Pay Attention People!

[mrcabinet]

Today, after reloading for close to 40 years, I had my first squib round. Fortunately, it was quite obvious, so no round was fired behind it. No damage to people or hardware occurred. I attribute it to a lapse in attention while loading this batch, primarily due to interruptions by family members and work phone calls. No matter the reason, it was 100% my fault, and a good wake up call. I'm now weighing the rest of the batch to make sure I didn't mess up any others.

[M1A4ME]

I don't use my Lee progressive press (cheap one) as a progressive press and still charge powder manually with the brass sitting in an empty handgun cartridge tray (rifle and pistol brass both).  Still use a small flashlight to look down into the brass to both gauge powder level and whether or not there is powder in the case. 

Slower, I know, but adequate for my needs.

You gotta pay attention.  Every step of the process requires observation/inspection of the components and how they are "fitting together" while making your ammo.

[Wobbly]

I'm now weighing the rest of the batch to make sure I didn't mess up any others.

Unfortunately that won't find anything. The weight of the case alone varies so much that finding 3 or 4gr of powder is nearly impossible.

Good catch on the squib. You're correct. They are not something only muzzleloaders need to be concerned about.

[Gunnerdad80]

Glad you caught it and no one was hurt.

[mrcabinet]

Getting my first squib was certainly humbling, but what was most disappointing was that it happened half way through the first mag of my MAPP1's maiden voyage, and I didn't have a rod with me to knock it out! An old cleaning rod now has a permanent home in my range bag.

I went ahead and weighed the rest of the batch and, as Wobbly said, any difference was hard to spot. There were a couple that made me go "hmmm", so I just tossed them in my to-be-pulled bin to be safe.

[Fuzzy Sights]

Mrcabinet,

Remember a 2700 match and a shooter had a problem.  Found 3 200gr SWC stacked into the barrel.  Needless to say had two very slight bulges and had to be replaced.  Good news is nothing else was damaged.  He pulled the rest of that batch and found two others that were lacking the proper powder charge.  Remember it was a large flake powder (700X?) and he used a Dillon press and that turned out to be the issue.  Very light load and the powder drop was too inconsistent with that powder.

Glad neither you or your pistol were damaged.  Thanks for the reminder, about to start a run on some warm 40 S&W for my P-07.  A similar instance would not have the same results.

JW

[bang bang]

welcome

everyone makes mistakes at one time or another.

when it comes to reloading, its important to keep in mind why and try not to do it again.

Distractions are a big issue no matter what you are doing.

[Wobbly]

Distractions are a big issue no matter what you are.....

The secret is to put your Dillon calendar on the wall BEHIND your reloading chair.

[armoredman]

I have never had a Dillon calendar, but you can see what's on the wall in front of me when I am at the bench.



I triple check powder levels, and I had one squib back in the day, no explanation. mrcabinet is absolutely correct - pay attention and don't cut corners while reloading. Glad to hear no damage.

[timetofly]

I had a couple of squibs and primers not getting set with my progressive press when I tried to load ammo sitting in a wheel chair after I became disabled.  I have remedied that now that I can stand for periods of time.  I now can feel the primers seating better and while standing, I peek into the casing to see the powder before I set the bullet on the casing as a quick QC.  I’m more confident when I go shooting now.  It’s amazing how muscle memory and old habits come to the rescue.

[bubbas4570]

I have had 2 squib loads in my life....so far.

First one was when my father decided to come out and shoot with me once.  He was firing my 1991A1 in 45ACP, and I caught the squib "sound" and started yelling for him to stop shooting.  He pretty much gave up shooting after that, even though I made sure he knew that he was not to blame for the problem.  No damage done, except that I think he never wanted to do that again.

The second time was with a AR that I was testing out for a friend.  This one cost me a new upper to replace the one I wrecked.  Gunsmith looked at everything on that deal and came to the conclusion that it was most likely an underloaded/underpowdered round that I had a detonation with.

BOTH were 100% my fault.  No questions there.  No excuses.  I don't remember the 45 loading problem, just missed a powder charge is all.  The 223, I knew what happened, and I was testing out Darwins theory on myself by not refilling my powder hopper when it was about empty.

Both could have been dangerous to myself/others.  The AR did damage me, and I took off from reloading for almost a year after that happened.....it shook me pretty bad in the confidence department.  I am back on the reloading wagon, and making much better decisions in the quality control department in my reloading steps.

[hondamikek]

Hey man, I’ve been reloading for years and ya just never really know when something like that can happen. I had one not too long ago on my .357 Mag wheel gun. Luckily I was mindful of the noises that were made, and found the squib before sending another round. Always gotta be on top of your game.

[timmy75]

didn't pay attention 

[Gunnerdad80]

didn't pay attention 

Yikes

[tdogg]

didn't pay attention 

Details please!

Hopefully nothing else was damaged.

Cheers,
Toby