Armory Sponsor
Posted: 2/14/2013 11:37:58 AM EDT
|
im not sure what happened but i was firing some 45 acp loads and i had a round go just into the rifling and stop. the case diddnt eject and when i ejected it the outside and inside of the case were covered in what appeared to be soot. i diddnt realize the bullet hadnt exited the barrel until i tried to chamber another round and it would almost go into battery but not so i took it apart and saw the bullet. it was a starting load of 9.2 gr of accurate #5 behind a 185 gr jhp.i check every 10th load and they are loaded on a lee pro 1000 so im kind of surprisedat the possibility of no powder.
i took the gun home and tapped the round out with 2 taps on of a mallet on a rod the back of the bullet is also covered in soot and there dosnt even appear to be rifling marks on the round.i was using a citadel 1911a1 officer if that helps. im new to reloading and ive loaded 38 and 9mmand this was my first batch of 45 and never had a squib loadbefore i'd prefer to never have another as i can see this ending badly. any advice would be appreciated. |
|
When loading pistol on a progressive I like the RCBS lockout die. The instructions are lame though, go online to see how to set it up. It caught one squib for me too. Never had a double or even low charge, just the one potential squib. Still don't see how it happened but with loading thousands of rounds I guess it can. Anyways when properly adjusted the RCBS lockout dies work ....
|
|
You need to stop and think about how close you came to blowing up your gun. When something isn't right, like a pop instead of a bang, and you eject an empty case, you need to stop and check for a bore obstruction before you do anything else, your pistol was screaming squib and you tried to chamber another round, by shear luck it wouldn't chamber, if it had been a little further down the bore you would have chambered it and fired it, and the gun would have blown up in your hand. Were you wearing eye protection? A pistol blowing up can take out an eye if you aren't. In all my years of reloading I've had one squib, I knew exactly what it was, I checked the bore and sure enough a bullet was stuck in the barrel. |
|
i thank you for the insight especially the guy with all the years of reloading who recognizes everything. i am relatively new to reloading as i said before and i want to avoid this happening again. i believe i understand the danger but i still want to continue reloading in spite of it. i have used titegroup and accurate for most of the pistol loads i have worked with. one of the things i notice is that even following directions on setting up the seating and crimping die the bullet can still be pushed in to the case with a little effort.
also i was using eye and hearing protection and it diddnt sound that much different but i was in a indoor range with other people shooting as well.i noticed the case was sooted up first and im quite glad i wasnt able to chamber another round or the ending may have been different and not to my liking. im not sure how to measure the expander but prior to the to putting a bullet in the case the case mouth measure .450 using the inside part for the calipers. |
|
I recommend you switch from trying to seat and crimp in one step and do it in two steps. Your life will become massively simpler.
I've had one squib. In a 1911. I ruined the barrel by using a hardened steel pin, intending to get it into the hollow point. I missed. Don't do that. The squib was caused by distraction that lead to seating bullets into empty cases, and I found all of them but one when I realized what I had done. Don't do that, either! |
 Rifle or pistol, check case by looking down into case. You are looking for powder, and that all powder charges are the same height. It's also easy to get 2 powder charges into a pistol case. Don't do that, we call that a Kaboom. Just double check yourself as you go, you will get the hang of it OP.
|
|
OP, On most any type of press if you get a swivel head light you will be able to find a position
where you will be able to point the light down into the case. I prefer to have a shelf above my loading bench for the light to make it easier for the light to point down into the case. This can be quite hard with rifle cases with their smaller necks - especially if the charge is well below the case neck. With pistol cases it is quite easy to do. Set your self up in a position where you have the light and all it takes is a glance into the case as you seat the bullet. Train yourself to look every time. With rifle cases that are not filled all the way the powder charge is generally fairly heavy in relation to the overall cartridge - you can double check by giving the cartridge a quick shake with your hand as you pull it off the press. You will feel and hear the powder in the case (not so easy with a pistol case). |
|
the bullet can still be pushed in to the case with a little effort. This needs to be fixed. The firing of the primer is moving the bullet forward. The slow powder your using can not burn correctly. 1. The sizing die needs to size the brass correctly first. The case walls may be thinner (Rem.) than other brands. Try different brass. 2. The expander should be .450" or slightly smaller. Measure with a micrometer or vern caliber. If to large, turn expander down by removing metal from its diameter. 3. TEST> . Measure sized brass in the neck area that holds the bullets. Wriite down the measurement. Seat bullet and measure the neck area again. After seating, the neck has to expand .002" or more for correct bullet tension. Do at least 3 rounds. 4. Or maybe you just forgot the powder? 
|
|
Yup, no powder like has been said.
I had a batch of .45 come out that way, had about 10 or so with no powder. I didnt notice till one squibbed. Looking over my loader, some of the cases sat just a hair different and didnt fully actuate the powder measure. Adjusted it again and then no problems. |
|
Primer had enough energy to push the bullet forward but not enough to expand the brass. Without expanding the brass and forming that seal, the gasses were able to flow back between the shell case and the chamber walls.
As everyone else has said, double check all brass for powder. Also, you may want to double check your die setup. Something sounds off in your expander if you can just seat a bullet with your fingers that easily. If it is that loose, a taper crimp is not enough tension. |
Armory Sponsor