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Thread: Squib

  1. #1
    Boolit Bub snipecg21's Avatar
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    Squib

    Hope this is the right place for this
    I took my wife to the range this weekend. While using my 1911 we ended up with a bullet stuck in the
    barrel. These were my reloads and were loaded with the Berrys 230 gun plated bullets I was given for Christmas. Upon disassembly I found that it was stuck right at the end of the chamber, evan with the ring the case headspaces against. I soaked the barrel in oil overnight and today I knocked the bullet out from the muzzle end as there was far less distance to travel. I have clean the barrel thoroughly and can't see any rings or defects in the bore on the outside. From the sound I think I missed a powder charge and only the primer for power. Should I go ahead and reassemble and shoot or is there anything else I should check ??

  2. #2
    Boolit Master 358429's Avatar
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    Really lucky you did not send a second one into the first one. The gun is fine. I think you need to examine your Workshop practices so that this does not happen again. May I ask what is your system for loading ammunitions?

    Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

  3. #3
    Boolit Bub snipecg21's Avatar
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    Normally I weigh each charge as I was loading on a single stage. The bullets and a turret press were my Christmas presents.

  4. #4
    Boolit Master 358429's Avatar
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    That's a really nice gift they got you the bullets and the press

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  5. #5
    Boolit Bub snipecg21's Avatar
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    It is apparent that I need to pay much more attention to the powder feeder

  6. #6
    Boolit Master



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    No need to soak overnight, knock it out with a brass rod, look see if anything else is wrong, keep shooting. Good thing you caught it, though. Nice gift.

  7. #7
    Boolit Master 358429's Avatar
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    I load with a loading block. When I charged powder, the powdered case goes into the loading block.

    At no point in time other than that do I ever put a casing in the loading block. That means the only time a casing is in the loading block it after it's been primed it's been expanded has been powdered and is ready for the bullet.

    I take a bright flashlight and look. The only mistakes I have ever found is a split case mouth I did not catch earlier.


    I use small sturdy cardboard boxes to stage the brass and the bullets for the different processes. (Reloading/sizing bullets). (Hand press work flow)

    I've seen some guys put a bunch of primed expanded casings in a loading block and then add powder to the casings while they're sitting in the loading block, I see problems with this.

    I load single stage. Is that the auto indexing turret press? What a cool idea I've been looking and thinking about upgrading for a long time.

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  8. #8
    Boolit Grand Master
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    One change to consider.

    Stop using a loading block. Have your sized and primed cases in a container. Take the case, fill with powder and IMMEDIATELY seat the bullet. This is not only a bit more efficient but safer. It is impossible to double charge a case with this method.

    BTW, you may still have a problem....are you 100% sure you only had one case without powder and did not double charge another case???? Think about that. You may want to pull the rest of loads just to be sure.

    Loading blocks are a mistake waiting to happen IMO. I stopped using them decades ago.
    Don Verna


  9. #9
    Boolit Master

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    I use a loading block with a single stage press.

    When all cases are charged, I can visually inspect each case and check the powder level.

    It's worked for 50 years.

    762
    Hope for the best, plan for the worst.
    My amendment can beat up your amendment.

  10. #10
    Boolit Master

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    I once removed six bullets from the barrel of a Blackhawk. The barrel was not damaged. The bullets were from OLD surplus 38 Spec. tracers. Customer claimed the tracers had "welded the barrel shut".
    Spell check doesn't work in Chrome, so if something is spelled wrong, it's just a typo that I missed.

  11. #11
    Boolit Master
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    In my 55 years of reloading, I've only forgotten the powder once, in my super Blackhawk, and the lead slug got just far enough up the barrel to require a good stout cleaning rod, which I didn't have with me......oh, well.

  12. #12
    Boolit Master
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    I been reloading for 60 years ,and I got caught out by powder sticking in a delivery tube.....never had it happen before ....and I always rap the measure ....... I knew straight away there was a defective load from the recoil ......anyway ,the load was a partial ,some of the others were close to double loads when I pulled the whole lot.

  13. #13
    Boolit Master Tokarev's Avatar
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    Looking down the barrel after a squib is not enough. Take a cleaning rod and put a tight patch over it. Run it down the barrel and feel for any looseness that you know by sudden loss of traction. If it slides all the way through, with equal force, then you are OK. If it goes tight and suddenly jumps forth, then the barrel is a paperweight. In olden times a gunsmith could run a special compression ring over a blown barrel and squeeze it down to normal but today most can afford a replacement barrel for a semi-auto.

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check