"Pop, goes the squib load"

[WayneConrad]

This is the bullet from the last round I fired on Saturday. Then I came home to pound it out of the barrel.

A squib is humbling. And scary, when you find one in a string of rapid fire. I managed to get through the tap-rack before I realized what had happened and got my finger off the trigger. I don't like having come that close to going "boom" instead of "bang." I don't like having made a squib. It knocked me down a bunch of notches.

I think I know what error in my process that allowed it to happen. I do a careful inspection of the loading block for under and over charged cases before I start seating bullets. But with all these danged rejects I've been getting, I've been having five or ten do-overs per 50. The squib was in the 2nd to last round in the box: It was one of the do-overs. I think I was frustrated and in a bit of a hurry to get the do-overs done, and didn't keep to the regular routine.

I've learned that doing anything at the loading bench when frustrated makes me careless. And maybe no more "tap-rack" when shooting hand loads. Factory loads for practicing that stuff, I think.

There is a silver lining to this embarassing episode. I have been wanting to slug my barrel, and now I have. 0.350" land to land, and 0.355" groove to groove.

 

[HKGuns]

Yes, I had one tonight. Must have been a primer only and I for some un Godly reason didn't notice the lack of recoil.

The slide wouldn't come back so I got some range help and the guy forced the slide open and out popped an empty casing!

Huh? I said.....Popped a clip in and none of the rounds would chamber. Took it apart and there was the bullet, barely into the rifling. I thanked the lord many times it didn't go very far into the tube.

I felt like such an idiot, first for loading the squib and second for not realizing what had happened. It sort of wakes you up real quick.

 

[g56]

In about 35 yrs of reloading I have had 1, and that was before I started using a progressive loader.

I squeezed the trigger on that 9mm and got a pop instead of a bang, I knew instantly what it was, and a check of the barrel confirmed a bullet lodged in the bore. I had never had that happen before or since, but I knew what it was...in any case if the discharge is something out of the norm, stop and check things before proceeding!

 

[cracked butt]

I've only had one squib load and that was with a shotgun reload. These are usually no big deal and just about every trap club I've ever shot at has a wooden dowel or bamboo stick or two around to push the wad out of the barrel.

 

[Kamicosmos]

You mention having 5-10 'do-overs' per 50 rounds? That's a rather dismal failure rate!!

What do you consider a do-over? Might be time to give your loading process a hard look and see why you're having a 10-20% failure rate!

 

[BluesBear]

I keep several short lengths of wooden dowel in my range box. I call them Squib Sticksâ„¢.

3/16" for .22
1/4" for .32
5/16" for .38/9mm/.41
3/8" for .41/.44
7/16" for .45

If ever I or anyone I am shooting with has a round that doesn't sound or feel right I just drop one down the barrel. If it shows up in the ejection port or the cylinder window then I know right away everythings OK. If not then I bring out the plastic hammer and start tapping.

I use the largest size dowell possible because sometimes it can take a fair bit of pounding to get a stuck bullet out of the barrel and/or pounded back inside the case.

I haven't needed to use one for about five years now. <knock wood> But when you need one it's worth twice it's weight in gold.

Another reason I no longer shoot at a range that sells unknown reloaded ammo.

 

[AnthonyRSS]

I about shot over a squib a while back. I was shooting someone else's reloads in their gun, and I had a low report load, and I missed. I didn't think much about it, and I cocked the hammer again, then I let down the hammer, opened it up and looked down the barrel. Sho nuff, there was a bullet in the barrel. Oh well.
When I reloaded shotgun shells, I had the wrong wad for the shell I was using, and it wouldn't crimp right, and sometimes shot would roll down the barrel.

 

[trickyasafox]

glad you caught it and all ended safely

 

[WayneConrad]

Kamicosmos, My dismal failure rate has been solved with the help of RCBS and the good people here. The story is in
This here thread.

Thanks to all for your messages. If I erred, at least I have good company.

What kind of squib rod do I want? I first tried what I thought was a hardwood dowel, but it shattered in the barrel. I'm not sure I trust wood now. A brass rod would be spiffy but my range bag is already heavy. Someone once told me Lexan. Where does one get a Lexan rod?

 

[g56]

You can use an aluminum cleaning rod.

 

[Mal H]

g56 - I don't think that is good advice. Most all cleaning rods are fairly small in diameter compared to the caliber of the bullet. It is very easy to get the rod off center and have it wedge itself to the side of the bullet with one sharp blow of the hammer. Then you have caused a problem rather than solved one.

However, a cleaning rod might be used if you first lodge it inside a hollow point bullet of a smaller caliber than the one you're working on. For example, if the stuck bullet is a .45, use a 9mm HP with the cleaning rod (one you don't want to use for cleaning any longer) pre-pounded into the middle of the bullet. If the stuck bullet is a 9mm, I guess you'd have to use a suitable rifle bullet or maybe a .32. I haven't tried this, but I think it's workable.

The wooden dowel method is still best. Hand pick a dowel that has the grain going lengthwise with no apparent flaws in the wood. It is going to get buggered up a bit, but it shouldn't shatter.

BTW, in case folks are wondering why so many here use a dowel to get a bullet out of a barrel, it usually isn't due to squib loads and stuck bullets. We use the dowel to "slug a barrel", i.e., run a lead bullet through the barrel to get the exact dimensions of lands and grooves.