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Post by CXM on Feb 24, 2019 13:22:18 GMT -5
I encountered something I have not run into in over 30 years... I certainly didn't expect it...
Thursday I was at the range banging away with a High Power Mk.III. While shooting I encountered a squib load.
Here is what happened. I was about half way through a magazine when the hammer fell and nothing happened. I waited about a minute and cocked the hammer and pulled the trigger again... still nothing...
At that point I waited about another minute and cycled the slide... and out came an empty case... At that point my mind was blaring out "warning Will Robinson... DANGER, DANGER."
So I cleared the gun making sure the chamber was empty. Locking the action back I looked down the barrel.... but no light... nothing but darkness...
Anyway I removed the barrel and using a wooden dowel I knocked the bullet out of the barrel where it was lodged about 1" down the barrel... Disaster was thus averted.
This all ended happily... but it could have damaged a prized gun (and one I traded with Chris Stephens to get) and possibly completely ruining it... Fortunately, I have been lucky enough to have a healthy fear of squib loads hammered into my mind...
Anyway, I thought I'd share this... maybe my bad luck will help someone else avoid trouble.
FWIW
Chuck
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Post by gt40doc on Feb 24, 2019 14:04:22 GMT -5
Chuck,
Was this a factory load, or a reloaded round?? A few years ago, I purchased some foreign(China I think) 380Auro ammo at a gun show. It was being sold for cheap. I had three(3) squibs before 1/2 of the box was fired.....I dumped the rest of them. Lesson learned: pay cheap price-----get cheap product!! I always carry a few brass squib rods(different dia.) in my range bag, and have used them more than once.
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Post by Mister Coffee on Feb 24, 2019 14:57:29 GMT -5
Glad to hear that calamity was avoided, Chuck.
Please explain what happened and the definition of a "squib." I don't understand how "nothing happened" when you fired the round, but the bullet was able to travel one inch down the barrel. When we are talking about a squib, what exactly is happening?
Thanks.
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Post by CXM on Feb 24, 2019 16:41:13 GMT -5
The cartridge was a blazer 9x19mm.., But it can happen with any brand. I loaded one myself about 20 years ago... it is just something that can happen when any product is being manufactured... It isn't dangerous so long as you are alert and careful...
A squib is a defective cartridge, usually with little or no powder in it, but it could be other things as well. The usual scenario is when it is fired, the powder (if any) lacks the power to drive the bullet out of the barrel. A primer however has sufficient power to drive the bullet into the barrel a ways... thus blocking the barrel. This in it's self usually does not damage the gun and the bullet can be driven out with a wooden dowel or a brass rod... in which case no harm is done.
Where the problem comes in a shooter does not notice the round in the gun didn't sound right or didn't feel right when it was fired... rapid fire is particularly dangerous in a revolver in which a new round can be rotated into place and fired... the results are usually pretty ugly... a bulged barrel is common... sometimes revolver simply explodes...
With a semi auto pistol, if you are shooting and your hammer falls with no resultant "BANG" you need to stop shooting at once. I allow a full 60 seconds to make sure I'm not dealing with a hang fire. Then I re-cock the hammer and pull the trigger again... if it goes "BANG" all is well... if it does not I allow another minute and then cycle the action to eject whatever is in the chamber. If you eject a complete cartridge all is well... you have a defective cartridge which can be disposed of. On the other hand, if you eject an empty, then it is likely you have trouble.
Once the empty cartridge has been ejected, I lock the slide back and look down the barrel... if the barrel is clear all is well and I go back to shooting. However, if you don't see light you have a blocked barrel that must be cleared before you shoot it again. Such a blockage can normally be cleared by simply taking the barrel out, putting it in a padded vice and driving the bullet out with a brass rod or wooden dowel.
After clearing the blockage, I carefully inspect the barrel for any bulges... You won't usually find one unless you fired a second bullet into the barrel, sometimes you get a bulge from one. A slight bulge normally won't affect the accuracy of the gun so long as the bulge doesn't prevent the slide from cycling.
Anyway, I posted this hoping it would be useful to someone else.
V/r
CHuck
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Post by Mister Coffee on Feb 25, 2019 15:15:39 GMT -5
^^Very useful, Chuck. Many thanks.
I guess if you ejected a cartridge that didn't go bang without waiting, you could have a hang fire go off on a cartridge that was not in a gun. Is that about right?
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Post by CXM on Feb 26, 2019 7:30:44 GMT -5
Exactly so... Hang fires seem to be mostly in rifle cartridges but they are known to happen with pistol cartridges... I have only seen one hang fire that was ejected too soon... it was a 7.62x51 round on a range at Ft. Benning. The offender/victim was a city boy from New York... he was not much into the outdoor life and not at all into shooting... he was the guy who had opined he thought he should skip the rifle training... in retrospect that probably was a good idea... the tac officers said he was the only person they had ever seen who shot a zero on rifle qualification... but back to the hang fire. He had a misfire, which he promptly manually ejected from the rifle... and the cartridge promptly went off. The damage wasn't nearly as serious as you might expect... but he had a couple of cuts on his face, one of which would have hit his eye if it had been an inch farther left... he bled a little and was hauled off by the medics... when we returned to the billets that afternoon he had like four band-aids on his face. Hang fires are not a good thing. FWIW CHuck ^^Very useful, Chuck. Many thanks. I guess if you ejected a cartridge that didn't go bang without waiting, you could have a hang fire go off on a cartridge that was not in a gun. Is that about right? |
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Post by tnorris on Feb 26, 2019 20:10:44 GMT -5
A similar incident was reported on the 1911 Forum using Aguila JHP. There was damage to the gun. In a happy ending, the mfg is covering the damage due to a lot of ammo with little or no powder. "I killed my Hi Power" forums.1911forum.com/showthread.php?t=980508 |
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Post by ruber on Mar 1, 2019 21:37:39 GMT -5
During the ammo drought, I picked up some bulk white box at wally world. Wound up having one round with the bullet pressed in at an angle with the case crumpled and one squib. Pretty frustrating. Wound up using handloads ONLY for the next couple of years.
Thanks for the heads up.
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Post by jonnyc on Mar 9, 2019 20:41:27 GMT -5
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