How did I ruin my barrel?

[Endyo]

Draw and fire practice with a live primer? I'm not familiar?

Also Thanks Sarge. Learned something new been reading up on bulged barrels.

I missed why you feel the need to deprime your brass. Just pull the bullets, toss the powder and re-size without the deprimer pin installed. Use this brass w/primer for draw and fire practice.

I "ringed" a barrel shooting steel challenge once with a Ruger 22/45. I didn't realize it until I was cleaning the barrel before the next match when I could feel the brush "skip" past the ring. Lucky me! And this time it's lucky you! Often times a squib can prevent the next round from chambering and stop you in your tracks, that's a Good thing!

Your first bullet made it far enough to get stuck and then hit by the next round and only ring the barrel.

You might want to buy a lottery ticket.

[LikesToShoot]

Draw and fire practice with a live primer? I'm not familiar?

Also Thanks Sarge. Learned something new been reading up on bulged barrels.

I missed why you feel the need to deprime your brass. Just pull the bullets, toss the powder and re-size without the deprimer pin installed. Use this brass w/primer for draw and fire practice.

I "ringed" a barrel shooting steel challenge once with a Ruger 22/45. I didn't realize it until I was cleaning the barrel before the next match when I could feel the brush "skip" past the ring. Lucky me! And this time it's lucky you! Often times a squib can prevent the next round from chambering and stop you in your tracks, that's a Good thing!

Your first bullet made it far enough to get stuck and then hit by the next round and only ring the barrel.

You might want to buy a lottery ticket.

Sorry to confuse you.

On the suspect rounds that you take apart you will have pulled bullets, powder and primed brass. If there's any question about the powder having been wet or whatever, just throw it away. If the bullets look good, no sign of a crimp, then go ahead and re-use them. The primed brass should be re-sized without the depriming pin and reloaded as normal. Since you've already ruined a barrel and didn't get hurt then I'd suggest that these reloads be used for single fire use only. i.e. Draw and fire.

[Doc Hunter]

RULE - if it does not feel or sound right - STOP and see what's up.

[KSH]

I've had a squib before from a light powder charge. When the bullet on bullet contact happened it was painful. The energy was enough to knock the slide off the lower frame completely and it split the barrel completely in half.

That's why I check my visually check the inside of the cartridge up to three times (once when staging the brass, once before dropping the charge, once before seating the bullet) and weigh every charge at least once after metering.

You have had two in 2 to 3 years of reloading

Please change your routine, I think you should be seating the bullet after inserting the powder. Yes one at a time.

Edited February 11, 2014 by KSH

[Justsomeguy]

While a squib is entirely possible and a "leading suspect" it is also possible that a bullet was loaded long or had crept forward from recoil and thus hitting the lands increasing the pressure exponentially which could also cause the swollen barrel at that point. You should have noticed the squib if there was one, but a bullet touching the lands caused by "creep" from recoil in the magazine with a case that has less than expected case tension is also a possibility and would have not given any clue prior to firing it.

Edited February 12, 2014 by Justsomeguy

[PROBIKE101]

MIGHT help to buy a dillon 650 or 1050 loader put your mind at ease did for me......

[Alaskapopo]

While a squib is entirely possible and a "leading suspect" it is also possible that a bullet was loaded long or had crept forward from recoil and thus hitting the lands increasing the pressure exponentially which could also cause the swollen barrel at that point. You should have noticed the squib if there was one, but a bullet touching the lands caused by "creep" from recoil in the magazine with a case that has less than expected case tension is also a possibility and would have not given any clue prior to firing it.

Umm generally recoil in a semi auto causes bullets to go deeper into the case not the other way around. Now with high recoiling revolvers where the nose of the bullet is resting on nothing then yes recoil can pull bullets forward. But not in a semi where the bullets just get slammed up against the front of the mag driving them deeper into the case if anything.

Pat

[Justsomeguy]

@Alaskapopo... I understand your point and mostly agree except with magazines for large frame pistols all of which do not have magazine blocks in them for shorter cartridges. Those will allow some creep. But your point is well taken, and I might add that setback can also cause pressure problems, whether from the feed ramp or other causes that might induce high pressure and cause some barrel ringing. I still say a squib should have been more obvious even in a quick string of fire.

Edited February 13, 2014 by Justsomeguy

[Alaskapopo]

True but in large frame magazine the rounds (whole cartridge) can move forward while I a revolver the case is held firm by the rim and only the bullet can move forward.

Pat

[Red Ryder]

3.8 Grains of N320 is Very Very light. I use 4.2 to 4.3 with a 124 gr MG CMJ. Do bunny fart loads have a higher incidence of squibbing?

[Cd662]

Red Ryder -

Yes, if the burn characteristics of the powder are compromised. You can only go down so far before getting inconsistent ignition. The OP's drastic variations in velocity is a clue.

[Sarge]

3.8 Grains of N320 is Very Very light. I use 4.2 to 4.3 with a 124 gr MG CMJ. Do bunny fart loads have a higher incidence of squibbing?

Do you run a g34? Glock barrels are pretty fast so 3.8 is not that light. In my G34 I ran 4.2 N320 with the same bullet as the OP and it made 135 PF. Certainly 3.8 probably produced around 125PF which is not in the realm of extremely light enough to cause ignition irregularities.

[Red Ryder]

Yes I run a G34. Sarge I agree with you. I was just going out on a limb and wild guessing.

[Endyo]

I've had a squib before from a light powder charge. When the bullet on bullet contact happened it was painful. The energy was enough to knock the slide off the lower frame completely and it split the barrel completely in half.

That's why I check my visually check the inside of the cartridge up to three times (once when staging the brass, once before dropping the charge, once before seating the bullet) and weigh every charge at least once after metering.

You have had two in 2 to 3 years of reloading

Please change your routine, I think you should be seating the bullet after inserting the powder. Yes one at a time.

I seat a bullet one at a time after measuring the powder on a chargemaster 1500.

The first squib was ignorance and cheap equipment. I had all the signs there and fired another round.

3.8 is a light load, I've since bumped it up. I think that may have contributed to this issue.

[jboyd103]

I'm confused a bit...pardon me.

If this was a squib (and I agree it probably was):

1) I would think the slide would not have fully cycled without any powder, resulting in a stove pipe at max and most likely not even enough to do that.

2) With a very light load, which most here have had the misfortune of loading, even then the bullet exits the barrel but the case fails to eject.

3) IF it was a squib load, and the slide did not cycle, did the OP rack the slide and fire again?

[Para super]

I have had 2 45 acp loads with clays powder 4 grain and 230 grain bullet with federal primers that failed to ignite all of the powder. The bullet cleared the barrel but the powder and the case were left in the barrel. The slide didn't cycle. There was no reason for this failure but some others on this forum had the same experience with this combo of powder and primers.

[RDA]

I'm confused a bit...pardon me.

If this was a squib (and I agree it probably was):

1) I would think the slide would not have fully cycled without any powder, resulting in a stove pipe at max and most likely not even enough to do that.

2) With a very light load, which most here have had the misfortune of loading, even then the bullet exits the barrel but the case fails to eject.

3) IF it was a squib load, and the slide did not cycle, did the OP rack the slide and fire again?

Indeed those things can happen but I believe what can also happen with a light load that results in a squib, even though the pressure is lower than a regular load where the bullet exits the barrel, with a squib light load, the bullet lodges in the barrel and the pressure is restricted to cycling the slide and none of the pressure is exiting the barrel providing enough pressure to initiate the slide cycling.

[TH3180]

I'm confused a bit...pardon me.

If this was a squib (and I agree it probably was):

1) I would think the slide would not have fully cycled without any powder, resulting in a stove pipe at max and most likely not even enough to do that.

2) With a very light load, which most here have had the misfortune of loading, even then the bullet exits the barrel but the case fails to eject.

3) IF it was a squib load, and the slide did not cycle, did the OP rack the slide and fire again?

I have had 2 squibs and they were both on purpose. I wanted to know what it would feel like. I loaded three rounds into a bone stock G34 and a bone stock G35. In each one the 1st two rounds had powder and the 3rd none. Went to a buddy's farm and shot both guns as normal. In both guns the squib round did not lock the slide back but did fully eject the spent case. My assumption is a fresh round would have cycled into the chamber. I'm glad I did my test to know the feeling. I hope to never have a squib but if I do, I now know the feeling of one.

[fyresq]

I had this squib a few months ago after converting my press from 9mm to .40. I didn't get the chain that activates the powder measure just right. I measured the first couple of charges, but it came loose sometime after that and I ended up with several rounds with light or no charge.

Luckily I had just loaded a small batch of about 20 rounds to check the setup and not a full run.

[RDA]

I had this squib a few months ago after converting my press from 9mm to .40. I didn't get the chain that activates the powder measure just right. I measured the first couple of charges, but it came loose sometime after that and I ended up with several rounds with light or no charge.

Luckily I had just loaded a small batch of about 20 rounds to check the setup and not a full run.

Did your slide cycle on that squib?

[fyresq]

I had this squib a few months ago after converting my press from 9mm to .40. I didn't get the chain that activates the powder measure just right. I measured the first couple of charges, but it came loose sometime after that and I ended up with several rounds with light or no charge.

Luckily I had just loaded a small batch of about 20 rounds to check the setup and not a full run.

Did your slide cycle on that squib?

No it didn't. I automatically started my malfunction drill and stopped about halfway through when my brain caught up and I realized there was a POP instead of a CLICK.