Squib Load 45 ACP

[41rem]

Was shooting yesterday about 1/2 thru my 50 rounds. Got the soft POP and about zero recoil.

Ejected that case by racking the slide, empty case save for some unburnt powder grains & a bullet stuck in the bore just forward of the chamber. Load was following

Sierra 185 JHC
AA #5 @ 9.5 grains (book starting load)
Brass Mixed
Remington 2 1/2 primer
MV 1060 fps

Firearm is a Springfield Armory Range Officer Target. It's a full sized, all steel 45 with a 5" bbl

Think likely primer failure or a very light powder charge by me?

Was my 1st time reloading for the 45 ACP, but long time reloader

41

 

[Doug Casner]

Primers with no powder will stick em in the barrel. Been there and done that. Doug

 

[243winxb]

Brass Mixed

Some brass, may have near zero bullet hold. Primer firing pops bullet out of case, no pressure to burn powder.
Bullet set back on chambering, can increase pressures to dangerous levels.

If not 1. No powder. 2. Bad primer?

As a side note, mixed brass = poor accuracy.

 

[M-61]

2. Bad primer?

Said he had a soft pop and bullet stuck in barrel, so I’m going to guess not a bad primer.
But that’s a guess. I’ll guess that a light powder load is the problem.
But since I didn’t load it nor was I there it comes down to ‘likely’ causes.

 

[markm87]

Tap it out and move on. I visually inspect every charge before seating the bullet. But I've had a few slip by in 30 years. I'm pulling down thousands of 9mm rounds that someone loaded with about half of them with no powder.

I hammer pulled 50 last night.

 

[41rem]

Tap it out and move on. I visually inspect every charge before seating the bullet. But I've had a few slip by in 30 years. I'm pulling down thousands of 9mm rounds that someone loaded with about half of them with no powder.

I hammer pulled 50 last night.

Brutal duty.


I usually triple check after powder charging as I only do 50 at one sitting on a single stage press. Can't remember checking the charges on that batch, so its on me.

 

[Rickhem]

If you got a POP and the bullet left the case, then the primer wasn't the issue. Having there be unburned powder is a strange thing though. Was there a possibility that the case was wet inside when you loaded it? Do you wet-clean your brass?

If the primer detonated, and the bullet was pushed forward, then the energy from the primer passed through the flash hole into the case. It's not uncommon, and like markm87 said, just tap it back out and keep going. I'd keep the ammo from that loading session separate though, in case it happens again.

Why the powder didn't burn could be a few things, but a wet piece of brass would be my first guess. I've had that happen with shotgun hulls.

 

[SeabeeKen]

I had a similar incident in my 454 with accurate 1680. Western powder did some testing to help figure it out. They could not duplicate my incident and attributed it to a light crimp. I considered my crimp quite heavy. Since it only happened with 1680 powder on 2 rounds, and no other powders had a similar incident, i just stopped using that powder. Ball powders can be difficult to ignite. The somewhat burnt powder was all thru the action. The powder grains looked like sand grains

 

[Janeau]

They are so many powder for the .45 Acp that work very well and # 5 have never been a prime choice. For light bullet - Bulleye & Titegroup are a way better choice. 5.0 grains of either -be a 185 or a 200 SWC are great load. The .45 ACP is my preferred caliber, I reload and shoot it by the thousands every year and this for the last 50 years.

For the OP , I will guess the problem is with the primers - contaminated or more likely not seated to the bottom of the pocket. I don’t remember to have a squib with that caliber..ever.

 

[SKWERLZ]

Primers with no powder will stick em in the barrel. Been there and done that. Doug

Same.
I now visually inspect every case for powder before seating bullet.

 

[SKWERLZ]

Brutal duty.


I usually triple check after powder charging as I only do 50 at one sitting on a single stage press. Can't remember checking the charges on that batch, so its on me.

It always gets you when you break your rules.

 

[K22]

I turn empty cases upside down in the loading block and charge each one turning each case over as it is charged. Then I visually check each case to assure that it is charged and there is not a double charge. I check in two directions, vertically and horizontal.

While this will greatly aid in mitigating under and over charges, it can still happen if you are not totally focused on what you are doing. When I made major mistakes, it was because I was distracted with some issues going on in my life. If you are stressed out or dealing with something that prevents you from focusing, then it is best to not reload until your mind is clear.

 

[rwj]

When loading pistol rounds, I convert my Dillon 650 from single stage to progressive mode and install a powder check station. Small effort to minimize the chance of under/over powder charges…

 

[markm87]

When loading pistol rounds, I convert my Dillon 650 from single stage to progressive mode and install a powder check station. Small effort to minimize the chance of under/over powder charges…

I've never tried the powder check gizmo. For pistol I just stand where I can see inside every piece of brass when I set a bullet for seating. I'm a bit of a luddite with my reloading processes.

 

[searcher]

Tap it out and move on. I visually inspect every charge before seating the bullet. But I've had a few slip by in 30 years. I'm pulling down thousands of 9mm rounds that someone loaded with about half of them with no powder.

I hammer pulled 50 last night.

You would really enjoy having a collet puller from RCBS or other companies while doing that job. I never had a squib load until I started running Dillon multi-stage presses. Any stoppage requires careful startup to prevent something from getting missed at one of the stages. It is not that Dillon is bad in any way, just requires absolute attention.

 

[rwj]

You would really enjoy having a collet puller from RCBS or other companies while doing that job. I never had a squib load until I started running Dillon multi-stage presses. Any stoppage requires careful startup to prevent something from getting missed at one of the stages. It is not that Dillon is bad in any way, just requires absolute attention.

I’ve not experienced an under/over charged loaded case in over 25 years using my Dillon 650. When the powder check station alarms, I just remove the case from that station and resume loading. I never index the shell plate manually!

 

[rr2030]

If you were experiencing a 50% failure rate it would have been prudent to stop shooting those rounds, take them home, and do the forensics. Pull the bullets, weigh the charges, etc. Now it's all speculation with no clear cause.

 

[searcher]

I’ve not experienced an under/over charged loaded case in over 25 years using my Dillon 650. When the powder check station alarms, I just remove the case from that station and resume loading. I never index the shell plate manually!

You are the attentive one, for sure. I think mine is a 550B, which I probably bought back in the 80's. On this model, like most other progressives of that era, you manually thumbed the wheel forward to the next stage. The die head only has four holes - so even if they had a powder checker back then (I don't recall it being available in the 80's and 90's), one had to make choices of what die you could (or couldn't) have in the head. If you were loading pistol and had your sizing die, powder dispenser and bullet seating die in place - you had but one hole left. If that be a crimper - you were full. A lot of the other semi-progressives like the Lyman turret press, RCBS, etc. were pretty much the same in that respect, making it REAL easy to end up with a squib load if not very cautious. Pretty much apples and oranges with the newer presses versus older models.

 

[D-4297]

I load 9mm for my wife ; and both 9mm and S&W .40 in a single stage . After getting fifty rounds ready to seat bullets , I take a small flashlight and check every case visually , to insure that at least the same amount of powder is in every case .
Does anybody here think giving the wife a Bad Load is a good idea ?

 

[SecondsCount]

Lack of powder for some reason but most likely human error.

Been there, done that