Possible Squib loads?

[soldierbilly1]

I went to the range today to try out my wheel weight 45 ACP bullets.
Super! worked great, except for two rounds.
They seemed like light loads, the bullet left the barrel but the recoil was half assed to say the least.
I suspect my lube was a little runny, a little loose and it may have contaminated the powder? is this possible or probable?
OR, alternatively, a light powder fill.
both cases showed burnt powder?
what say you's? can the lube make a squib load?
thanks
billy boy

[Leftoverdj]

Yeah, melted lube can kill part or all of a powder charge, but it's normally pretty well contained in the grooves. Wiping the bases before you load and keeping your ammo out of extreme heat are all the precautions usually needed.

[HammerMTB]

The power burns on the outside of the cases (I take that what you mean) say the charge was insufficient to seal the cylinder.
It might have been lube, but I would be more inclined to say it was light powder charges.
Be careful there, as light charges of some powders have unpredictable results. I watch every powder fill, even in my progressive at full tilt production. I have a small flashlight shining in the case, and look to see if it is filled the same as I expect.
Only time it is not necessary is for compressed charges. Then I can save the flashlight.
There aren't many (any?) compressed charges in .45 ACP.....

[snaggdit]

Yeah, I got the autodisk for my Pro 1000. Using flake powder in lower loads doesn't like to drop consistantly. I have missed a few squibs. I do the same now. Check the level in each case before adding a boolit. Sucks getting a squib fire. One of the last ones took out the display on my Chrono... Dropped 2" at 10' and took out the upper edge (just dented) but shattered the LCD. And the day had been going so well up to that point!

[Sprue]

Another good reason to store the loaded ammo, boolit down. Course, you probably do this anyway.

[soldierbilly1]

thanks to all. It's what I thought. When I got the Lubrisizer I had to blow dry the piece to get the lube moving. I think I overdid it a little and the lube got soft and runny.

thanks to all.
I have made 1000's of reloads, but never loaded my own casts before! still on the learning curve. Anybody see any primers out there?
billyboy

[Echo]

Welcome to the forum, SB. What load were you using in your 45? And what powder measure?
I don't load my .45's for max, so I use 3.6 grs of BE under a 200 gr SWC (Lyman 452460) and have no problems. If I am not using the Dillon, I use a Pacific/Hornady pistol powder measure with the appropriate bushing.

[mooman76]

Another good reason to store the loaded ammo, boolit down. Course, you probably do this anyway.

Why would storing your ammo bullet down help in this situation? If you have lube on the base of the bullet, then the powder is resting on it.

[hoosierlogger]

Why would storing your ammo bullet down help in this situation? If you have lube on the base of the bullet, then the powder is resting on it.

I think the idea is that if the round does happen to find its self in a hot environment, (Inside the truck for a little while in the sun.....ect.) the lube is less likely to melt and run out of the lube groove into the powder.

[BruceB]

A year or two back, I undertook to shoot up all the miscellaneous ammo which had accumulated in my shooting van and loading shed. Some of the ammo had been in the HOT-HOT environment for upwards of three years. All of it was cast-bullet ammunition, all lubed with Felix lube, and most was living loose in plastic Glad boxes....i.e.: NOT "bullet down" for storage.

I fired over 900 wildly-assorted rounds in a single day, and NOT ONE failed to fire, or gave an unusual sound or recoil. In addition, I chronographed a goodly number, and none of the chronographed rounds failed to turn in normal numbers.

I live in the high desert of Nevada, and I'm certain that temps inside both van and loading shed reached 120 degrees or more on many occasions during the storage period.

Finding no failures in over 900 rounds was statistically convincing, as well as highly pleasing to me. I still don't recommend such extreme conditions for storing ammo, and in fact I now keep the a/c on a low setting all summer in the shed. This has got to help. The van still keeps "attracting" ammunition though, and I bet there are over 1000 rounds baking in there right now. Time for another shooting marathon, I guess.

[runfiverun]

i store ammo much like bruce does, mostly in those little plastic boxes that stack nice on the shel.f but much of it is in plastic shoe boxes ,coffee cans, cardboard boxes,ammo cans if i find them cheap. but mostly in the free shipping boxes from the post office.
and a lot of it sits in the truck in a brown gym bag, till i find time to shoot it.

[soldierbilly1]

I use a Lee auto disk in my Lee turret, Titegroup, 4.9 grains and the Lee SWC 200 grain bullet, Win large pistol primers.
I am really a highpower rifle shooter, but I enjoy shootin' my 45, something I really don't do very well, but I am gettin' better.
I have reloaded a couple thousand rounds for my Kimber 1911, I bought it as it can shoot cast boolits really well, a good value overall.
My problem is (was) that I was still new to lubing bullets and got the lube too warm. Unfortunately, the Lee 6 banger has a beveled bottom, which tended to collect lube on the base. The rounds were not heated here in central NJ, we haven't seen the sun in about 3 weeks! I just put them together, I did not have time to misstore them!

I noticed the Lyman mold I have, the 452460, is not beveled on the bottom, handles the lube well, and the casts shoot like a champ! Maybe due to the 3 bands(??). a short bullet?
I am thinking of buying another Lee 6 banger for my 45, any suggestions? (something that handles lube well, that is, a non-beveled bottom.) should I go for Truncated cone, flat nose or the 1 ogive. man, these are truly difficult decisions! any recommendations? thanks, great site!!
billy boy I gots the casting bug

[David2011]

Soldierbilly,

Squibs can be perplexing. Where do we start? I have had two light charges lately on a Dillon 650. That's hard to do. I have loaded about 40,000 rounds on that press and that's the first time I've had light charges. In both instances the bullet cleared the barrel but is was still a cause of concern. Twice during the loading session that resulted in the light loads I found June bugs in the brass. I've been loading in a large workshop that had no weather seals or climate control (soon to be remedied). I can't help but wonder if the light loads were from more insects that I missed dampening the spark of the primers. I agree with Leftoverdj and don't think lube migrates from the lube groove once the bullet is in the case. The fit of the case should be tight enough to contain molten lube. The idea of lube on the base of the bullet mising with the powder is of more concern, though. The summer heat is sufficient to melt the lube and letit mix with the powder if you had lube on the bullet base.

Using a blow dryer on your lube-sizer? Someone passed this trick on to me; now it's my turn to pass it along. Go to Goodwill and buy an old clothes iron for a buck or two. Mount your lube-sizer on a piece of sheet aluminum or steel at least 6" x 12". I got a 1/8" x 6" x12 piece of aluminum but steel would work, too. Set the iron on low and on the far edge of the sheet metal. Turn it on 30- 45 minutes before you start sizing so it's at a stable temperature. Regulate the temp by moving the iron closer or farther from the sizer. Cheaper and easier to control than a commercial lubrisizer heater!

David

[David2011]

Soldierbilly,

One more thought: Store ammo boolit down? Not when you shoot IPSC! Not enough space for that many little plastic boxes! Mine goes in heavy duty zip lock type bags and then into surplus .50 Cal ammo boxes. I like to go to a match with 300 rounds minimum. After the last match in the Texas heat, I dediced to paint my ammo boxes white or desert tan to lower the temperature of the box and the ammo inside.

[soldierbilly1]

David: super idea on the Al plate. smart thinking!
On some of the rounds I cast, lubed, loaded and shot, I had to re-manufacture two or three from the suspect batch. I was interrupted (family) so I weighed the loaded rounds looking for outliers. About four were higher than the others, and I felt I may have made the dreaded no-no double charges. So, I remfrd them. I think this is where the extra shot of warm sloppy lube came into the sides of the case. Next time I will really wipe the bottoms of the casts well and see to it I do not get interrupted. I have not totally ruled out low fill weights on the auto disk. Not likely, but not impossible. More likely seems my first shot at lubing my own casts. Won't happen again. Still on the learning curve. Hey, my one hand shootin' is gettin' better!
billy boy

Of course, I could always handload one round normal and then add a dollop of lube to the powder. Mark the round and shoot it just for fun. See what happens.