reloads without powder

[gantalis]

I want to know any evidence or experiences with this situation....My son reloaded a 9mm with primer but without powder...we are new at this....so when the striker struck the primer, the 9mm bullet went about 3/4 of an inch out of the brass and into the barrel and stuck there....the next round would not load in this semi-automatic and soon we figured out why...we corrected the situation by using a wooden dowel to drive the bullet back out of the barrel of the gun.....but I wonder what would have happened if the bullet went a couple of inches down into the barrel, far enough for the next round to be loaded and then the next round loaded and was fired.......obviously the primer explosion for the first round was insufficient to move the slide and the gun just stuck but the shell casing was thereafter manually ejected after some effort....would the second round drive two bullets out of the gun or would the gun barrel have exploded and if so, how serious is the risk of injury in such a situation?

[yoshidaex]

In most instances I've seen, the second bullet would have enough force to push both bullets out AND bulge the barrel.

[dover0020]

Good chance the gun would blow up.

[Sarge]

couple of possibilities. Rounds expelled and barrel bulged beyond repair. Rounds not expelled and gun blows up possibly destroying the gun altogether and likely injuring you or others.

Often times it's the latter.

[Youngeyes]

You are so lucky that with your first squib, the second round wouldn't load. Play the lottery or drop a buck in the plate on Sunday. Then slug your kid for not paying better attention when loading.

[kevin c]

Glad that nobody got hurt.That's a squib round, and a potentially very hazardous as pointed out above.

In the action shooting games, we are accustomed to correcting a gun malfunction on the clock, the intent being to get back to the shooting ASAP. If the underpowered *pop* of a squib gets missed, and the shooter racks out the case and is unlucky enough to be able to chamber and drop the hammer on a round behind the slug in the barrel, a damaged gun is the least serious of the possible outcomes.

So we are conditioned to listen and stop if we hear a *pop* instead of "BANG!". I wholeheartedly recommend that to you and your son, whether plinking one shot at a time on a static target line or shooting rapid fire multiple shots ala action pistol - "If it goes *pop*, you stop".

[chirpy]

I've seen where 6 bullets were stuck in the revo barrel when all 6 had no powder or too little powder! If only one had no powder and was backed up with one that did, most likely a bulged barrel if minor loaded or blown-up pistol if hot or major loaded!

Richard

[razorfish]

[Ken_Bird]

Short answer NOTHING GOOD

Glad no one got hurt, reloading is a serious matter and great adult care is required.

Ok, so now you have been chastized and I hope you and son have learned from this example. I have loaded for many years, and even I check the case to see the powder has dropped, each shell. Slows my progress down a little but saves guns, hand, eyes, and maybe a life.

As with all shooting, you cant screw up fast enough. Slow and steady.

[BSeevers]

Very dangerous and I could go on and on about witnessing guns blowing up from a squib. I was actually was shot by a squib. I'm saving this story for the campfires but the basic jist of it, is squib, shooter jacked new rd and shot before I could react. Bullet goes down barrel and builds pressure and comes out ejection port and I am the RO, it slams into my stomach. Little cut but I was whining cause it hurt bad. Everybody laughed and made fun of me til later on, I had a 8 inch bruise on my stomach

No disrespect but how old is your son? Reloading while so mundane, attention to detail is very important. Plenty of 45 yr olds don't have what it takes either.

I consider my loads like my parachute. I pack my own cause it's my life. Or gun and hands in this circumstance

Edited August 2, 2013 by BSeevers

[Bart Solo]

What you had is called a "squib." Squibs happen to the best of us every once in a while. Whenever you hear the squib STOP shooting. Your run is over. Unload the pistol and push the squib bullet out with a rod. The gun should be good to go. NEVER, NEVER, EVER TRY TO SHOOT A SQUIB OUT OF THE BARREL. You can easily blow up the barrel and possibly cause serious injury to you and the people around you.

Somebody is going to say that they shoot too fast to stop. To that I say bull feathers. I was scoring one of the fastest cowboy shooters in America when he had a squib. He had enough awareness of what was going on that he, not the timing officer, was able to shut down before his next shot.

[Bart Solo]

double post

Edited August 2, 2013 by Bart Solo

[mjohn]

I often wonder if it is possible to stop the shot process in time when doing double taps. It is not like you are shooting single shots which you could safely stop in time. But, I believe double taps is a different story and that it is not possible to react in time.

Glad all is well with everyone.

[kneelingatlas]

I often wonder if it is possible to stop the shot process in time when doing double taps.

The squib stops the shot process for you; the slide won't cycle after a squib, the way you get in trouble is when you rack out the squib case and fire another behind it.

Edited August 3, 2013 by kneelingatlas

[Bart Solo]

I often wonder if it is possible to stop the shot process in time when doing double taps.

The squib stops the shot process for you; the slide won't cycle after a squib, the way you get in trouble is when you rack out the squib case and fire another behind it.

Things are different if you are shooting a revolver, and yes you can stop on a double tap if you have appropriate situational awareness.

[Ken_Bird]

I often wonder if it is possible to stop the shot process in time when doing double taps.

The squib stops the shot process for you; the slide won't cycle after a squib, the way you get in trouble is when you rack out the squib case and fire another behind it.

Very true, if your paying attention, which you should be. Anytime my gun fails to go bang, and operate in a normal fashion I STOP and check it out. I do not just rack the slide and keep on.

[practical_man]

I want to know any evidence or experiences with this situation....My son reloaded a 9mm with primer but without powder...we are new at this....so when the striker struck the primer, the 9mm bullet went about 3/4 of an inch out of the brass and into the barrel and stuck there....the next round would not load in this semi-automatic and soon we figured out why...we corrected the situation by using a wooden dowel to drive the bullet back out of the barrel of the gun.....but I wonder what would have happened if the bullet went a couple of inches down into the barrel, far enough for the next round to be loaded and then the next round loaded and was fired.......obviously the primer explosion for the first round was insufficient to move the slide and the gun just stuck but the shell casing was thereafter manually ejected after some effort....would the second round drive two bullets out of the gun or would the gun barrel have exploded and if so, how serious is the risk of injury in such a situation?

Welcome to the forum! And to the joys and challenges of hand loading.

The consequences of squib loads have been well explained. They are serious indeed.

That said, don't let it frighten you away from hand loading your own ammo. Likely everyone on this forum has had a squib along the way. Most are survived without serious injury to the shooter but often with permanent damage to the gun and budget.

Now that you've had yours make sure you learn from it. Pull ALL the bullets from whatever remains of that batch and start again. You can save and reuse to components without worry. No need to deprime the cases either. The kinetic bullet puller is your friend here. Just put a foam ear plug inside the puller to prevent damage as you pull the bullets.

Closely examine your loading process and quality control at each step. Good light, especially at the powder drop is indispensable. Check every round until it becomes second nature. Have a loading rhythm so you don't make errors. Never stop until the round is complete or you pull it out of the process for rework.

Get a mentor in your local area to walk you thru the tips and trick of your first several loading sessions. It makes a world of difference having an experienced loader work with you as you learn.

Read a couple of good manuals in detail. Lyman, hornady, Sierra, and nosler all have good sections on the basics. Follow them and you should be fine.

Ask lots of questions on this forum. The folks here will gladly help and provide you with what works for them. Some deviate from published procedures and data based on great experience and testing. Up to you to decide when you think you are ready and properly equipped to start down the satisfying road of coloring outside the lines.

Get a good chronograph. It is well worth the small investment to get hard data on how your loads perform in your guns. I have had a couple over the years. My current favorite is magneto speed but it isn't pistol friendly.

Hang in there. With practice and careful procedures you will really enjoy hand loading.

As for your son, encourage bilut supervise until he demonstrates proficiency no matter his age. Don't let him get discourage by this sma but VERY SERIOUS error.

Again welcome to the hobby and a great forum.

[stick]

What you had was known as a squib. You're lucky you didn't blow up the gun. Known as a kaboom.

Count your blessings, someone was watching over you.

[Dacsoft]

Here is an example of a squib.

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2

[JasonandMichelle]

Here is an example of a squib.

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2

Looks like an XDm slide:) I have one of those as well, but black.

I had my first squib at a match a few days ago. Weird, soda bottle-type "pop". I stopped because it was odd, and the RO told me to go to the safe area and check it out.

Sure enough, bullet stuck about 3/4" into the rifling.

I owe that dude my hands.

[IHAVEGAS]

I often wonder if it is possible to stop the shot process in time when doing double taps.

The squib stops the shot process for you; the slide won't cycle after a squib, the way you get in trouble is when you rack out the squib case and fire another behind it.

Or the slide cycles after the squib, I've seen it happen to a guy shooting an M&P 9mm.

[jaep1911]

I often wonder if it is possible to stop the shot process in time when doing double taps.

The squib stops the shot process for you; the slide won't cycle after a squib, the way you get in trouble is when you rack out the squib case and fire another behind it.

I had my first squib (maybe..?) this past Sat during a local match and I did not/ could not stop in time. bang bang pew bang... Luckily the bullet did not get stuck in the barrel and the gun did not explode but I am now scared. I will listen and be alerted while shooting from now on but I am not sure if I could react quick enough.

I do not reload. I buy remanufactured ammo from a company that is well known among USPSA shooters et al. Shit happens:)

Stay safe folks.

[Sarge]

I often wonder if it is possible to stop the shot process in time when doing double taps.

The squib stops the shot process for you; the slide won't cycle after a squib, the way you get in trouble is when you rack out the squib case and fire another behind it.

I had my first squib (maybe..?) this past Sat during a local match and I did not/ could not stop in time. bang bang pew bang... Luckily the bullet did not get stuck in the barrel and the gun did not explode but I am now scared. I will listen and be alerted while shooting from now on but I am not sure if I could react quick enough.

I do not reload. I buy remanufactured ammo from a company that is well known among USPSA shooters et al. Shit happens:)

Stay safe folks.

Typically autoloaders will not cycle the slide so there should be time to process everything.

[Jim Watson]

True.

If your gun is normally reliable such that you do not have a reflex built up to automatically rack the slide on a poor gun or ammo.

But some aren't and the shooter is so accustomed to racking the slide that he doesn't process the fault in time. I have seen that one a couple of times.

Or, as is rare but not unknown, the "squib" DOES cycle the slide. It has happened and is a sure route to a ruined barrel or wrecked gun.

[frankge]

most experienced RO's can catch a squib with a quick STOP!