PDA

View Full Version : Squib load ringed barrel



jmsj
08-25-2013, 04:31 PM
Hey Guys,
Something happened today that I have never seen before and was hoping that someone could explain it to me.
I just put a new Kart barrel into a 1911 and was firing some 185 grain SWC's.
I was firing toward a dirt berm and could see each shot spraying the dirt with each shot. Then I had a squib load, no dirt spray on the berm and the action did not cycle. I stopped and did not fire another round. I took the barrel out and knocked out the stuck bullet. The bullet came out very easily with a wooden dowel. I ran a patch down the barrel and noticed the barrel was ringed.
In the last 30 years I have had 2 stuck bullets in a bore and have not rung or bulged a barrel. Although they were in revolver barrels and not a 1911. I have seen bulged or ringed barrels before but I was under the assumption that they were caused from firing another round after a bullet had became lodged in the barrel. The ring or bulge is slight (.005") when measured w/ a micrometer on the outside of the barrel but is visible. The ring is about an inch ahead of the chamber. It is far enough back that the gun still cycles.
I am hoping someone could explain to me how a load that was too light to push a bullet out the bore or cycle the action could create enough pressure to bulge a barrel.
Thanks, jmsj

MtGun44
08-25-2013, 05:14 PM
You missed a previous squib and hit it with another boolit. You only looked
on the second one. Cannot ring without two boolits hitting.

Bill

jmsj
08-25-2013, 05:28 PM
Bill,
That has been my impression.
Anything is possible but I was really watching and could swear that every previous round had hit the berm. I was not even firing for groups but function testing.
Thanks, jmsj

Joe504
08-25-2013, 05:45 PM
Is it possible you double tapped, and the second round squibed?

Well, maybe not, because the brass would not have ejected.

wv109323
08-25-2013, 06:20 PM
Was the barrel absolutely new from Kart? I have heard that some pistolsmiths will buy barrels and then test them in a fixture before fitting to a slide. The ones that do not meet their accuracy standards go back to the manufacturer or are sold to the unknowing. Are you sure the ring was not there before you installed the barrel?
I don't think one squib could cause a barrel bulge.

skeettx
08-25-2013, 06:38 PM
I had one 9mm Colt Commander bulge when the a bullet shed some of its parts in the barrel
and the next bullet down the tube hit it.
Not a pretty sight
Mike

jmsj
08-25-2013, 07:01 PM
skeettx,
Good to hear from you.
In your 9mm Commander were you shooting lead or jacketed?
I've already got the hood fit on another new Kart barrel. I'll get the lower feet cut and final fitting after supper. Hopefully I'll get this running tomorrow.
Thanks for the input,jmsj

skeettx
08-25-2013, 09:55 PM
Hello
28 years ago when this happened
I believe cast but you know how time works
if the old mind :)
Mike

dbosman
08-25-2013, 10:26 PM
A small charge of a slow powder could do that.
A soft light bullet, gets stuck in the rifling, while the powder finishes burning.

Frank46
08-25-2013, 11:51 PM
I read someplace that you could use a medium sized pipe cutter with the cutting wheel replaced with another roller and in effect swage the bulge back in place. But having said this don't remember where it was. Frank

theperfessor
08-26-2013, 02:13 PM
Strongest possibility is that something was in the barrel before your squib load hit it. The OP didn't say whether the 185 SWCs were cast or jacketed. Could a part or all of a jacket become stuck in the barrel if the core blew out? I remember reading cautions about too light a charge can allow jackets to get stuck in barrels.

Just a thought.

jmsj
08-26-2013, 07:49 PM
perfessor,
The 185's were commercial cast bullets that were given to me. The load was 4.2 grains of WST and CCI primers.
I got the new barrel fit last night. Luckily the last time I ordered barrels, I ordered a couple extra.
Thanks, jmsj

beagle
08-28-2013, 10:57 AM
Had to be some kind of barrel obstruction. One of my shooting partners did this with a Ruger .45 ACP. Barrel hung up due to the bulge about 1/2" from the muzzle. Rather than send it back to Ruger, he turned the bulge down to normal diameter and counterbored down past the bulge. Lost a little velocity over the chronograph but it still fired fine and was accurate./beagle

felix
08-28-2013, 11:48 AM
A barrel expands and contracts with EVERY shot, with a projectile sized to fit either externally, or internally when fired. A hard barrel (cold) or a hard projectile will evoke a different acceleration curve than one shot in a contrasting environment. That's why barrel-load combos shoot differently on different days. ... felix