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Mikul · March 19, 2001, 04:38 PM

This is a followup to my topic of tumbling bullets that has spurred it's own topic.

I was at the range testing IMI jacketed bullets vs. Berry's. Everything was great until I got 150 rounds into it.

I loaded a fresh magazine into the gun and realized that the slide was still forward. I worked the slide and a shell casing came out.

?????

I took the gun apart and looked down the barrel.

DAMN! This is not my day.

A round was lodged in the barrel. The brass was covered in carbon and the primer is shaped around the firing pin (although I'm not certain this brass was the one I manually ejected, but it's the only one that looks bad). The barrel appears fine on the outside. The grooves on the polygonal rifling appear to be stripped down to bare metal. The grooves are bright silver, but the rest is black. Does anyone know what that indicates?

It looks like I had a round lodged in the barrel and fired another one after it. I can't explain the pressure signs on the brass any other way. A double charge would do that, but I sure shouldn't have a bullet stuck in the barrel.

I didn't feel a thing while shooting. I would have felt a squib load. Any time something feels unusual, I strip the gun.

I can't figure how I got a squib load from my 550b.

Is it possible that I had a double charge which fouled the barrel so badly that the next round got stuck? Could this be a case of excessive crimp? Or could it be (cringe) that I fired a bullet into a previously stuck round?

I hope I'm not going to need to replace the barrel.

March 19, 2001, 04:38 PM	#1
Mikul Senior Member Join Date: March 21, 2000 Posts: 1,396	This is a followup to my topic of tumbling bullets that has spurred it's own topic. I was at the range testing IMI jacketed bullets vs. Berry's. Everything was great until I got 150 rounds into it. I loaded a fresh magazine into the gun and realized that the slide was still forward. I worked the slide and a shell casing came out. ????? I took the gun apart and looked down the barrel. DAMN! This is not my day. A round was lodged in the barrel. The brass was covered in carbon and the primer is shaped around the firing pin (although I'm not certain this brass was the one I manually ejected, but it's the only one that looks bad). The barrel appears fine on the outside. The grooves on the polygonal rifling appear to be stripped down to bare metal. The grooves are bright silver, but the rest is black. Does anyone know what that indicates? It looks like I had a round lodged in the barrel and fired another one after it. I can't explain the pressure signs on the brass any other way. A double charge would do that, but I sure shouldn't have a bullet stuck in the barrel. I didn't feel a thing while shooting. I would have felt a squib load. Any time something feels unusual, I strip the gun. I can't figure how I got a squib load from my 550b. Is it possible that I had a double charge which fouled the barrel so badly that the next round got stuck? Could this be a case of excessive crimp? Or could it be (cringe) that I fired a bullet into a previously stuck round? I hope I'm not going to need to replace the barrel.