what causes a squib?

[robhasxj]

Besides low powder or no powder, is there anything else that would cause a squib?

I've been loading for several months now on a RCBS single stage press. i've shot about 500 of my own 45 loads with 4.5gr bullseye and 185gr Rainier FN bullets with great results. no problems what so ever (in my para 1911). The single stage forces me to take my time. i double check everything, including the powder. i've read enough stories on this board and others to know to double check everything and to take my time.

Last night i had a squib. the sixth shot of the night sounded funny, so i stopped, unloaded, and put a pen down the barrel to see if in fact that was the case. sure enough, an inch into the barrel the bullet was stuck.

now i have about 300 rounds that i'm unsure of. For the first 500 rounds that fired flawlessly, i used brand new brass. now i load once fired or range brass that i pick up. the 300 remaining are all mixed brass, nothing new. i used the same bullet and powder combo and the same primers.

So here's my questions:
1) Is my load too light?
2) i already shot about 500 rounds with no problems, why am i having a problem now?
3) could the old brass cause a squib? i coudn't find the suspect brass last night.

I'm fully prepared to start pulling bullets. i don't want to, but when in doubt i guess. I'm not ruling out the possibility that i overlooked something and forgot the powder in a case. now, after i pull them,
4) is there anything i should look for that would cause a squib? i don't want to start reloading again with a different powder load only to run into another squib.
5) and can i reuse the the pulled bullets?

Sorry for the long post. i'm just trying to cover all my bases.

Thanks for the help,
Rob

 

[Doug b]

You didn't mention unburnt powder in the barrel or mag. so I would suspect you missed a charge.

 

[dagger dog]

r u going to kenetic hammer the old loads apart? if so they will come out, in reusable shape. i've reused all the bullets i've pulled in this manner. i think a collet style leaves some small scuff marks but it's a lot quicker.

you probably just under charged that one round, but that sure throws a wrench in the old confidence gear box. i kick my self every time that happens but the only way is to BE SAFE. which leads to knocking the rest apart .

when i charge large capacity cases with small powder charges i picked up the habit (from a mag. article) of looking into each case in the loading block with a small flash light under or over charges are easily appearent.

 

[dwave]

I haven't under charged one (yet ) thankfully, but I did have one that the powder got contaminated somehow, just one. The primer went off and I waited, then opened the bolt and powder spilled out, looked like the full charge too. 'Course the bullet went into the barrel and I had to kick it out of there.

 

[robhasxj]

I don't recall any powder spilling out or seeing any unburnt powder after it occurred. i'll check out the gun and magazine tonight just in case i missed something. i'm beginning to think that i did under charge that round. you're right, dagger, there goes my confidence. i think my plan right now will be to use the ketetic hammer on all of them and adjust my load. I don't have cable tv at my apartment, so i'm always looking for stuff to do when i get home from work. i guess that will keep me busy.

any more advice or is this the best and safest route to take?

Thanks,
Rob

 

[dagger dog]

just for a lark and being you have time on your hands, seperate the different headstamps and weigh the compleated rounds. the weight will be relative to the head stamp and i would not use this for anything but an experiment, just curious , i would imagine you would be able to detect a non-charged round, but with the different headstamps of range scrounged brass i would not use this as a 100% indication of squib loads!

 

[aka108]

More than likely you missed putting powder in one round. I've found that using a loading block is the best insurance against this. Once you have finished the step of adding powder you can quickly do a visual check of each round insuring that your work is complete and non are left empty or double charged.

 

[Master Blaster]

RCBS single stage press

Did someone interrupt or distract you while you were loading?

 

[robhasxj]

That's the kicker. i do use a loading block. i put 50 rounds in the loading tray and one by one i charge each case. afterwards, all 50 cases are back in the tray, all full of powder. this is when i scan all of them, making sure i'm not forgetting/double charging something.

As far as being distracted, thats a possibility. i don't know. I could have been in the zone or on a roll and just made a mistake. i think i'll limit myself to loading 50 rounds per reloading just so i don't get in that routine and zone out and forget something.

Rob

 

[nbkky71]

Just chalk it up as a learning experience and be sure to pay more attention next time.

Everyone makes mistakes... just recongize them and don't make the same one twice. Somehow I let a round slip past quality control the other day. I had loaded some .45 autorim rounds up for my S&W 625 and while at the range, I noticed that one of them wouldn't chamber. A quick examination revelaed that somehow I forgot to crimp. The case still had a nice bell at the mouth!

 

[icebones]

believe it or not, any kind of oil, grease, or other petrolium based chemical can mess with gunpowder, case lube, in small ammounts wont hurt, but cleaing solvents, gun oil, and the oils and sweat from human skin can

old powder can cause problems, also if the container is left open for a long period of time it will mess with the powder...

also ive seen a few cases of case polishing media clogging the flash hole.
also using a primer that it too weak/too powerful will give problems,
also ammunition of powder left in fluctuating enviorments will also cause problems, imagine ammo left in a car glove box, freezing cold in the winter, it hot in the summer, heat and cold from the car's air conditioner and heater

maybee the powder clogged while you were charging the cases, weight the loaded ammunition when your done, anymore than 5 or 6 grains heavy or light you should be wary of, you might want to consider a safe range of weight, depending on how the weight varies with cases, primers and bullets, but anything that is way over or under the limit has either too much or too little powder.

 

[marcodo]

Got to agree with the uncharged/low charge round that snuck by your quality control.
Pat on the back for recognizing it before it was to late.

Loading for a year on a single stage. I had one squib during an IDPA match that wouldn't let the gun go back into battery. Under the stress of the match I ran through my malfunction drills and would have pulled the trigger again had I been able to get it back into battery. I just didn't hear the squib round during the match. Almost died when it turn out to be a round in the barrel. Luck over skill anyday!!

Squibs happen..just need to keep paying attention

 

[Urbana John]

to robhasxj--------reloading a "few" months and you've only had "one" problem!!
That ain't toooo bad, and you caught it in time!!
I've been doing it for 30 plus years and could probably do it blind folded-----it's a "habit forming" sickness that has to be "habit forming"!!!
I don't use loading blocks--used to---now I use any thing that will hold the amount of rounds that I'll reloading--------and like you, I use a Rockchucker.
I also use the RCBS electronic scale and powder distribution thing and once you get it set, it's hard to get a "light"powder charge.
I have loaded thousands & thousands of rounds for myself and others for years---------have a regular method and pattern, and checking each round for proper powder fill.

UJ

 

[Steve C]

Causes for a squib:
1. No powder or very little.
2. Contaminated powder.
3. Not enough powder for a volume sensitive powder (H110 and W296)
4. Bad primer no ignition.
5. No flash hole punched in the case. (found one that way in 30 years)

If your squib was caused by no powder then you should know it. If there was powder behind the bullet and it didn't burn then you should have a bunch of it behind the bullet and it will be all over the place when you open the action.

If you are dispensing powder from a measure there are a couple things that can give you no charge. For example, could be some foreign object in the hopper blocking the powder.

 

[moooose102]

what about this, weigh a good known (or several if you want to average them) round, find out exactly how much it weighs. then compare all the rest to that. if you are 5 or 6 grains, or however much powder you use light, you know to at least hammer that one apart. if they are all consistently the correct weight, shoot em! of course, i am assuming you have a scale that has enough capacity to weigh assembled rounds.

 

[rg1]

I've only seen 1 squib and it was in .38 special. It was caused by almost no bullet tension in the case. You could easily push the bullets deeper into the case with light thumb pressure. Probably using too slow powder for .38 made it worse. Guess the primer force started the bullet moving before the powder ignited properly creating a huge volume for the powder and not creating enough pressure to propel the bullet out the barrel. Just check to make sure you have enough bullet tension and that the bullets can not be pushed deeper in the case with your thumb. Some .45 cases are thinner than others and your die might not be squeezing the brass down enough to grip the bullet.

 

[jfh]

rob, in a variety of posts here, you've been given some good advice. To this, I can only add comments more about the loss of self-confidence.

Recognize that you could well have had brain fade for a moment--you did recognize that, and you have proposed a possible way to avoid that by limiting a batch to 50 rounds.

Others have also given you a technique for weighing to possibly detect any other under / uncharged cases. That should work, given the usual caveats about variation in component weights.

But the point I'm trying to make now is that the personality that seems to enjoy this kind of activity is perfectionistic as well as more than a bit compulsive. Perfectionism has its problems, as you may know--so accept the error--I'm not convinced yet you made one, BTW--and consider shooting the rounds.

Jim H.