Who has accidently loaded a squib?

[bobbysfd]

The other day at a local IDPA match I had the jam of all jams on the first shot. After slamming the front sight against a cover pole I cleared the jam.
When I was ready to start over the RO mentioned I may as well check to make sure I didn't have a bullet in the barrel, a fellow shooter had a wooden dowel and there was indeed a bullet stuck in the barrel. It scared the #%@# out of me; not so much for the possibility of severe bodily damage, but my beautiful trophy would have been hurt bad.
I think what happened was when my spring on my Lee autodisk broke I did load bout a hundred rounds manually sliding the disk.
Please keep the proper size dowel in your range bag and be careful out there

[mitchr]

I keep a cleaning rod kit in my bag for that reason. I don't think it'd be strong enough to drive one out, merely used to identify a problem. I may put a dowel in my bag also. I've heard that a squib will have a definite different sound to it & I hope that is true. It does kinda concern me when doing rapid fire because I don't know if my reflexes would be good enough to stop the trigger pull on the next round.

[bobbysfd]

We just can't be too careful, I was surrounded by people, all with good ear protection and no one included myself notice the sound difference.

[mitchr]

That's scary! I guess it might be more likely to go unnoticed with several people shooting & probably shooting different sounding pistols, than if you were shooting by yourself. The few times I've been at the range with several other shooters, it seems the sound of mine just seems to blend in with the others. Maybe a difference in recoil would be a better signal than the sound. Glad you weren't hurt or pistol ruined!

[k g]

I had a couple years ago with a spherical powder in .44 Mag. It's only after the second one that I remembered the static lumps I was getting in said powder.
I would stir them with a wooden dowel in the PPM hopper, but they obviously formed again in the rotor.

So I started checking every load visually (believe it or not, then and there, i could hear the powder drop, but that didn't tell me how much was dropping...).

More recently, I had one in .45 after one of these sessions I spend battling the priming system of my Pro 1000. I suppose I didn't fully actuate the press as I was clearing primers.

[Michael T]

I might practice with reloads But would never use in a match Were I am going against a clock and rapid firing . Your lucky . Lot of times 2nd shot runs in to the stuck one .
Winchester white box seems to suffer this from all the reports Ive read over internet over the years .
Only trouble I ever had was a box of Corbon 380 DPX would load and fire but case wouldn't eject stuck in chamber . Happened 2 times in my PPK/s So I removed the slide and drop a bullet chamber found 7 more . That wouldn't even chamber . Unless forced by slide or hand. Phone call and new box on way and return for problem box .
Only time I ever had trouble . I know I had trouble with premium ammo and you with reloads . But reloads tend to be the larger problem and cheap factory 2nd.

[mustang652]

I seldom fire my now 72 year old 1911, but I still follow advice I got off a 1911 forum right after I first got it years ago. I do not rapid fire it and I make sure that I either see the either a hole punched in the target or dirt fly behind the target before I pull the trigger again. I think I picked up the idea of having the oak dowels on BC. I keep one for each caliber in both my range bag and in my RV to go cleaning box. If I ever make the decision to get rid of it, I don't want it to be because I blew it up.

[Michael T]

My USGI 1911 is older than yours mine is 1941

[gtgeorge]

I might practice with reloads But would never use in a match Were I am going against a clock and rapid firing . Your lucky . Lot of times 2nd shot runs in to the stuck one . Winchester white box seems to suffer this from all the reports Ive read over internet over the years . Only trouble I ever had was a box of Corbon 380 DPX would load and fire but case wouldn't eject stuck in chamber . Happened 2 times in my PPK/s So I removed the slide and drop a bullet chamber found 7 more . That wouldn't even chamber . Unless forced by slide or hand. Phone call and new box on way and return for problem box . Only time I ever had trouble . I know I had trouble with premium ammo and you with reloads . But reloads tend to be the larger problem and cheap factory 2nd.

And I am exactly opposite with my reloads. I wouldn't shoot a match with factory ammo as it gets less checks and care than my "match" ammo. I weigh everything and then check them and recheck them. I do not have failures and my ammo is the most accurate for the gun I shoot them in. And I had issues with factory ammo and a firearm that was willed to me. I didn't have ammo loaded and used what came with it as well as some that I won. That was a mistake as I had 2 failures during a match. I have shot it many times since with flawless results not to mention much better accuracy. I have also watched many other failures with factory ammo of most brands during matches that were ammo induced with others during matches. In fact there is almost no factory ammo in my house.