Squib close call today

[IronsightsRifleman]

I took my wife and her friend to Insight range in Artesia today with my 380. My wife had been shooting with me only a few times and her friend is a beginner. We bought the range's ammo. At one point I had one very light fire so I stopped, unloaded, and checked that the barrel was clear. It was fine, so I figured maybe it was just my imagination. A while later the wife was shooting and the gun jammed so she put the gun on the table and I racked the slide to clear the jam for her. What I didn't know (and what she didn't understand) is that the jam was due to a squib and the bullet was lodged in the barrel. Again, my wife is not an experienced shooter and didn't understand the danger of a light fire, and i didn't know at the time that is what had happened.
Fortunately, the new round was blocked from fully chambering. It wasn't visibly noticeable unless you looked at the slide very closely, but it was enough that the firing pin safety wouldn't strike the primer. Had that squib bullet gone down the barrel another 16th of an inch, our day would have been a real disaster.
Needless to say I ditched the rest of the ammo and reported it to the range. I hope they dumped their whole lot of that stuff.
I've been second guessing myself all day. I should have taken my first light fire more seriously. I should have explained squibs to my wife so that she could have explained her light fire to me, or i should have paid closer attention to her shooting.
God was watching over us today.
Be safe.

[justMike]

Wow! Thanks for the reminder to be more aware. Glad no real 'excitement' happened for you all.

[ABR]

Thanks for posting OP and glad everyone is safe.

[The Gleam]

You know what they say about using someone else's reloads? That's often what 'range ammo' is.

Not saying that was the case here, don't know, but something to watch for. I won't use 'range ammo' even if they insist or mandate, unless it's new manufacture and an identifiable brand.

Thanks for sharing - can never have too many anecdotes like this to remind everyone of the weird/dangerous anomolies that can arise.

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[Preston-CLB]

Thanks for sharing your experience. Squibs or a hangfire are real and can be disastrous. I'm glad you caught it.

Last year a friend had a squib, also .380. It was an off-brand ammo who's name I don't recall. He junked the rest of it. Fortunately, another shooter had a dowel rod so that he could push the bullet out of the barrel. There was no damage to the gun.
-P

[L84CABO]

This is why I hate shooting range ammo. And often you don't have a choice if you rent a gun, as some ranges make you buy their ammo. If you find yourself in this situation, you may want to shoot a bit more slowly and skip things like double taps and firing multiple round strings. The life you save may be your own.

Glad nobody was hurt.

Good luck...and may the odds be ever in your favor!

[colossians323]

You know what they say about using someone else's reloads? That's often what 'range ammo' is.

Not saying that was the case here, don't know, but something to watch for. I won't use 'range ammo' even if they insist or mandate, unless it's new manufacture and an identifiable brand.

Thanks for sharing - can never have too many anecdotes like this to remind everyone of the weird/dangerous anomolies that can arise.

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that's my take on it.