Squibs

[JAB]

So i been reloading my 9mm with these primers called Dominion they been working great except for the  very odd  time id get a light strike where round didn't go  off.so now i have my other press set up and running loading 38spl using same primers and powder as in the 9mm. Im finding with the 38spl almost ever other round is a squib?. It's  so bad that i started weighing  each round twice on different scales just to make sure the dam powder charge was right.So here my question  has anyone  ever have primers go bang but not light up the main powder in the case because i one i stoped using these primers  and went to federal and  i had no more squib

Edited March 8, 2019 by JAB

[swordfish]

Yes. Very old primers. My friend just had this happen the other day, he found some primed brass and used it to make ammo with in his 40 Rock Island. Maybe every 3rd round was a squib that didn't ignite the powder all the way, which ended up with a lot of clumps of half-burned powder.

 

Thinking about it now, it could have been bad powder, as I'm not sure what load he used or how old the powder was. Normally his stuff is kept in a dry area but it's possible he bought a contaminated container from a guy at a gun show over the years or something.

It's also possible he used new powder that was kept correctly, and the primers were bad. They made a funny popping noise and managed to propel the bullets about an inch into the barrel. But one would assume that if the primer went off, it would be enough to ignite the powder.

I just tried calling my friend to ask him what powder he used, but at the time his best guess was the old kinda oily bag of primed brass he bought at a gun show caused the squibs.

Edited March 8, 2019 by swordfish

[Koppi]

Problem solved, use good primers-----

[Hi-Power Jack]

21 hours ago, JAB said:

 has anyone had primers go bang but not light up the main powder 

 

Not sure that is possible.     

 

I may be wrong, but I'd think that if the primer went "bang", it would always light the main charge.

 

Did you actually hear the primer go off ?   Or did you not hear it but observed a dent in the primer

after the round failed to fire ?

 

I would guess it's more likely that the fired primer had not been successfully removed from the

case during the reloading process, and the powder was added to a case with a fired primer.

 

That happens quite a bit, unless the primer punch is not beveled.     

[Toolguy]

A piece of corncob or walnut in the flash hole can cause a dud round if the primer is lit but blocked from reaching the powder. Some people size and deprime the brass before tumbling to clean the primer pockets, then don't check the flash holes before loading.

[ysrracer]

I've never really heard of a primer going off, and the powder not igniting. Unless maybe it's bad powder?

[alecmc]

Do you wet tumble your brass ?

[pskys2]

22 hours ago, ysrracer said:

I've never really heard of a primer going off, and the powder not igniting. Unless maybe it's bad powder?

Primers can get contaminated. I never use a round for a match that I've touched  the primer anvil/compound with my fingers.

I have had one that was contaminated by oil that fizzled, it didn't produce a squib but barely made the target.  I knew the problem and was ready though.

Edited March 10, 2019 by pskys2

[Koppi]

Hi,

I have put oil and water on a primer. Both went off for me.. you can try it.. just load the primer in a case, leave it empty, fire the primer only ...

 

Bad gun powder smells citrus'y, but I have powder that's is from 1990 in a barrel that is still good..... that would be rare for the powder to go bad, in my experience..

 

Maybe Hi-Power Jack is correct. 

 

 

[M1A4ME]

A few years ago I used up 4,000 CCI primers that I'd put up in my attic 25 years earlier.  Every one went bang.  Temps in the attic range from 110/115F in the summer to below freezing in the winter and humidity can be pretty bad here in central VA.  Every one went bang.

 

Last year I did a short/small test.  I ran across some .40 S&W brass I failed to clean the crushed walnut shell media out of the primer flash holes before priming.  I started depriming them and then decided to do the test.  Left 25 of them with the dirty/brown media in the flash hole (usually it's just one piece that needs to be pushed out).  Loaded up 50 rounds with Herco and 140 grain Missouri Bullet Co. bullets and headed to the range.  All 50 went bang and groups, at 10 or 12 yds., were the same.  I will not leave media in the holes on purpose, but I'm not afraid every one will be a dud either.

 

Never had bad powder either.  Used up several partial cans of powder that had been in the same cabinet with the previously mentioned primers.  Opened them and used some of each 30 plus years ago, got them down and used all but the IMR4350 and 4320 up about 8 or 10 years ago.  All good.

 

I'm sure I could damage primers and powders on purpose, if I tried, but so far I've not seen it.

 

You need to inspect the brass before/after resizing, and after cleaning and before priming.  If you prime brass to load later store it in a sealed container.  It's amazing where some bugs will lay eggs/store food for larvae.

[Hi-Power Jack]

I'm still using powder from the 60's (1960's, not 1860's) and it's fine.

 

Have primer that got flooded in my basement, and if they're dry and

they look okay (some did look funny and I threw them out) they

still go bang.

 

Powder and primers are TOUGH     

[Jay1957]

Revolver (38 Special) shooters have squid plroblems with light loads. Small amount of powder in a large case gets up against bullet a long way from primer. Happened to me once. Evident by unburned powder.

[Gomar83]

I found with some really light loads with federal primers and a light bullseye powder charge that the primer go off and would push the bullet half out of the case and not burn the powder and lock the gun up(if I tipped the revolver back before I fired the rd it would go off, but not if the powder was against the bullet).I switched to Winchester and CCI and the problem went away, and it didn’t matter if the powder was up against the Bullet.

[Koppi]

Not all powder is made the same, some are slow burning, some are fast burning. A lite load of a slow burning powder will act as you describe. Match the powder to the bullet and power factor your trying to achieve. 

[Alaskan454]

It is very possible for a primer to go off and not immediately burn the powder.  Though it is more likely to happen with large cases and slow powders versus small cases with a fast powder.  Cold weather will also increase the probability of this occuring.

 

In big bore magnums one of the most dangerous things that can happen is called a hang fire.  Primer gets struck, round does not fire, then a few seconds later the cartridge goes off.  Imagine holding onto a 500 Linebaugh and you think it's a dud, then out of nowhere your revolver launches a 525gr slug.  That's not good.

 

I've never had a hang fire myself, but have had dud rounds in very cold weather.  I now use CCI 350s in those types of guns to make sure it goes off every time.  They are less temperature sensitive than other brands.

Edited March 14, 2019 by Alaskan454

[Toolguy]

Just this week I had 2 squib loads in 38 Super ammo with Federal 100 primers during a match. The bullets went just into the forcing cone and tied up the gun. I thought for sure they didn't have any powder. I pushed the bullets partly back into the case with a brass rod. When I pulled the bullets at home later, I discovered a full charge of unfired 231 powder in both. The primers had gone off strongly enough to unseat the bullets, but not burn the powder. These were primers that had been wet in the past and dried out for a long time, but looked funky.  It was obvious they had been wet. The cardboard containers in the 1000 pack had gotten glued together and the priming compound on some had washed out into the plastic tray. I have used ones like this before with no problems. These were obviously a mess and I shouldn't have used them.