Squid round!!!!

[Lizard333]

I was at the range today shooting my 44 Redhawk and got a round that failed to fire and got my slug stuck in the barrel!!! The primer went off and the powder was fouled by lube!! I was able to to take a wooden rod and push it back into the cylinder but talk about a buzz kill!! I was shooting quite a few loads through my pistol and it was pretty warm. I must of had some lube that didn't get wiped off left on the base of my bullet. The only thing I can figure is while it was sitting in the cylinder, the lube melted and fouled the powder!! I was using a Hard lube, Lyman's Orange Magic, but apparently it was hot enough in the cylinder to melt the lube and foul my powder. I was bummed. I make it a point to wipe off the base of my boolits after I resize them through my 4500, but I must have missed one. This ever happen to to anyone else?? I have only been reloading lead boolits for about two months now, and this is my first mishap.

[leadman]

Oh, I thought you were shooting your seafood!! LOL . Either that or you had a squib round.

Had one once caused by a piece of corn cob tumbling media. Can cut your day short for sure.

[TonyM]

wow... I've never had that happen before. What powder were you using?

[btroj]

I would think OT would take ALOT of heat to melt the lube enough to foul the powder that badly.
I once had a problem with wc820 in my SRH. Powder was just a wad behind the bullet stuck in the barrel. I added more crimp and the rounds went off fine. Large charges of slow burning powder needs pressure for a good burn.

What powder, charge, and bullet? Bet it wasn't the lube.

[3006guns]

I've had squibs from no powder in the case (not my reloads) and had to do the same drill in order to free up the gun. There have been instances where the boolit gets into the barrel and the shooter ears the hammer back for another shot. Then he buys a new revolver.

I can see how excess lube might cause it though. About all you can do is what you're already doing, i.e. make sure the boolit base is clean before seating. In fact, I make a practice of wiping the base across one leg of my Levis as soon as it comes out of the sizer. A denim cloth fastened down the the bench would serve the same purpose of course!

Another thought......could it be something from your case preparation? Some kind of cleaner or water left in the case by accident? I usually wash my cases in hot, soapy water then rinse and dry in the sun for several hours or blow them dry with an air nozzle if I'm in a hurry.

[243winxb]

Light powder charges of H110 or W296 might produce a squib. Using a non-magnum prime would maybe have an equal effect. What powder are you using??

[462]

Where I live, squid is caught on seasonal basis and is a restaurant staple.

I've had one squib: .357 Magnum, proper amount of W-296, small pistol magnum primer, but a weak crimp slipped past me.

[TonyM]

Come on, you guys have never made a mistake? The ridicule isn't necessary. steve k

On a lighter note, at least he won't make that mistake again....

[Guesser]

I've had squibs several times in 50 years of hand loading and a few times with factory ammunition. Lots of reasons it can happen. We strive mightily to prevent the occurrence, but some still slip thru.
Just don't stack them!!!!!!!!!!!

[Doble Troble]

A squid/calamari load is one you loaded without powder, but can't accept the fact that you were capable of loading it without powder. It gets lodged in the barrel just the same, but something about it still seems "fishy".

[waksupi]

If you want to see inventive spelling, join us in chat some evening, and try to decipher my spelling! Thank God for spell check here!

[gray wolf]

Why is there lube on the base of the bullet to begin with ?
Bevel base ?
I lube 1,000's of pistol bullets with my old Lyman 450. I never wipe any off, there clean.
Did you see power in the barrel ?

[462]

Come on, you guys have never made a mistake? The ridicule isn't necessary. steve k

Ridicule was never my intent, just a bit of light hearted humor.

If I ever make such a typo, I'd expect and welcome the fun, jokes, ribbing, etc. to begin. Sometimes, we have to laugh at ourselves.

[HATCH]

Come on, you guys have never made a mistake? The ridicule isn't necessary. steve k

a BIG +1


It happens from time to time.
Most of the time its from low powder or no powder.

I guess it is possible that you did have lube on the bottom of the boolit but hard lubes take some heat to get melted. The cylinder would have to be really hot and the loaded rounds would of had to stay in the cylinder for a little while for the heat to transfer thru the brass to the boolit to melt any lube on the bottom of the boolit.

I would lean towards low powder charge. It happens. I have had one in the past 5 years. I know what happened for mine. I run a dillion 550. I pulled the round out of the powder station to check the load. I put it back but forgot to put the powder back in. Like I said it happens.
Don't get discouraged. Just be more careful.
Its all about steps. Just make sure you don't skip any.

[ColColt]

Lube does have a tendency to get on the base of a bb bullet but even that's not enough to cause that kind of problem. I'm sure I've overlooked a few in getting it off and loaded the rounds that sit around for a week before I shot them and they all fired without any squibs. Has to be something more.

[RobS]

I'm interested in the load as well. Lyman Orange is a higher temp lube that I don't see melting down and migrating into the case very easily.

[Groo]

Groo here
I have had a few my self..
It is not usually lube or primer but powder[lack there of] incorrect primer for the powder
[296 or H110 but not magnum primer]
or an undersized bullet ,lack of crimp , or split case...[bullet moves too quick].
If the later there will be a large amount of discolored powder in the gun..
If no powder then the bullet is usually at the cylinder / barrel gap.
not enough powder and the bullet will be most the way down the barrel.

[jmsj]

Lizard333,
I have a few over the last 25+ years. Most of them have been from really light target loads. This past weekend I was shooting my Ruger Vaquero in 45 Colt and had a squib load. The thing that was different was this was a fairly warm load. The boolit was a 300 grainer from a mold I got from RobS, a healthy dose of 2400 and a heavy crimp. As soon as I pulled the trigger obviously something was wrong, the recoil felt less than a .22. I pulled the cylinder to check to see if the boolit was still in the barrel and was surprised to see that the barrel was clear.
I guess my point is, squibs can happen.
RobS,
I am really liking the 300 grainer, it is the best boolit I have for my 45 Colt Vaquero.
jmsj

[wiersy111]

I had my first squib round tonight!!!!! I just started using a Lee Load Master. I have loaded about 500 rounds with it so far. I am 100% positive there was no powder. It kinda went pfffttt, I knew right away what was. Now I have to figure out how I did it.

[alamogunr]

I had a squib load in a 1911 .45 ACP. No powder. It cycled the slide though. I almost pulled the trigger again but my shooting partner told me to hold it since it didn't sound right. Sure enough, there was a bullet(jacketed) stuck midway in the barrel. I never did figure out why the slide cycled.

John
W.TN