WHEW! dodged a bullet yesterday
- Thread starter Mr White
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MachIVshooter
Member
We all know are guns nad know when it just doesn't feel right.
This retard didn't pay attention to MULTIPLE red flags.
This retard didn't pay attention to MULTIPLE red flags.
cpttango30
Member
Good catch. Glad it did not go Kaboom.
^^^Banging on the forward assist is never a good sign.
I have had one squib among my handloads, in my 1911. Bullet lodged about an inch into the barrel and I had to borrow a dowel rod from another shooter to bang it out. Unfortunately I was teaching a very timid new shooter that day, and she flat-out refused to touch the 1911 again after I cleared it. I couldn't convince her that it was safe again.
I have had one squib among my handloads, in my 1911. Bullet lodged about an inch into the barrel and I had to borrow a dowel rod from another shooter to bang it out. Unfortunately I was teaching a very timid new shooter that day, and she flat-out refused to touch the 1911 again after I cleared it. I couldn't convince her that it was safe again.
jrfoxx
Member
Had my first reload squib not to long ago myself in my 1911.Luckily, I'd have had to be COMPLETELY not paying ANY attention to have missed it.Went "pop" instead of bang, no recoil, and smoke wafting out the slide and magazine instead of the barrel 
. Unloaded it, packed it up, and dealt with it when I got home. I was pretty surprised to see that a primer only will send a .45 bullet halfway down a 5" barrel though. Woulda thought they wouldnt get that far....
Made me pay a lot of attention to ANYTHING out of the ordinary with a shot, as next time, it might not be so obvious something went wrong.
. Unloaded it, packed it up, and dealt with it when I got home. I was pretty surprised to see that a primer only will send a .45 bullet halfway down a 5" barrel though. Woulda thought they wouldnt get that far....Made me pay a lot of attention to ANYTHING out of the ordinary with a shot, as next time, it might not be so obvious something went wrong.
Brian Dale
Member
Wow. Glad you paid attention, and thanks for posting this.
-terry
Member
If you use a dowel, put a brass casing over the end of the dowel you're hitting with the hammer. Keeps the wood from splitting.
I'm sad that I have to be sure to mention that you should not do this with a case that has a live primer in it. Sigh....
-terry
I'm sad that I have to be sure to mention that you should not do this with a case that has a live primer in it. Sigh....
-terry
primlantah
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When im at the range and my pistol feels or sounds different i always field strip it and check. an extra 10 seconds is worth my hand and face.
After I watched the video that MachIVshooter posted in #27, my first thought was exactly what conqueror said:
I wonder how many AR kabooms would have been prevented if there was no such thing as a forward assist?
conqueror said:
I wonder how many AR kabooms would have been prevented if there was no such thing as a forward assist?
I load my 223 on a lee 1000 progressive However I use the Lee Factory crimp die on my single stage and as a last quality control check before crimping, I give each round a shake near my ear and I can feel and hear the powder in the case. it may be under charged but I should not have a squib using this check.
Calibre44
Member
Last year, I was shooting next to a guy who was using homeloads in his under-lever. First I heard the usual ‘pop’ then saw the quizzical look on his face, then heard the immortal words. ‘That didn’t sound right’. Luckily the end of the bullet was protruding from the barrel. ‘I don’t think I put enough powder in that one’
‘No sh.t Sherlock I thought!’ . I asked him if he visually checks each cartridge before seating the bullet.
‘No’ came the reply. ‘Food for thought then’ I said.
He then removed the bullet from the end of the barrel with some Pinchers and proceeded to rack another round and yep! … you guessed it … another squib but this time lodged firmly half way up the barrel! – some people never learn!
I was taught to homeload by an experienced ‘old timer’ at my club. He made me, not only check every 10th round for the right powder weight, but also to check each case with a bore-light before proceeding to seat the bullet.
Safety first every time when homeloading – you can’t be too careful!
‘No sh.t Sherlock I thought!’ . I asked him if he visually checks each cartridge before seating the bullet.
‘No’ came the reply. ‘Food for thought then’ I said.
He then removed the bullet from the end of the barrel with some Pinchers and proceeded to rack another round and yep! … you guessed it … another squib but this time lodged firmly half way up the barrel! – some people never learn!
I was taught to homeload by an experienced ‘old timer’ at my club. He made me, not only check every 10th round for the right powder weight, but also to check each case with a bore-light before proceeding to seat the bullet.
Safety first every time when homeloading – you can’t be too careful!
230RN
2A was "political" when it was first adopted.
I used to use a short dowel to check loads after charging the cases. I didn't have a progressive loader.
Drop the dowel down each case and make sure it falls in the same amount.
Caught a couple of squibs, and one overload when I first started doing this, cleaned up my loading procedure by making sure I was not interrupted by anything while charging, including potty and 'fridge breaks, and going from case 1 to case 20 (or 50) without stopping.
This was pursuant to a recommendation in one of the gun mags. I forgot who offered the suggestion, but it was a big-name gun writer.
Hatcher has some extensive comments in his chapter on barrel obstructions.
He discovered he could blow a bullet out by pulling a bullet and dumping about half the powder out, chambering the case + powder, and firing. At first, he thought this would be a method worthy of recommendation for clearing squib loaded bullets in the field, and experimented quite a bit with the method, trying it with bullets and other things like cleaning patches stuck in various places in the barrel .
One thing amusing to me was his description of setting off one of these "clearing" rounds and having nothing happen. The lab staff wondered if all that gas was just stopped up in the barrel, and used a broomhandle to tap the bolt handle upward until the bolt snapped open with a loud POP and smartly ejected the case.
Whew!
Bear in mind he had plenty of rifles to experiment with, being associated with Springfield Armory at the time.
After a while, he decided there were too many variables involved to make it a general standard method, and ended up recommending against using it at all.
He should know.
Right?
(ref: Hatcher's Notebook, "Experiments with barrel obstructions," Chapter VII, pp 180-197)
Drop the dowel down each case and make sure it falls in the same amount.
Caught a couple of squibs, and one overload when I first started doing this, cleaned up my loading procedure by making sure I was not interrupted by anything while charging, including potty and 'fridge breaks, and going from case 1 to case 20 (or 50) without stopping.
This was pursuant to a recommendation in one of the gun mags. I forgot who offered the suggestion, but it was a big-name gun writer.
Hatcher has some extensive comments in his chapter on barrel obstructions.
He discovered he could blow a bullet out by pulling a bullet and dumping about half the powder out, chambering the case + powder, and firing. At first, he thought this would be a method worthy of recommendation for clearing squib loaded bullets in the field, and experimented quite a bit with the method, trying it with bullets and other things like cleaning patches stuck in various places in the barrel .
One thing amusing to me was his description of setting off one of these "clearing" rounds and having nothing happen. The lab staff wondered if all that gas was just stopped up in the barrel, and used a broomhandle to tap the bolt handle upward until the bolt snapped open with a loud POP and smartly ejected the case.
Whew!
Bear in mind he had plenty of rifles to experiment with, being associated with Springfield Armory at the time.
After a while, he decided there were too many variables involved to make it a general standard method, and ended up recommending against using it at all.
He should know.
Right?
(ref: Hatcher's Notebook, "Experiments with barrel obstructions," Chapter VII, pp 180-197)
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Grizzly Adams
Member
Glad everything turned out ok. If you load long enough you are going to have a squib load!
Most times diaster strikes with squid loads when someone is in rapid fire mode and the trigger reacts faster then the mind.
Most times diaster strikes with squid loads when someone is in rapid fire mode and the trigger reacts faster then the mind.
1911NM
Member
Good ears and good reaction. Also a good reason for setting up a light to shine in the case after a powder drop, (or powder cop die), and physically look into each case for powder levels. I caught a double throw last weekend by doing that. Still dunno how I managed to throw a double charge in an auto indexing progressive, but dang glad I was watching.
MachIVshooter
Member
I've found it much easier to put the tray of charged cases under a bright light and just look down on them. An empty or unercharged case sticks out like a neon light. I've used this method since I started loading and have never had a squib.
Grizzly Adams
Member
But the book isn't there shooting the weapon. When a person is in a rapid fire mode the mind isn't thinking of a weak sound or strange noise. Its thinking of getting the next round off on target as soon as possible and the trigger finger will sometimes act faster than the mind can react.
GhostlyKarliion
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a picture is worth a thousand words
armedandsafe
Member
I have taped a dental mirror to the back of my Dillon 500 which allows me to inspect the powder level of each round before dropping the bullet in at the seating station. Works for me.
Pops
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