I was shooting 9mm in the Sig Sour p320 m17. I was shooting all kinds of left over stuff to get rid of it. The gun suddenly went "click" So I waited a few minutes and racked the slide and an empty case came out. Another round tried to chamber but could not. I thought I had some bad reloads so I tried other rounds and nothing would chamber.
Gave up and went home to work on the problem. Couldn't get the gun apart but the barrel was definitely blocked. I used a steel rod to clear it out and it worked like a charm. I have had a few sqib loads in my life but never with no sound at all but it's a good thing nothing would chamber or I could have blown something up, like me for example!!!!! Craig
Some scary stuff, I always try and be attentive for squibs as well, you just never know when something like this can pop up
Ken
It is why I carry stuff in my range box, both for me if needed or for others if things go south! ::)
Hey Wade and Ken. I also carried tools and what not to fix the problems but like the home to concentrate on the problem. I really always bring 3 or 4 guns in case of a problem with one but this was last minute range trip as I only planed to shoot like 50 rounds or so. What really bothers me is the no clue as to what happened, and I figured it out at home. I just need to be more careful as I am by myself at the range. Craig
Hey Craig, from talking to others over the years, an under charged rd could have been the culprit, but who knows, could have been a gazillion different things. The good news is that you walked away with all or your appendages in tact : )
Ken
Yeah I found all the leftover 9mm and the bad one was a 125g jhp that I didn't have too many left. I will look at those and maybe unload a few if possible. I really think I missed one with no powder. Boy I use a flashlight to check after I put powder in 50 rounds but who knows. Will report back. Craig
Just checked and there are no 125 jhp to unload.
Yep, I scan over my 50rd blocks 3 or 4 times with a very bright light as well. The nice thing with Blue Dot and my 10mm loads is that it can be picked out quickly, like full case quickly 😀
Ken
Yeah I have had my experiences w squib loads. These days, I focus more on taking my time especially on a progressive press, all it takes is a little hiccup and you can end up with a load w no powder or no primer. It pays to not be in a rush.
Absolutely
I just noticed this post, sorry to be late. I had a similar experience a year ago, or so. I was shooting my 45 Colt Blackhawk and I also had what I thought was a mis-fire. Often, but not always, with revolvers, the squib will lodge in the forcing cone and lock up the cylinder, but in that case, that didn't happen and I kept shooting. When I unloaded I noticed the bullet stuck out of the case a couple of hundreths more. After taking the cartridge apart the heel of the bullets had soot on it, so the primer had gone off and I had failed to put in powder. The benefits of shooting a heavy bullet with a firm crimp. I shoot using both earplugs and muffs, especially indoors; I had my hearing damaged shooting howitzers in the jungle so I'm trying to preserve what's left. Since there was no one else at the range, I hadn't turned on my electronic muffs and didn't hear the primer pop. Electronic muffs allow you to protect your hearing and hear what is going on around you, but you have to turn them on.
a great lesson I learned also when shooting with a friend. He stopped due to a quiet rd from his .357; I said, wow, that was weird, he in turn said, yep this happen to me sometime back and have never forgotten how dangerous it could be
Ken
I've never had that happen (yet perhaps) but I started using RCBS lock-out dies a number of years ago. If it doesn't detect a certain amount of power (set by you using a scale) it doesn't let the shell plate move forward. I was sceptical till I used my first one, now I have them on all my shell plates.