Something so stupid!

I always look down the neck to check for powder before seating the bullet, but I once did an oil change without putting the drain plug back in.f:P::D
 
travellerw said:
....Now this is where the story should have a happy ending... Unfortunately this is where I made my fatal mistake. Maybe it was my frugality (cheapness) but I didn't want to waste 40 projectiles and they only had some small dents where I pulled the bullets. I figured "Hey I'm just shooting them at a steel wall, it won't care if they have small dents". So I dumped the powder from those cases (just to be sure), re-powdered them all and began seating bullets. Yup I really did, didn't even bother to run the cases through the re-sizing die.

I put all those in a ziplock bag and figured I would shoot them first. Next day at the range, I made it through about 25 before I had the squib. I didn't really notice anything different about the recoil. Just that when I pulled the trigger after, it went "Click". I racked the slide and out came a casing that was completely black. I knew right there that something went wrong. I made sure to safe the gun, then looked down the barrel. Sure enough, the bullet traveled about 2/3 of the way down the barrel.

Many lessons learned.. Scared the crap out of me.
Click to expand...

None of what you described there was dangerous or likely to cause a squib so don't feel so bad. I wouldn't hesitate to do the same. Dented bullets won't hurt a thing.

From your description, (action didn't cycle, blackened case) it sounds to me like you had a missed or very light powder charge in that one.

Are you sure there weren't 6 dummies?
 
I'm pretty sure it had a full powder charge. I weighed them all after they were completed.

What we figure.. Is I used the exact same cases (that I pulled the bullets from) without re-sizing them. Since the Lee 3 die set I'm using doesn't actually do a crimp on the casing we think the bullet we very lightly set. This allowed the pressure to escape around the casing.

I have read a bunch of postings on other forums where people created primer only rounds and fired them on purpose to see what would happen. In all cases, the slide either did not blow back, or so little that the hammer didn't even make it to first notch. My hammer was fully cocked, but the next round did not chamber. So I know it had powder.
 
So I reread you description of what happened. It sounds to me like the round you felt the recoil on was a regular round and than the click is when it squibed. If the bullet doesn't leave the barrel you don't get any sound and the blackened case is because without enough pressure the case didn't expand and gas from the primer slipped by. This has happened to a few novice and experienced reloaders. The best thing you did was to stop and check you gun when something weird happened not just rack another round into the chamber. I have seen the results of the second way before. Not pretty.
Thanks for posting this it's a nice reminder that if we reload we need to pay attention at the bench and on the firing line.
 
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Hookturn said:
....It sounds to me like the round you felt the recoil on was a regular round and than the click is when it squibed. If the bullet doesn't leave the barrel you don't get any sound and the blackened case is because without enough pressure the case didn't expand and gas from the primer slipped by....
Click to expand...

^This.

Very unlikely that a round that didn't exit the barrel would move the slide enough to #### the hammer / striker.
 
No.. The click was on the spent squib round.. I know this cause when I fired it, I felt hot power fly out on my hands. Being dumb and green, I didn't think to stop and pulled the trigger again. The hammer dropped on the already spent primer with a click and no poof, bang or even puff, just the click of the hammer.

Thats when I thought to stop and look. It happened on the 9th round in the mag (I usually count as I fire). The 10th round was still sitting in the magazine.

Like I said, the bullet traveled 2/3 of the way down the barrel. I don't think a primer only charge could push the bullet that far.
 
I learned not to be in a rush when reloading. I was loading some 7mm-08 and I some how managed to not put any powder in 3 rounds. So range day came and I shot. I ran out of time and did not get the chance to get to the last 3 rounds.

Later in the week I went to make some more rounds and I picked up my last 3 rounds. For some reason I decided to shake them next to my ear. When I heard nothing I pulled them and found what I did.

The "I feel stupid" sure hit me.

As they say, "It happens". Now no bullet goes onto a case until I see the powder.
 
travellerw said:
Like I said, the bullet traveled 2/3 of the way down the barrel. I don't think a primer only charge could push the bullet that far.
Click to expand...

Yes, it probably would. I definitely agree that you missed a powder charge on that cartridge. You shouldn't need to re-size your brass after pulling a bullet to firmly hold a bullet. There should be plenty of neck tension after pulling the bullet. If the neck was loose enough to allow gases to escape around the bullet, then the bullet would have to be completely loose, and would fall into the case.

You just missed a powder charge and the primer compound is the only thing that propelled the bullet.
 
A squib can happen to anyone. I had one on the range just the other day. Shooting a 338/378 Weatherby. Primer went but main powder charge failed to ignite. The bullet did jam into the leads. When I inspected the shell I had a full charge of Retumbo inside. I had to tap the bullet out with a cleaning rod and a jag. What would have been stupid on my part would have been a dry ball. (Old muzzle loader term for ramming a ball home without a black powder charge down the pipe first)
 
"Have you ever done something so stupid you don't want to admit it..."

Yes. But it had nothing to do with reloading.
 
It happens to all of us sooner or later; just as long as nobady gets hurt. My Lee powder charger on my press catches every once in a while, but I found out on my first squib. I am lucky that the bullet did not go far enough down the barrel to allow the next round to feed proeprly or I may have tried another round. I have learned since then to watch the powder drop carefully (either throws perfect or not at all).

A shooting buddt had the same problem with a Dillon; some screww backed out and it decided to stop dropping charges. He was not as lucky. We were shooting rapid drills; when it went clikc, he did not really hear it. He fired another round behind it; it did not completely ruin the gun, but a gunsmith had to get the barrel out whoch needed to be replaced.
 
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