The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - Squib - any first hand experiences, what are the symptoms

orionengnr · February 19, 2011, 11:45 PM

As a fairly new reloader, I will admit to having had one. Mine was the result of no powder in one case. How that happened...I can only speculate. But I have a fair idea.

The primer ignited, a "pop" instead of a "bang", the empty case was ejected, the bullet moved forward but not very far. The next round did not fully chamber due to the bullet stuck in the barrel. That was enough of a clue to get me to investigate further. All worked out well.

It has certainly not deterrred me from handloading, but has inspired me to be more vigilant. Anything that causes an interruption in the sequence...and I mean anything...mandates a full stop, a review and confirmation of where each cartridge is in the process, and a careful, considered resumption of the process.

If you are loading single-stage, this will probably never happen to you. Which is a fairly powerful recommendation for new loaders to start on a single stage press. However, I was given a (non-auto-indexing) progressive, and jumped right in. Good idea or bad, what is done is done.

Don't let a few isolated instances scare you off. While it is certainly possible to hurt yourself, you can minimize the risk by starting with low-pressure cartridges such as .38 Spl or .45 acp.

At the risk of incurring universal abuse, it is my opinion/experience that these cartridges are more forgiving of common new loader erreors (not that one should be complacent). That is to say, they have a larger evelope.

February 19, 2011, 11:45 PM	#7
orionengnr Senior Member Join Date: July 9, 2004 Posts: 5,174	As a fairly new reloader, I will admit to having had one. Mine was the result of no powder in one case. How that happened...I can only speculate. But I have a fair idea. The primer ignited, a "pop" instead of a "bang", the empty case was ejected, the bullet moved forward but not very far. The next round did not fully chamber due to the bullet stuck in the barrel. That was enough of a clue to get me to investigate further. All worked out well. It has certainly not deterrred me from handloading, but has inspired me to be more vigilant. Anything that causes an interruption in the sequence...and I mean anything...mandates a full stop, a review and confirmation of where each cartridge is in the process, and a careful, considered resumption of the process. If you are loading single-stage, this will probably never happen to you. Which is a fairly powerful recommendation for new loaders to start on a single stage press. However, I was given a (non-auto-indexing) progressive, and jumped right in. Good idea or bad, what is done is done. Don't let a few isolated instances scare you off. While it is certainly possible to hurt yourself, you can minimize the risk by starting with low-pressure cartridges such as .38 Spl or .45 acp. At the risk of incurring universal abuse, it is my opinion/experience that these cartridges are more forgiving of common new loader erreors (not that one should be complacent). That is to say, they have a larger evelope. Last edited by orionengnr; February 19, 2011 at 11:56 PM.