Had a squib today, not sure what caused it

M1ke10191 · June 27, 2013, 04:34 PM

I had a squib load in my Mosin just now. I'm always careful with my powder charges so I doubt it was an undercharged case. I just switched to a Lee turret and I use the double disk kit, bit since I still check each round I don't think that matters a whole lot.

I don't have any pics but the case looked fine on inspection and the primer was struck fully. You wouldn't be able to tell it was a squib just by looking at the case itself, minus the fact that there was unburned powder still in it.

My friend was the one shooting it and he said the trigger clicked and powder granules came out everywhere. I noticed a good amount on the shooting table. The power was Win 748 and I throw between 44 and 45 grains. Not sure what the actual charge is offhand but the powder throw is very accurate.

Now for the interesting part. There was a mass of caked together powder which was just large enough to be stuck in the case when I tried to shake it out. Also, the powder had its typical grey/black color along with some yellow thrown in, which I have never seen before.

My AR was using the same powder and fired just fine, and we shot about ten rounds through the Mosin before the squib happened.

I can't think of what the cause may have been. My guess would be the temperature/humidity caused the powder to degrade but I can't imagine that would happen unless the situation was severe.

The humidity was pretty high since we're expecting a thunderstorm tonight, and the temperature was in the low 80s.

Any thoughts from more experienced loaders out there?

g.willikers · June 27, 2013, 05:19 PM

The inside of the case was wet when it was loaded with powder?

csmsss · June 27, 2013, 05:34 PM

I'm guessing there was too much lube on inside of the case neck when the bullet was seated and a fair amount was pushed into the charge when the bullet was seated.

IDT · June 27, 2013, 06:39 PM

I've had it happen once because I had a piece of tumbler media that apparently fell into the primer pocket and blocked the full fire from igniting the charge. Well, I'm assuming that's what caused it because I eliminated all other causes...

June 27, 2013, 04:34 PM	#1
M1ke10191 Senior Member Join Date: May 25, 2012 Location: Upstate New York Posts: 122	Had a squib today, not sure what caused it I had a squib load in my Mosin just now. I'm always careful with my powder charges so I doubt it was an undercharged case. I just switched to a Lee turret and I use the double disk kit, bit since I still check each round I don't think that matters a whole lot. I don't have any pics but the case looked fine on inspection and the primer was struck fully. You wouldn't be able to tell it was a squib just by looking at the case itself, minus the fact that there was unburned powder still in it. My friend was the one shooting it and he said the trigger clicked and powder granules came out everywhere. I noticed a good amount on the shooting table. The power was Win 748 and I throw between 44 and 45 grains. Not sure what the actual charge is offhand but the powder throw is very accurate. Now for the interesting part. There was a mass of caked together powder which was just large enough to be stuck in the case when I tried to shake it out. Also, the powder had its typical grey/black color along with some yellow thrown in, which I have never seen before. My AR was using the same powder and fired just fine, and we shot about ten rounds through the Mosin before the squib happened. I can't think of what the cause may have been. My guess would be the temperature/humidity caused the powder to degrade but I can't imagine that would happen unless the situation was severe. The humidity was pretty high since we're expecting a thunderstorm tonight, and the temperature was in the low 80s. Any thoughts from more experienced loaders out there?

June 27, 2013, 05:19 PM	#2
g.willikers Senior Member Join Date: September 28, 2008 Posts: 10,442	The inside of the case was wet when it was loaded with powder? __________________ Walt Kelly, alias Pogo, sez: “Don't take life so serious, son, it ain't nohow permanent.”

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June 27, 2013, 05:34 PM	#3
csmsss Senior Member Join Date: October 24, 2008 Location: Orange, TX Posts: 3,078	I'm guessing there was too much lube on inside of the case neck when the bullet was seated and a fair amount was pushed into the charge when the bullet was seated.

June 27, 2013, 06:39 PM	#4
IDT Member Join Date: November 6, 2011 Location: West Virginia Posts: 70	I've had it happen once because I had a piece of tumbler media that apparently fell into the primer pocket and blocked the full fire from igniting the charge. Well, I'm assuming that's what caused it because I eliminated all other causes...