.45 ACP Squib

[Bladeshark]

I went to the range after work yesterday and shot 100 reloads (230 gr xtreme bullet, Winchester Brass, 5.0 gr Bullseye, CCI LP primer) that I had made. Good time. I brought my Kimber and RIA. I switched back and forth between the two guns until I had a problem getting the Kimber to go into battery. No worries, I just set it aside and shot the RIA.

Cleaning time was today. I break down the Kimber and to my surprise I find a bullet lodged in it.



Wow, I had no idea that was the problem. I tapped it out and here it is:



I didn't notice reduced recoil or any problems, although there must have been a clue I didn't notice. After reading a few threads on here I think I must be over crimping. Sheesh.

[cntrolsguy]

You, my friend are lucky to still own a fully functioning Kimber. Be careful and pay attention when shooting reloads, you should have been able to feel the difference between a good load and an empty case.

[Bladeshark]

You, my friend are lucky to still own a fully functioning Kimber. Be careful and pay attention when shooting reloads, you should have been able to feel the difference between a good load and an empty case.

I felt very lucky once I discovered it. Wow.

[damndave]

Very lucky you still have hands. When i had my 1st squib, I noticed it immediately in my Glock. Glad you were able to avoid injury of any kind.

[G-forceJunkie]

Being a reloader, I would load up a few more and "practice" what they feel like. It should have been very noticable. You got lucky, often in a pistol the primer will have enough oomph to push the bullet far enough to load and fire another round behind it.

[Bill Steele]

It was not the crimp.

The round that lodged the bullet had no powder, just the primer. You were very lucky it did not go into battery, pretty common for a no powder squib. Had you had a little powder in that round, the bullet likely would have lodged further down the barrel. If that happened, a bad kaboom would have been the result of the next trigger pull.

Depending on where you are shooting, many times you will not hear the squib go off, it will feel like a light primer strike. Anytime you are shooting reloads, you must pay attention to the gun, making sure you actually get an adequate bang with each trigger pull. When you have a fail to fire, stop and check for a barrel obstructions. The tap, rack and shoot drill is not the right stuff when shooting reloads.

Good luck, have fun.

[cntrolsguy]

Funny story, I just started reloading about 6 months ago. I reloaded my 1st hundred rounds and went to the range with my uncle. I had all the rounds in a small box and to my crappy 9mm Beretta just in case I blew it to hell n back. My plan was to take 1 round load it it the mag and if it worked then I would load 2 and if that went good would load 3 and so on. So any ways I go to pick 1 out of the box and load it in the mag and proceed to shoot it. I felt absolutely no recoil and the RO yelled out squib, even before the RO yelled it out I new something was wrong. I felt it, it just did not feel right or sound right even thought i had ear protection. I took the 92fs apart and sure enough to my surprise my first squib ever, embarrassing as hell considering it was my reload and the first of my 100 reloads (I thought to myself, this is going to be a long freaking day). After ramming out the squib and proceeding with my process of 1 then 2 then 3 rounds and so forth guess what no problems at all. It just happened that the 1 round I screwed up reloading was the first 1 i picked out of the box (what are the chances of that!!!!!). I am glad it happened that way because it taught me to pay attention every time I pull the trigger. Life is funny some times.

[Bladeshark]

It was not the crimp.

That makes sense. I'm a bit flustered from missing the danger signs. Damn. Bad JuJu.

[cntrolsguy]

That makes sense. I'm a bit flustered from missing the danger signs. Damn. Bad JuJu.

Don't be flustered, you learned a valuable lesson without being hurt. This is a great and valuable lesson. You were lucky, now you know. Pay attention and you will be OK! Remember we have all experienced or will experience something similar no matter how long we have been doing this, It's the nature of the beast.

[NewGuy1911]

Please do not think this tread-jacking.

Mr Bill Steele, "The tap, rack and shoot drill is not the right stuff when shooting reloads."

This opens up a whole new way of looking at self defense loads and serious competition shooting. I'm at the very beginning of the reloading curve. What little range and some "action" type stuff has thought me is "... tap, rack and shoot drill... ". I do not think, I just do........ Squib's really scare me, I would be a sucker for one.

[Bill Steele]

The first time is the biggest deal.

...Remember we have all experienced or will experience something similar no matter how long we have been doing this, It's the nature of the beast.

That is why everyone knows what happened, even without pictures. I think it was Chris (XDroX) that posted something like, "there are two types of reloaders, one's that have had a squib and one's that will have a squib."

Poor Beretta's, they get no respect. My test platform in 9mm is my 15yo 92FS, perhaps not the best blast shield with the unshrouded slide, but definitely the gun I want sacrificed if I step over the line.

To the OP, you can get some 1/4" round wood dowel stock at most hardware stores pretty cheap. Cut a length of that off and put it in your range bag. I also carry a small chunk of 2x4 (a few inches long) as my hammer and you have what you need to dislodge a bullet if it ever happens again. When in doubt, with the action open, you can stealthfully slide it in and check for obstructions, a much less embarrassing way to check than holding the gun up to light while looking back up the barrel.

With your experience behind you, if you look into every case before setting the bullet, this will likely be an isolated event.

Have fun.

[anothergunnut]

I'll second what Bill Steel is saying. After you fired that round, the gun almost certainly had a failure to eject or failure to load. That is an indicator that you have a problem and tells you that you should be checking your barrel for an obstruction. Don't just clear the jam and chamber a new round!

[Bladeshark]

I'll second what Bill Steel is saying. After you fired that round, the gun almost certainly had a failure to eject or failure to load. That is an indicator that you have a problem and tells you that you should be checking your barrel for an obstruction. Don't just clear the jam and chamber a new round!

That is the million-dollar lesson learned for me. I was very focused on my grouping and probably cleared the failure to eject without thinking about it. A lifetime of shooting possibly had me instinctively clear it without breaking concentration on the target. Bad move. I do remember working on smoothing out my trigger pull during this session. Aside from that, nothing notable. Just another day at the range.

Thanks all for your comments. The experience will make me better.

[ns3v3n]

That's one thing I fear the most too when I reload, that's why I always check the case for powder before I put a bullet in for good measure. That little extra time I spend doing that is well worth it. Glad you came out ok man. Good thing you decided to put it aside and not put another round in it.

[Bladeshark]

Sadly, I did try to put another round in it. Twice, actually. It wouldn't go into battery. THEN I put it down.