I Had A .356 Coated Bullet Jam In My Barrel

[ChemistShooter]

I am shooting COL 1.159 9mm .356' 115 gr Eggleston coated lead with 3.9 gr TiteGroup out of an XDM 3.8 full-size. I check the powder weight with a ten-throw average at the beginning and ending of every reloading run. I have never seen the weight change over a run.

The gun wouldn't go into battery. I locked the slide back. A VERY dirty 9mm case fell out. The round had fired but the case hadn't come out. First time I had ever seen that. Upon releasing the slide, the gun wouldn't go into battery. A round would not even load. I locked the slide back again and dropped a pencil down the barrel. Sure enough, there was a bullet jammed in the barrel just in front of the lands. I guess I'm really lucky the bullet hadn't traveled any distance down the barrel.

I clean the gun after every range session. It's never gone more than 200 rounds without being clean. It was cleaned before this session.

This event has shaken me a little because it looks like an undercharge. An undercharge has been my nightmare from Day One, and I have been doing everything I knew to avoid it. 7500 rounds loaded and fired so far without having this particular problem.

The odd thing is the bang didn't feel any different. Felt exactly the same.

Questions:

1. Has anybody fired a round down a barrel that had a bullet jammed in it, or know of an occasion where this happened? Did any kind of physical damage result? I'm worried about what the possible consequences might have been.

2. Is is possible the bullet was a little wider than it ought to have been?

3. Assuming it was an undercharge, is there anything I can do to improve my powder-weight quality control?  Any gadget I can buy that can check powder charges? I own a 550B.

[BritinUSA]

1. Whack it out with a squib rod, it won't damage the barrel, the only way you can do that is firing another round with a blocked barrel.

2. Doubtful, if it was too big for the barrel it likely wouldn't have fed in the first place.

3. Dillon sells a powder check die, you will need to modify the 550B in order to use it... see http://www.uniquetek.com/store/696296/uploaded/Using_a_Dillon_Powder_Check_on_an_RL_550B_Press.pdf

Edited December 22, 2016 by BritinUSA

[haiedras]

That doesn't sound like an undercharge, that sounds like no charge and just the primer. Had that happen before.

1. No issue, pop the old bullet out with a squib rod and you should be fine.

When you fired, did the slide move at all? That seems odd that you locked the slide back and then the fired case ejected. Most likely the slide never cycled after you popped the primer.

Since you're loading on a 550b, it's a manual index, I'd just visually check each case to ensure the powder level looks good before putting a bullet on.
3.9gr should get you about halfway up a 9mm case, easy enough to visually verify before putting and seating a bullet.

[bandw1dth]

When I did the plunk test after receiving my sample bag over the summer I had to load the eggleston abnormally short for my P320. I don't remember the exact OAL but I'm fairly sure it was 1.10 round about. Moral of my story make sure your plunking your rounds. The other fellas are spot on, just a squib, don't let it rattle you. Just visually check your case as you manually index the shell plate and you should be all good. As for the lodged bullet, a 3/8" brass rod has worked well for me in the past. Good luck to ya.


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[jcc7x7]

5 hours ago, ARy said:

Squib. Case was dirty because no powder expanded the brass to seal the chamber, when the primer went off. Don't let it shake you - just be more diligent about checking the powder in the case. 

yep

[Shmella]

a 550 and a squib. Sounds about right. No powder charge in the case.

[mont1120]

I agree with the other guys, no powder in the round. Even if it was a light load, it would have gone further down the barrel. I had it happen on an XDm, and it did go midway down the barrel. My next round must have knocked the first one out, because after that the gun would not go into battery. Took it to the gunsmith, and he called an hour later, telling me the barrel had expanded and cracked, with the 2nd bullet still in the barrel.

 

Dont worry about the squib too much, I would bet most of us here have had em. Part of the process. I have seen a factory round do the same thing. Nothing is perfect, although all of us strive 100 percent to try and make it that way.

[RJH]

1 hour ago, Shmella said:

a 550 and a squib. Sounds about right. No powder charge in the case.

I have to agree, when people have squibs or double charges, they are usually using a 550, it seems.  Which always makes me nervous, because I load a lot of my ammo on a 550...

[njl]

That's either no powder charge, severely undercharged, or the powder failed to ignite.

If that ammo was loaded recently, did you have any problems/stoppages that caused you to break routine on the press?  i.e. dealing with a primer feed issue?

Do you lube your brass before reloading?  If so, what's your process for doing that and what lube?

[9x45]

It's called a squib. No powder. Put a light on your 550 and look into every case at the seating station. And use a dry film lube, if you have to. I only use it on 357SIG, and not 9mm. 

 

The "Perfect Squib"

 

 

Edited December 22, 2016 by 9x45

[9x45]

And if you do break the loading routine, on any press, at any time, pull all the stations and put them aside for later inspection. That's usually where you make the mistake. It's almost always related to a primer feed issue. Also you don't need to worry about the powder charge weight as much. Of all the functions on a Dillon press, that one is absolutely the most reliable step, especially with sugar powders like TG. I have never seen the hopper vary more than +/- .1 grains, and inside of 50 yards, it won't make any difference. What you do need to watch for is when you put new powder in, particularly to make sure a flake of the paper seal does not get into hopper.

[Hi-Power Jack]

12 hours ago, haiedras said:

  that sounds like no charge and just the primer
 I'd  visually check each case to ensure the powder level looks good before putting a bullet on.

^^^^   AGREE     ^^^^^^   

You need to get a light so you can see if there's powder in the case,

and then you need to Check Every Case Before you put a Bullet in ...

EVERY TIME.

(Don't ask how I know).   

[IGOTGLOCKED]

The powder check die (and of course being a progressive) was exactly why I bought the 650. A powder check die is not as expensive as a new hand! As stated above you can retro fit the 550 with a powder check die, do it and be safe my friend...

 

[Sarge]

6 hours ago, Hi-Power Jack said:

^^^^   AGREE     ^^^^^^   

You need to get a light so you can see if there's powder in the case,

and then you need to Check Every Case Before you put a Bullet in ...

EVERY TIME.

(Don't ask how I know).   

How do you know? How do you know?

[PatJones]

a 550 and a squib. Sounds about right. No powder charge in the case.

If you have all the stations full of brass, it's impossible to make a squib on a 550 without also making a round with no bullet. You can only make a squib if you index the shell plate twice before pulling the handle, this would also create a round where you didn't seat a bullet. Pour your newly loaded ammo into another Akro bin and look for loose powder before gauging.

[ChemistShooter]

Damn, you guys are all right. There was NO frigging powder in the case. That makes all the sense in the world. I pulled the trigger and it went click. I thought it was a mis-fire because I didn't hear the primer pop because I had earpro on. Yeah, it had to have happened during a break in the routine. I have enough experience now to know that's when the screw-ups happen.

I always visually inspect but had to have missed one. This is actually a relief. I know exactly what happened.

You can set up a 650 with a powder-check die? Okay, gonna have to check a 650 out closer. I'll have to download the manual.

Thanks for the feedback.

Addendum: All cases are lubed with OneShot. Squirt OneShot into a plastic bag, drop brass in, seal and roll cases around. That way no lube IN case where it will do no good.

 

Edited December 23, 2016 by ChemistShooter
Detail added

[Hi-Power Jack]

8 hours ago, PatJones said:

  it's impossible to make a squib on a 550 without also making a round with no bullet

Don't know re:  a 550, but I used to think the same thing re: my SDB.

BOY, was I wrong.   

One piece on the SDB was cracking (hadn't broken yet, so I didn't catch it),

and that made it iffy as to whether any powder was thrown, or not.

I am currently the proud owner of 200 rounds of 9mm Major ammo many of

which contain NO POWDER, but they have bullets.   

GOTTA LOOK EVERY TIME and make sure there's powder in that case,

at least with the SDB - not sure re: the 550.     

[Shmella]

9 hours ago, PatJones said:

If you have all the stations full of brass, it's impossible to make a squib on a 550 without also making a round with no bullet. You can only make a squib if you index the shell plate twice before pulling the handle, this would also create a round where you didn't seat a bullet. Pour your newly loaded ammo into another Akro bin and look for loose powder before gauging.

I dont own a 550, all im saying is ive read on here many different threads where a 550 was involved and a squib or double charge was the result. If you search through this forum and find every squib or double charge and tally up what press was used I will put money on the 550 being at the top of the list. Statistics was what I was going on,  not actually breaking down how to run a 550.

Edited December 23, 2016 by Shmella

[GrumpyOne]

It's impossible to make a squib on any press if yiu are paying attention to the process. If you aren't paying attention, it's just as easy to make a squib on a fully progressive press as a single stage press.

[rustybayonet]

On Wednesday, December 21, 2016 at 11:34 PM, ChemistShooter said:

3. Assuming it was an undercharge, is there anything I can do to improve my powder-weight quality control?  Any gadget I can buy that can check powder charges? I own a 550B.

On my 550, I use a mirror and light, and look in every case before the bullet goes in. I have also read about low cost auto back up cameras being used. 

[IGOTGLOCKED]

On 12/21/2016 at 11:34 PM, ChemistShooter said:

3. Assuming it was an undercharge, is there anything I can do to improve my powder-weight quality control?  Any gadget I can buy that can check powder charges? I own a 550B.

Yes, it might have been mentioned here already..? A Dillon powder check is able to be retro fitted to a 550. Check it out:

https://www.dillonprecision.com/dillon-powder-check_8_120_23805.html

Cheers!

Edited December 23, 2016 by IGOTGLOCKED

[ChemistShooter]

Yeah, but I believe you have to do seating and crimping in one step as opposed to two different steps. I got nice accurate rounds now and I'd like to keep it that way.

I have been YouTubing 650s. I'm gonna get me a 650, as much for the speed increase as the powder-check die. Won't be that much as I've already got a lot of the parts and I can sell the 550B. I'm doing 600 rounds per session now and that takes a while. Won't be any time soon as I have all sorts of income tax and property tax and patent lawyers to pay.

[njl]

On 12/22/2016 at 11:32 AM, 9x45 said:

The "Perfect Squib"

 

You gotta feed that mouse just a few more beans.

[9x45]

Not my mouse.....       Chem, there is nothing wrong with a 550, but they do require a certified operator. See I've been running mine for 32 years, and I don't want to requalify on a new model.

Edited December 24, 2016 by 9x45

[GrumpyOne]

A 550 does not inherently cause squibs. What causes squibs on any progressive press is the operator not trusting the press, removing a case to check powder (or check something else) and then indexing the press to the next station.  

Once your press is set up correctly, trust your press. I probably haven't loaded as many rounds as some have on my 550 (at least 60k rounds), but I have never had a squib...I also look into each and every case as I put a bullet head on it.

On another note, with the press set up correctly, with no bullet or case feeder, and with 6 primer tubes filled, you can load 500-600 an hour on a 550...