Bad Colt Brand .38 SP ammo

[escopeta]

Just a heads up on the following ammo from Colt/ Double tap +p ammo. .38 Special lead free bullet.
One of my shop customers sold a used Smith model 65 .357 and ammo. Gun was returned with bullets stuck in barrel. 4 bullets were stuck in barrel. I removed barrel and could not get stuck bullets to move so installed in lathe and drilled out. Finally got them out with considerable effort but barrel was damaged. As wanted to isolate source I took a few rounds to test in my Colt Officer Model Special under control situation. One round exited barrel but barely. Second round lodged in barrel. Ammo lot is bad. I stopped. Can’t imagine someone shooting four rounds and not stopping, but stuff happens. Another round or in this gun would have locked it up and if had a full charge would have been disastrous.
I advised the shop to pull all ammo from that lot and contact the distributor for damages.

 

[Kracken McGraw]

How in the world did that not blow up on him with those bullets stuck in the barrel?

 

[escopeta]

Basically squib loads. Can’t imagine someone shooting a pistol four times with virtually no recoil and not hitting anything. It happened.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

A lot of pistol shooters these days are not familiar with the sound and recoil of a pistol and may think its normal and blame not hitting the target on just not knowing how to hit the target.

 

[Kracken McGraw]

I hope he jumped on the phone and called that number on the ammo box. That’s pretty bad that company has this bad ammo on the market.

 

[Brians356]

A lot of pistol shooters these days are not familiar with the sound and recoil of a pistol and may think its normal and blame not hitting the target on just not knowing how to hit the target.

Whoever was shooting it didn't heed the warning on the box: "Keep out of reach of children."
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[escopeta]

Called number on box and got a Medicare/Medicaid vendor trying to sell something. Not good. Will try website.

 

[M-61]

That these people are out there really makes me happy I’m not shooting at a range.
4 shots! That’s impressive.
I guess post # 2 is a possibility but you’d really like to think not. Never having done it or been near it nor taught it I have to ask:
Do all 4 shots sound the same?

 

[divingin]

That's one instance where the "infallible revolver" thing works against you. People are taught that if a revolver fails to fire, you hit the trigger again to try the next cartridge. While that is true, it leads to this very problem.

Contrast that with an autoloading pistol where a squib doesn't cycle the action, requiring more user response before the next round can be chambered and fired. Not saying stuff doesn't happen, but it take more to do it.

Bottom line: If a gun fails to fire, stop and try to find out why, and ensure the gun is safe to fire again before trying the next shot. [Unless, of course, you're in a defensive situation, in which case hope for the best.]

 

[Brians356]

Bottom line: If a gun fails to fire, stop and try to find out why, and ensure the gun is safe to fire again before trying the next shot. [Unless, of course, you're in a defensive situation, in which case hope for the best.]

But of course a squib load has not failed to fire, and herein lies the rub. One must be astute enough to differentiate between a failure to fire and a squib load. For people unused to firearms, being handed one to fire sometimes puts their brain on tilt and scrambles their senses.
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[M-61]

But of course a squib load has not failed to fire, and herein lies the rub. One must be astute enough to differentiate between a failure to fire and a squib load. For people unused to firearms, being handed one to fire sometimes puts their brain on tilt and scrambles their senses.
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Yeah sure
Maybe the person doing the handing over has his brain on tilt. In fact forget I used the word MAYBE.
And you left out what I consider to be a true nightmare. Hang fire.

 

[escopeta]

Contacted them and they will be working on it. Lot number given.

 

[divingin]

But of course a squib load has not failed to fire, and herein lies the rub. One must be astute enough to differentiate between a failure to fire and a squib load. For people unused to firearms, being handed one to fire sometimes puts their brain on tilt and scrambles their senses.
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"Fired correctly"? Semantics; the primer has fired, the powder has not.

I've seen some very experienced shooters make that very mistake (with the occasional disaster as a result.)

M-61; I've seen two hang fires, and experienced one other. All 3 fired before you could react to the hammer dropping and the shot not going (faster than a flintlock firing normally.) Not saying the long delay doesn't happen, but I've never seen it.

 

[Brians356]

"Fired correctly"? Semantics; the primer has fired, the powder has not.

Fair enough. They don't know the difference between a "tunk" of the hammer vs a "pop" of some sort, accompanied by whatever smoke or smell accompanies it.

However, the definitions I've found for "squib load" only stipulate the bullet remaining in the barrel. In certain instances a charge could burn, in whole or in part, but produce insufficient propellant force. Obviously this scenario is far less likely in a short handgun barrel, but I don't believe it could be deemed impossible.
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[nakneker]

Well that’s not comforting, makes me glad I roll my own. I’m not against factory loads you just have more quality control when your assembling your own ammo.

 

[JMayo]

Revolvers allow the gasses to escape between cylinder and barrel.
But it seems that would be noticed sooner than 4 rounds.

It's like to know measurement of bullet.
Was it light powder, faulty powder ?

 

[jcm800]

Box is marked +p, brass is not.....reloads? Double Tap are known to use Starline brass so who knows.