This could have been bad.

[M2 Carbine]

Friday I bought a Ruger LC9. I shot it Friday, Saturday and today.

Yesterday I went to the gun store to talk to the manager. When I buy a gun he is interested in my feedback.
While I was there a fellow was interested in a LC9. I offered to let him shoot mine. He, the store manager, and I went outside. The man shot a couple rounds. The manager shot a couple rounds. I told the man to shoot the rest if he wanted. One shot. Next shot, no bang.

Neither the manager or shooter caught what happened. The shooter pulled the slide, ejecting the fired case and chambering another round.

I said DON'T SHOOT and took the gun, telling the shooter, there's a bullet stuck in the barrel.
They said, How do you know?
I said, the gun didn't function and I heard the primer fire.

So I told them what they already knew but weren't paying attention to.

A few months ago I loaded these 2,000 rounds of 9mm in my progressive press. I do have a routine of visually checking the powder in every case before seating the bullet, but, no excuses, I missed this one. It should never happen but it's not the first time, over the years, I've failed to put powder in a case.

The primer will push the bullet about a half inch into the barrel. The empty case will not eject or even move the slide at all. If you understand what happened and are paying attention, no problem, you remove the magazine, eject the empty case and check the barrel.
The bullet is easily pushed out of the barrel with a brass rod.

A empty primed case is more dangerous with a revolver because, of course, it will fire with the next pull of the trigger.

This ammo was my reloads. I screwed up and didn't charge a case but I have seen this happen with factory ammo also.
So, pay attention when shooting or observing and if something the least bit unusual happens, STOP shooting and investigate.

If nothing else, those two fellows got a good lesson.

 

[ExMachina]

So I told them what they already knew but weren't paying attention to.

lots to be learned here

good job staying alert and thanks for sharing.

you can never can pay too much attention while shooting/reloading.

 

[matrem]

Yep..
Even those of us who've loaded for years/decades, need to always pay attention. In ways, even more than a novice.
Familarity CAN breed contempt.

 

[toocool]

Years ago I was heavily into reloading. I had loaded a batch of .45 ACP on a Lyman press (not progressive) and also had the habit of checking every case for the powder charge. Somehow I missed one and seated all the bullets then headed out to a match with a buddy. We were shooting a sort of informal match with a bunch of other LEOs and correctional officers and we were shooting identical Smith & Wesson 645's. I provided the ammo and we proceeded to shoot the match. At some point, my buddy got the dud round and didn't realize it, so he manually ejected the round and fired the next. Fortunately, due to the massiveness of the 645, the only damage that resulted was a bulged barrel and my pride and reputation as a reloader. I paid for a new barrel for my buddy's gun and we moved on, but he wouldn't shoot my reloads again...and I can't blame him.

It just shows that it can happen to anyone, even if we think we're being extremely meticulous. I'm glad your situation turned out better...

So...how do you like the LC9?

 

[M2 Carbine]

So...how do you like the LC9?

It appears to be a keeper. It's very accurate and so far has been totally reliable (300 plus rounds).

What I don't like is the magazine "safety" and lawyer lock and only one magazine.

The thumb safety is easy to move Off without changing your grip, but IMO is unnecessary because the trigger is a long hard DA, which will take some getting use to.

Unless the gun shows some problems, as soon as I find a holster it will be a part time carry gun.

This was Friday, right after I bought the gun. The large groups are not the gun's fault, I had the old man hand shakes. Today the gun was shooting 8 shot sub 2 inch groups and one 1 inch group.


Size compared to a Beretta 21A.

 

[Jeff F]

Seen that happen with a nice old colt revolver one time. It was a .38, first round was a squib that stuck a bullet in the barrel, shooter did not realize. Stacked up 3 more behind it and locked up the gun. 4 stuck bullets, bulged the barrel and cracked the frame where the barrel screws in. One nice old colt revolver thats now a paper weight.

 

[epijunkie67]

Could have been even worse. Since it's a carry gun it could have happened during a firefight when your life depended on it. Talk about an unrecoverable stoppage!

 

[Sky]

Thanks for the post

 

[M2 Carbine]

Years ago, at work, I was asked to clean some 4 inch 38 revolvers and pick out the best ones. Several had "ringed" barrels.

Come to think of it. A couple gun shows back a friend asked me what I thought of a 38 he was looking out. I told him to pass, it had a ringed barrel.

 

[Panzercat]

Can I clarify?

As a non reloader, i just want to clarify the chain of events here.

1) One shot fired successfully, case ejected.
2) Second shot, no bang.

Here's where I get fuzzy, being the novice and all.

3) He ejected a second shell casing sans bullet... meaning only the primer cooked off and the bullet was potentially still in the barrel? I'm piecing this together through follow up posting.

Useful saftey tip to somebody with limited exposure to malfunctions, that.

 

[Creature]

Just out of curiosity...how far down the barrel from the throat was the primer able to push the bullet?

 

[ExMachina]

Here's where I get fuzzy, being the novice and all.

3) He ejected a second shell casing sans bullet... meaning only the primer cooked off and the bullet was potentially still in the barrel? I'm piecing this together through follow up posting.

the way that i read it there were two opportunities for error here:

1) shooter didn't notice that the ejected case was empty

OR

2) shooter thought empty case was un-ejected from previous shot (so he failed to observe the weapon cycle)

both the kind of errors that all of us would like to think that we would never make...

 

[M2 Carbine]

Just out of curiosity...how far down the barrel from the throat was the primer able to push the bullet?

About a 3/4 inch. Plenty of room for the next round to fully enter the chamber and be fired.

As a non reloader, i just want to clarify the chain of events here.

Here's how it happened.

I let the man shoot my gun.

Man shoots the gun twice.
Store manager shoots the gun twice.

Man intends on shooting the remaining four rounds.
He shoots the gun once.
He pulls the trigger again but there is just a little "pop" and the slide does not move.

Neither the shooter or store manager pick up on what just happened.

Man pulls the slide back, ejecting the empty case, intending on shooting the gun again (with the bullet in the barrel).

I had already started moving at the "pop" and I grabbed the gun on the top, stopping the slide about half way forward.
At the same time I told the man, "DON'T SHOOT, there is a bullet stuck in the barrel".

The man released his hold on the gun and I cleared it.

Me grabbing the gun might sound unsafe but I did have control over the situation, I kept the gun pointed down range, holding with a tight grip, and held the slide back until the shooter released his grip on the gun, which he did immediately.

 

[NMGonzo]

Slide not move = !!!!!

I had a light strike on my PF9 and it could have been easily a squib, since it was windy and with my ear protection the primer alone going off would have been inaudible.

Slide not move = pull the slide slowly and check; don't just "rack tap bang".

 

[M2 Carbine]

Slide not move = pull the slide slowly and check; don't just "rack tap bang".

Yes, that's what you expect "experienced " shooters to do but a lot of people do fire guns with bullets in the barrels.

It happens so seldom that a lot of people don't seem to pick up on it when it does happen.


With new shooters I slip in a primed (no powder or bullet) case in on them. If they don't pick up on it when they get a pop instead of a bang I give them a little talk about how the gun just blew up in their face because they fired it with a bullet stuck in the barrel.

 

[Deaf Smith]

M2,

I've had squib loads plenty during my life!

Just a month a go I shot my S&W .32 handejector, made in 1912, with old .32 long factory loads. My handloads did fine but when I shot those old shells one of them gave off a 'fttt' and I knew immediatly there was a bullet stuck in the barrel.'

Thankfully the soft lead slug was very easy to tap out but I could have fired another round real easy and had that old gun blow up in my face.

It happes M2. Glad you caught it fast.

Deaf

 

[orionengnr]

I try not to let anyone shoot my reloads.

 

[Ala Dan]

Hey M2 Carbine My Friend-

That certainly is not like you, too mess up on charging a case; or other
stages of "handloading", as I know you are very careful and follow all
procedures very cautiously. I'm glad all turned out well, and maybe
your associates learned from this experience~?

 

[M2 Carbine]

That certainly is not like you, too mess up on charging a case; or other
stages of "handloading", as I know you are very careful and follow all
procedures very cautiously. I'm glad all turned out well, and maybe
your associates learned from this experience~?

Yes, I am careful but I do realize that if there's a way to mess up, eventually I'll do it. So, I like to stay prepared for those times when my mistakes come back to haunt me.

Also, when I do mess up I swallow my pride and admit the mistake hoping it will stop someone else from doing the same thing.




Back when I was instructing at the Army helicopter flight school (1966) we instructors and students were being killed regularly, so sharing mistakes and problems could be a life saver.

It wasn't unusual for a instructor to come in at the end of the day and say, "You aren't going to believe what happened to me today".

One of the training helicopters had a bad habit of rolling over on it's back and killing the instructor and student.
I had a talk with a instructor, that had talked to one of the few instructors that got out of "tucking" alive.
Shortly after that my helicopter got into "tucking". Because of that talk, and being a fixed wing instructor also, I became one of the few pilots to survive the helicopter going over on it's back at 500 feet.

 

[berettaprofessor]

I've read it somewhere... "Never shoot another man's reloads unless you're also sharing his wife. And if you're sharing his wife, definitely don't shoot his reloads."

 

[M2 Carbine]

"Never shoot another man's reloads unless you're also sharing his wife. And if you're sharing his wife, definitely don't shoot his reloads."

Now that's funny.

 

[BP Hunter]

This has happened to me twice with my .45 reloads. It's a good thing that the bullet sticks in enough not for the nect round to chamber completely in my Glock36. I now always carry a rubber mallet and metal rod to range. But of course, I have become more careful with my reloads.

 

[Jim K]

Sometimes a bullet from a squib load will go in far enough for a round to seat behind it. If the bullets are actually touching, nothing will happen; the round will fire as if it had a bullet weighing twice the normal amount.

But if the bullet is out far enough that the following bullet is able to build up kinetic energy, that energy turns to heat when it is stopped by the obstruction. It is that heat that softens the barrel so it bulges or splits.

I once tested the "bullets touching" by driving six 255 grain lead SWC bullets into an M1911 barrel, leaving just enough room to fire a service round. Recoil was stiff, but there was no damage to the gun. I took seven bullets out of the sand trap. I had a thought about what the police FI guy would have thought had I ever shot anyone with my "seven shooter."

Jim

 

[Hypnogator]

Actually, shooting with a bullet in the bore isn't likely to cause a fatal mishap, although it certainly isn't a desirable condition. It will quite likely bulge the barrel and may well ruin the gun.

What IS catastrophic is if the powder charge doesn't burn, and is forced into the barrel behind the bullet. Another bullet fired behind this condition will compression-heat the powder causing every grain to ignite simultaneously instead of progressively burning. This causes a catastrophic spike in pressure, sometimes upwards of 100,000 PSI, causing the gun to disassemble itself, and possibly you as well!

 

[M2 Carbine]

What IS catastrophic is if the powder charge doesn't burn, and is forced into the barrel behind the bullet. Another bullet fired behind this condition will compression-heat the powder causing every grain to ignite simultaneously instead of progressively burning. This causes a catastrophic spike in pressure, sometimes upwards of 100,000 PSI, causing the gun to disassemble itself, and possibly you as well!

Good point.

That reminds me. Years ago I had a couple Ruger Blackhawks. I can't remember if it was with the .357 or 30 Carbine. I loaded up some ammo using a recommended slower burning powder but used a lighter weight bullet.
The bullet stuck in the barrel with the powder behind it. The primer fired but the powder did not burn. What the heck?????
I cleared the gun and fired again with the same results. "This powder must be bad".

I opened a new can of powder (a different lot), loaded some rounds and had the same results.

The only thing I could think of is the slow burning powder needed a heavier bullet. So, thinking this is a waste of time I loaded the same load with heavier bullets. Bingo. No more barrel full of powder behind a stuck bulllet.