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Owner of a ballooned barrel


ArrDave

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So I had a squib in a match, and now have a ballooned barrel. Slide, grips and frame are OK, bushing appears to be as well. I am loading 700X and the large flakes don't meter all that great, but now I am squeamish... What are some good practices to make sure this never happens again? I load on a lee turret, and I was chasing a powder charge very close to 170 PF Which is on the lower end of the range, so I am going to bump it up a bit and more importantly visually inspect each case. Any tidbits worth sharing?

Sent from an iDevice. Please forgive any grammatical or spelling errors. If the post doesn't make sense or is not amusing then it is technology's fault and most certainly not operator error.

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ooof.

the sad part after all the money is spent...

it that you are not going to be able to be sure of the cause of the squib.

the usual suspects are not enough powder and then something that damped the powder

and if a recent rifle problem translates to pistols... a weak strike on the primer.

If you can find the case you may be able to do a better post-balloonem

good to not be hurt.

when I load

you will hear me muttering a chant.

LOOK at the powder. everytime

LOOK at the powder. everytime

LOOK at the powder. everytime

heaven help you if you miss

I have skipped adding a primer or two

and have missed adding a bullet... more than I will admit.

so far... the powder has been there... all over the press...

test a few from the same batch to see if you got case lube in it

or such.

miranda

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I have a batch of 230 grain 45 acp I loaded with Red Dot. First time I used a adjustable disk in the Lee measure. It did not meter well and I got a bunch of squibs. Ran a batch of 40 right after that with Bullseye and the same thing happened. Needless to say the adjustable disk went in the drawer.

Look at it as a opportunity to step up to a better barrel without the guilt! :)

Edited by Glockinator
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ALWAYS inspect the charge in the case. A squib as you describe would be a "no powder" or "just a couple of kernels of powder" issue. For this, you either inspect the cases or use a powder that fills the case to the brim (see Unique) so you can easily see it. On a turret, there should be no excuse not to look into the .45 case, right under your nose, as you place a bullet in the case (or, at least, before you raise the case up to pick up a bullet and seat it).

Slow down and observe. Get a light if you need to.

Most call it a bulged barrel (ballooned sounds so much worse).

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I have a batch of 230 grain 45 acp I loaded with Red Dot. First time I used a adjustable disk in the Lee measure. It did not meter well and I got a bunch of squibs. Ran a batch of 40 right after that with Bullseye and the same thing happened. Needless to say the adjustable disk went in the drawer.

Look at it as a opportunity to step up to a better barrel without the guilt! :)

I look at it as an opportunity to step up to a Blue Press.

Visually inspect every single case as it gets the powder. No exceptions. Not that hard to do, and only takes a split second...set up a light and mirror to see into the case if necessary.

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I have a batch of 230 grain 45 acp I loaded with Red Dot. First time I used a adjustable disk in the Lee measure. It did not meter well and I got a bunch of squibs. Ran a batch of 40 right after that with Bullseye and the same thing happened. Needless to say the adjustable disk went in the drawer.

Look at it as a opportunity to step up to a better barrel without the guilt! :)

I look at it as an opportunity to step up to a Blue Press.

Visually inspect every single case as it gets the powder. No exceptions. Not that hard to do, and only takes a split second...set up a light and mirror to see into the case if necessary.

Yeah that's what I'm going to do (light and mirror). At the end of the year I may step it up to a blue press, we'll see.

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I really like the ribs lockout die. It's caught some weird stuff like a dead bug in the case and some clumped up tumbler media jammed in the bottom of the case below the powder but not enough to look like a double charge.

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I really like the ribs lockout die. It's caught some weird stuff like a dead bug in the case and some clumped up tumbler media jammed in the bottom of the case below the powder but not enough to look like a double charge.

I wish one of those would work on my humble little turret!

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I really like the ribs lockout die. It's caught some weird stuff like a dead bug in the case and some clumped up tumbler media jammed in the bottom of the case below the powder but not enough to look like a double charge.

I wish one of those would work on my humble little turret!

Well save the receipts for the repairs and see how close they would have been to buying a press complete with check/lock out die, then remember you already let one get by...

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On a progressive press, task lighting is critical to looking in every case. Also, I really like using a slower burning powder, such that the case is relatively full: the powder is more easily visible when the powder charge is right, and it overflows if it is a double charge.

Edited by NuJudge
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Powder speed doesn't have all that much to do with it. i.e. Titegroup is fast, but super dense...so a suitable charge disappears into the case. Clays and Promo are both very fast, but very non-dense. Universal is much slower than these, but non-dense enough that at least in 9mm, for the lighter bullet weights, double charges are impossible.

Bottom line...to avoid squibs, you need to check that there's an appropriate amount of powder in each cartridge...whether that means using a powder check die or visually looking into each case after charging (or both). That still doesn't guarantee you won't have a squib, but it avoids one of the possible causes. You also need to have the presence of mind to stop when a shot doesn't feel right. If you get a click or poof when you expected a bang, and you eject an empty case, it's time to stop shooting.

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On a progressive press, task lighting is critical to looking in every case.

+1 or +2 or +3.

I am a recent convert to lighting (Yes, it was a few squibs).

Wouldn't reload on my SDB without the little light ($25). :bow: :bow:

What kind of light you using on your SDB Jack? I just invested in a SDB

Jeff

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On a progressive press, task lighting is critical to looking in every case.

Wouldn't reload on my SDB without the little light ($25). :bow: :bow:

What kind of light you using on your SDB Jack?

In-Line Fabrication has a neat lighting system, gets attached to the side

of the SDB - now I can see Every Case - make sure powder is there

Every Time. :cheers:

I'd never reload again without it. :bow:

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  • 2 weeks later...

Red, blue, green, purple, orange, pink, etc... Does matter what brand press you buy, a squib is always a possibility.

I dont think you would be able to run an RCBS lockout die on a LCT, so visual inspection is a must. Add a decent light. The Hornady ones are a done deal, $15 at most, stick them on, plug it in.

I run my LnL without a powder check like an RCBS lockout die, but I visually inspect every case I set a bullet on to. In the last 5000 9mm Ive loaded, Ive had one squib. Ive thought about adding one, but then I would have to switch to PTX expander, and Id just as soon keep the expanding and powder dropping separate on the press. If I ran a bullet feeder, I would use the lockout die for sure as Id be less likely to check and see if every case has powder in it because all Im doing then is just pulling a handle.

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I confess to one or two squibs, none on my Lee Classic turret (I charge off the press with a RCBS powder flask and visually check all the cases with a flashlight before I load on the turret.) Yep, it's slow, but faster than replacing bulged barrels. Dillon now has a light attached so I can check each powder drop, my squibs were in the first batch of .45 acp that I loaded, so far, it has worked.

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I bought an inexpensive fish tank aerator pump, attached it to the powder hopper with rubber bands. The vibration

is magical evening out the charge weights. I was very pleased that the powder charges did not vary. Give it a try.

jpl

Yeah I kinda do the same thing with my primer loader for my 650. Whenever I stop to load some primer tubes, I hold the vibrator part against the powder hopper for a bit and it does wonders especially, with the "problem" powders like unique.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I bought an inexpensive fish tank aerator pump, attached it to the powder hopper with rubber bands. The vibration

is magical evening out the charge weights. I was very pleased that the powder charges did not vary. Give it a try.

jpl

Yeah I kinda do the same thing with my primer loader for my 650. Whenever I stop to load some primer tubes, I hold the vibrator part against the powder hopper for a bit and it does wonders especially, with the "problem" powders like unique.
I run a bunch of graphite through my hoppers before the first use. Eliminates all static and powder clumping issues. Edited by Redhook
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