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Old December 2, 2012, 10:11 PM   #1
jabraun98
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Squib bullet concern

I am basically talking about .22lr. How do I prevent this? Weigh my bullets before shooting?
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Old December 2, 2012, 10:19 PM   #2
Mal H
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Please be more specific. Are you concerned about getting a squib load in a 22LR? That is so rare as to be practically non-existent. Getting a failure-to-fire (FTF) is fairly common with .22's, especially with the bulk packs, but getting a bullet stuck in the barrel from a squib load isn't.
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Old December 2, 2012, 11:59 PM   #3
jabraun98
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I get FTF. I'm talking about bullets stuck in the barrel
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Old December 3, 2012, 12:17 AM   #4
JohnKSa
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I agree that it's not common to get squibs in .22LR that result in a bullet lodged in the bore.

In centerfire rounds, squibs are caused when the primer ignites and the powder charge doesn't ignite or only partially ignites. The force of the primer and/or partial powder ignition drives the bullet into the bore but is insufficient to get it out the muzzle.

In rimfire rounds like .22LR, the most common failure mode is that there's a problem with the primer and the round doesn't fire at all. Relatively speaking, you don't hear about squibs lodging .22LR rounds in the bore that often.

You can make this much less probable by purchasing good quality ammunition and storing it properly. In addition, you should always unload the gun and check the bore (regardless of the type of firearm) if you fire it and the noise of the report and/or the amount recoil seems unusual.
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Old December 3, 2012, 08:33 AM   #5
griz
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Quote:
How do I prevent this? Weigh my bullets before shooting?
My guess is the best countermeasure would be to buy good quality ammo. I've heard of some rimfire benchrest guys who weigh the rounds, even the match grade stuff. But they are looking for consistency, not reliability. I haven't tried weighing them, but for bulk packed rounds I would guess the variation in the weight of the bullet would make it tough to find a powder charge that was off by a couple tenths of a grain.
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Old December 3, 2012, 08:38 AM   #6
grumpa72
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At my range you see lots of .22 on the ground. They all have primer strikes and the bullet intact. I have never seen a squib in .22. Have you experienced them?
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Old December 3, 2012, 08:43 AM   #7
Ben Towe
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Have you actually had a problem with squib rounds in a .22 LR? The primer itself may have enough power to push the bullet through the barrel as I believe some Short and CB rounds are loaded this way. Long Rifles are only loaded with 1 grain of powder I believe.
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Old December 3, 2012, 09:01 AM   #8
buck460XVR
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The rarity of a squib load occurring with factory .22 RF ammo does not justify the weighing of every round, much less even to concern yourself with it. While the chance of a FTF with rimfire ammo can depend on the quality of the ammo, it in it's self does not produce squibs. Squibs are usually identified by a reduced noise/recoil level and the lack of the bullet hitting the target. This is when one should stop shooting and check for a barrel obstruction.
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Old December 3, 2012, 09:11 AM   #9
Hal
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Quote:
Squib bullet concern

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I am basically talking about .22lr. How do I prevent this? Weigh my bullets before shooting?
You talking rifle or handgun?
All the squibs I've had in .22lr have been in handguns.
There's enough "oomph" from the primer alone to push the bullet clear of the barrel of most guns.
The longest barreled gun I had a squib in is a 7 /12". I don't recall which gun. It was either my Ruger or my S&W 22/s.

A rifle is a different story.
I never had a real squib, but, I did stick one in the barrel of my Browning lever gun. I was trying out some CB caps... just beacuse... to see if they would clear the 16 inch barrel - a few did, one didn't.

Really, a .22 squib isn't anything to worry about in the least.
W/a semi auto, it won't cycle the action & the report is more like a muffled handclap than it is a "bang".
In a revolver, same thing only just a hair louder.

To clear the stuck bullet from the bore, just push a cleaning rod carefully (so as not to damage the crown) down the barrel. You may have to tap on the end of the rod.

Edit to add::
IIRC, the squibs I had were either Remington Thunderbolts or possibly Winchester Wildcats. Both are pretty junky. I only used them because they were cheap and at the time. I was shooting around 1500 rounds or more a week. Sometimes as much as 7500 rounds a week.
Whenever Dicks or Kmart ran a sale on ammo, I'd pick up 20 bricks and my wife would buy 20 bricks.
We'd go through all that in about a month between the two of us.

I don't even recall how many real "squibs" I had. Maybe,,four??..in all that ammo, so, what the others are saying about it being rare is pretty spot on.

Last edited by Hal; December 3, 2012 at 09:22 AM.
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Old December 3, 2012, 01:51 PM   #10
DaleA
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Quote:
The rarity of a squib load occurring with factory .22 RF ammo does not justify the weighing of every round, much less even to concern yourself with it. While the chance of a FTF with rimfire ammo can depend on the quality of the ammo, it in it's self does not produce squibs. Squibs are usually identified by a reduced noise/recoil level and the lack of the bullet hitting the target. This is when one should stop shooting and check for a barrel obstruction.
IMhO the above is a very clear answer to your question.

I have shot a *lot* of .22 including a lot of the 'inexpensive' (read 'junk') stuff and have never had a bullet stuck in the barrel.

I have had several squibs in center fire ammunition (yep, I reload) but it has always been obvious that something was not right when I fired those rounds and I did as Buck460xvr recommended and stopped shooting and took care of the problem.

Once again, the chances of a .22 getting lodged in the barrel is so remote I wouldn't waste time trying to prevent it. You should be alert enough to stop shooting if ANYTHING doesn't seem right but it probably won't be a .22 stuck in the barrel.
=================
It just occurred to me and please don't take offense, are you talking about having a failure to fire where the whole cartridge is stuck in the chamber and you can't get the action to extract the round? That is, the whole cartridge is stuck in the gun?

That has happened to me on many occassions shooting the cheap .22 but I don't do anything to prevent it, I just take a cleaning rod and knock the cartridge out. And like others have said, this can be avoided by buying the more expensive, higher quality .22 ammunition.
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Old December 3, 2012, 02:23 PM   #11
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I'm 54, been shooting since I was 11 or so. I have had a few squibs in center fire ammo, mostly old military surplus. All of those cleared the barrel.

I have had one squib in .22 caliber that actually lodged in the barrel. (revolver)

Federal bulk pack about 5 years ago. Even with that issue, Federal is still my favorite plinking ammo.

The round made a kind of hissing sound instead of bang. I immediately checked the barrel. Pushed it out with a cleaning rod and kept shooting.

It pays to pay attention.
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