare gun at an important match, maybe risk the barrel? Go right ahead. What could go wrong ?
You can easily click Buy Now, send Visa card #, pay tax, shipping and FFL charges for another gun, send e-mails back and forth...finally wait for the local gun shop to call you before it's late afternoon.....
Wife doesn't know, no problem..... Do the easy squib solution.
A law firm advertises "It's EZ with ****".
The very nice Sig 232 (.380 auto) suddenly would not allow the next round to chamber.
I took it to the gun smith, who removed the bullet it from the leade/chamber - by tapping - in less than a minute. Maybe ten seconds were necessary.
For lazy people or those without a Spare gun at an important match, maybe risk the barrel? Go right ahead. What could go wrong ?
You can easily click Buy Now, send Visa card #, pay tax, shipping and FFL charges for another gun, send e-mails back and forth...finally wait for the local gun shop to call you before it's late afternoon.....
Wife doesn't know, no problem.....
Do the easy squib solution.A law firm advertises "It's EZ with ****".
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https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/low-charge-weight-velocity-cycling-test.523172/
I've done it, planned it actually
I've done it, planned it actually
lightman
Member
That sounds like a good way to bulge the barrel.
mcb
Member
I was not clear enough in my earlier post. The squib certainly puts the barrel at risk since it creates a bore obstruction. But my intended point was the squib itself does not damage the barrel or gun. It is a low pressure event and not capable of doing any damage itself to the gun. The damage from a squib event almost always comes from someone firing a round(s) behind the squib.
I would most certainly assess the handgun as carefully as the situation allowed before attempting the OP method or a squib rod for that matter. A quick visual inspection for damage and then if in doubt a quick inspection with a pen or similar object would confirm only one projectile lodged. If you are confident that you only have one bullet in the barrel and you don't have a squib rod and you are in a situation where you feel you need that pistol back in service ASAP, I would do what was shown in the OP and use a cartridge with the bullet pulled to clear the barrel. With a modern semi-auto pistol, if you're confident you only have one projectile lodged, there is little risk to the gun. That said I would still opt for a squib rod if available. And in vanishingly few cases would I attempt the OP method with a rifle. It is very much a situation that requires some risk assessment based on the particular situation and thus YMMV.
mcb
Member
Interesting and fairly relevant to the topic, thanks!
Jim Watson
Member
A friend, shooting at the relatively leisurely pace of PPC once stuck a bullet, knocked it out with his squib rod, reloaded, and finished the string of fire on time.
I once saw a GM barrel bulged by shooting out a stuck bullet in the usual manner. Recoil jammed the bushing over the bulge. It was kind of a chore to get it apart, but there was no other damage than the bulged barrel and sprung bushing.
On the other hand, FLG has on his shelf of broken and defective parts, a split barrel. Stuck bullet + heavy load?
I once saw a GM barrel bulged by shooting out a stuck bullet in the usual manner. Recoil jammed the bushing over the bulge. It was kind of a chore to get it apart, but there was no other damage than the bulged barrel and sprung bushing.
On the other hand, FLG has on his shelf of broken and defective parts, a split barrel. Stuck bullet + heavy load?
BushMaster-15
member
Well we Form Brass with light charges Dacron or cream of wheat ,so ?. As previously stated ; I'd prefer mechanical but in a pinch would use that method . Personally I'd tap a few grains out and tissue wad the case ,so as NOT to lose any more powder and have a flash over scenario , that IMO could be even MORE DEVASTATING .
I've seen a government model gun/barrel just as you described.
tws3b2
Member
Heck, If it works. It works.
Suuure, until you are left with a dangling phalange. Then what?
mcb
Member
Walkalong's link in post #35 of this thread is a fairly convincing, "Why not?"
Scooter22
Member
Maybe I,m old school but you never try and shoot out a barrel obstruction. I think a stuck bullet would classify as a major one.
tws3b2
Member
Yeah, But it worked. Soo, It worked.
deadeye dick
Member
Absolutly! Any other way is foolish. The rod and hammer method is safe and will do damage to you or your firearm. ODon't try and invent a better mousetrap.
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