Who does double/triple tap here?

[Barang]

i used to do them but then quit doing it because of a chance that the first bullet might get stuck (not enough powder maybe, ect.). is this a reasonable fear or am i overthinking it?

[OCEquestrian]

i used to do them but then quit doing it because of a chance that the first bullet might get stuck (not enough powder maybe, ect.). is this a reasonable fear or am i overthinking it?

Are you trolling us?

[tabascoz28]

My speed guns are DA/SA so yes. I don't tap and rack the slide until the second click, then I check.

[Barang]

If your'e using American made or surplus ammo, dont worry about it. The NATO stuff (German, Israel, etc...) is GTG if you get them sealed for peace of mind. 2 to the chest and 1 to the head, or walking your rounds up starting at the pelvis is still the way to go.

^^^

that's what my wife and i used to do (chest x2 & head x1). back to the original programming then. thanks.

Are you trolling us?

well, after reading the .50 blow up thread got me scaaared! i know the explosion is nothing compare to my.40 but still made me scaaaared.

i'm pretty sure there will be no hesitation doing this in real life situation but as for practice, i have the luxury to think of "what ifs."

My speed guns are DA/SA so yes. I don't tap and rack the slide until the second click, then I check.

our handguns are all da/sa too. once in s/a mode, that's when we practice some double/triple tap.

[HKAllTheThings]

That 50 cal blow up video is a good reminder that isolated incidents have an outsized effect, thanks to social media, when it comes to risk analysis.

[Skip_Dog]

Yes to double and triple. Some times the entire mag.

[bugsy714]

Who does double/triple tap here?

More tapping is good tapping

[heidad01]

i used to do them but then quit doing it because of a chance that the first bullet might get stuck (not enough powder maybe, ect.). is this a reasonable fear or am i overthinking it?

There is chance of that if the gun goes poof instead of bang.
One would also feel the recoil difference between a super light load (causing a squib) and a normal round.

[IVC]

Worrying about squibs is a legitimate worry. It's different from the double charge or faulty ammunition that caused the explosion of the 50 BMG discussed in another thread.

A squib is when there is not enough powder and the bullet blocks the barrel. Firing the next round into the obstruction will cause an overpressure and, depending on the barrel and gun, can rupture the barrel and destroy the gun. It can also clear itself (don't ever count on it, though). With standard pistol calibers, even if the gun ends up destroyed, there is usually no serious injury. The blow-ups we often see in videos are not from squibs, they are from double charges. The mechanism of the blow-up is similar, though - the overpressure causes the breach to open and gasses to escape where they are not supposed to.

There are few "good" things about squibs.

First, by far the most common type of squib is that there is no powder in the case. The primer ignition creates just enough pressure to push the bullet into the barrel, where it stops almost immediately. A revolver can end up with jammed cylinder, a semi auto won't go into battery on the next round since the bullet will be in the way. So, even if you're firing fast and don't react to the weak/no recoil of a squib, in most cases you won't be able to cause damage because the gun won't go into battery.

Here is a link to a typical squib that caused a kaboom. Notice that the gun didn't fire on the second shot and that the guy had to manipulate the gun to get it to fire. From behind, it looks like he tapped the slide and forced it into battery. Racking the slide wouldn't "fix" the problem if the bullet was preventing chambering, so I believe he forced the issue. Also notice that the gun didn't disintegrate. There was some damage, but gasses got diverted through magwell and cracks, not causing injury.

A squib can also happen if there is some powder in the case, but there is barely any. If you load a round to even half charge, it will be sufficient to push the bullet through the barrel and it won't be a squib, even though it would be seriously faulty ammunition. It's almost that you would have to hit a narrow window of significantly undercharging a round where there is some powder, more than enough to push bullet further into the barrel and allow chambering of the next round, but not enough to clear the barrel. And, the bullet cannot be too far into the barrel if it's to cause a kaboom since you'd "shoot it out" with the next round before too much overpressure builds up to destroy the gun.

Creating a round with this type of undercharge would indicate really sloppy reloading - powder dies might have problem with some types of powder, but we are talking about inconsistencies of a few percent, not dropping just a trace amount of powder. Also, the discrepancy between proper charge and "barely any" charge is very visible during casual monitoring of the reloading process.

So, understanding how squibs happen and experiencing a few should give you the peace of mind that you're unlikely to run into firing into an obstruction unintentionally during rapid fire. Even if you do, it's unlikely to cause any serious problems beyond possibly damaging your gun. If you have to worry about anything with ammunition it's double charges. Those are serious and unpredictable because those rounds chamber normally and create overpressure on their own.

[alpha_romeo_XV]

Sure with a 22LR. 44 magnum or 30'06 not so much.

[hermosabeach]

squib

i used to do them but then quit doing it because of a chance that the first bullet might get stuck (not enough powder maybe, ect.). is this a reasonable fear or am i overthinking it?

I'm guessing what you are saying is.... I'm afraid when shooing a controlled pair, if the first is a squib- and a bullet gets stuck in the barrel... then the second shot will blow up my gun?


If one has a squib in a SEMI AUTO- it has been my limited experience that the action will not cycle. So the 1st round- the squib round- will not extract - will not eject - slide never goes back far enough to load the 2nd shot.

I don't practice self defense drills with surplus or unknown ammo.

It is possible for a round to be primer only, eject the bullet but not the casing.
your immediate action response is the tap- rack flip- fire if there is still a threat. I would think with just a primer, you would feel the pop of the primer and then realize it did not fire...


to make it easier-
Police academy- does not worry about the issue
all the modern gun schools- Front Sight- Gun Sight- thunder ranch- all teach immediate action drill - reseat the magazine- rack flip - get back in the fight. Some teach it while moving.

Every gun that blows up at Front sight is shown and there is a debrief... What went wrong-

It's just not an issue with modern ammo.... much more likely to have a KB from a double powder charge than from your scenario

[hermosabeach]

I was taught with 50 BMG- wait two minutes for a squib or misfire

use a belt to open the action.... 225 grains of powder is a big KB

---
a buddy blew up an expensive gun shooting old surplus... when powder gets wet and dries out- it can form huge clumps... these can smolder and have a delayed ignition....

So when he had a malfunction, he went to run the bolt... as he was pulling open the charging handle, the bolt unlocked, the round ignited and blew up inside the action....

he was unhurt but a PKM was destroyed... a 6K POST dealer sample - poof - gone


--
with training- if practicing for self defense... train like you will fight
2-5 round response
multiple targets- everyone gets one before anyone gets seconds...

use modern ammo

get better...

[ohsmily]

There is chance of that if the gun goes poof instead of bang.
One would also feel the recoil difference between a super light load (causing a squib) and a normal round.

I could not get a bullet stuck in the barrel with any appreciable amount of powder during testing. I went down to .1 grains of Titegroup and it still launched the bullet out of the barrel. In other words, only a squib (no powder) will cause a lodged bullet in a handgun and isn't going to cycle a semi auto slide. Squibs feel different than regular FTFs. There is a puff or poof kind of sound (the sound of the primer igniting but no powder). FYI, squibs often still have enough power to propel the bullet out of the barrel.

There is ZERO chance that a squib (primer only) will cycle a slide.

[ohsmily]

i used to do them but then quit doing it because of a chance that the first bullet might get stuck (not enough powder maybe, ect.). is this a reasonable fear or am i overthinking it?

No. Your fear is not reasonable. A squib or any load powerful enough to cycle a slide and chamber a new round will have expelled the projectile from the previous shot. If shooting reloads or unknown ammo and you get a failure to fire, pause a moment to inspect what is being ejected from the chamber (i.e. empty case or complete round that FTF'ed) when cycling the ammo to fix your malfunction. If it is an empty case and the gun didn't fire, you may have an obstructed barrel.

[Beelzy]

Whoa now, don't go worrying about squibs when you double or triple tap.
You'll develop bad shooting habits, plus it's bad on the psyche.
Always shoot good ammo, that definitely helps.