DLrocket89
Member
- Joined
- Dec 29, 2012
- Messages
- 242
Hi everyone,
Getting ready for my first USPSA match in over a decade next Sunday. Went to the range tonight and had a squib load that I'm a bit flummoxed about and I'm wondering if someone here can help me out.
First, some background. I'm reloading 9mm for a CZ75 SP-01. Running Starline brass, 145 gn round nose ACME coated bullets, CCI small pistol primers, Win 231 powder. I'm loading on a Lee 1000 Pro press.
The press comes with the Lee auto disc thingy for measuring powder. What I've been finding is that the disc size is roughly 1/10 the powder weight... ie, the ".32" disc gives me about 3.2 grains powder (the density is .93, so that's about right). I'm trying to bring my power factor down as much as I can (and stay above 125), so I've been playing with powder loading.
I need 860 fps min. The .34 disc gives me 975 fps, .32 gives me 925, .30 gives me 875 (nice linear relationship). I did have a couple .30's fall below the 860 I needed...what I need is a .31 really. Should average 900 fps and have my lowest be about 870. About perfect.
Unfortunately, the Autodisc doesn't come with a .31 hole. So, I purchased this: https://www.midwayusa.com/product/150005/lee-auto-disk-adjustable-powder-charge-bar
I loaded 10 each of .30, .31, .32, .33, and .34. I was at the range tonight and decided to shoot 5 of each for accuracy/impact position. The third shot on the .30 (the first load I shot) was a squib.
When I pulled the trigger on the load, the gun hissed. Smoke poured out of the chamber, and I swear it hissed for about a second. Maybe it was just me freaking out drawing the time out? Regardless, yikes. I quickly disassembled it, and found a few things. 1) The brass was crazy sooty. 2) The chamber had tan looking particles in it that looked a lot like unburned powder? 3) the bullet was about 3/4 of the way down the barrel.
Any ideas WTH happened? It looked to me like there was powder in the round, but it didn't burn. Is it possible that I downloaded this far enough that it basically lit a "bonfire" instead of an "explosion"? Brass didn't seal off, so it never really pressurized? I have about 1,000 round through this press in the last 6 weeks and this is the first squib I've had. The round would've been somewhere in the 100-110th round I had loaded during that loading session, and all of the others before it went "bang" just fine.
I've tried to get as many of the questions I can think of answered in advance...thanks for reading!
Dustin
Getting ready for my first USPSA match in over a decade next Sunday. Went to the range tonight and had a squib load that I'm a bit flummoxed about and I'm wondering if someone here can help me out.
First, some background. I'm reloading 9mm for a CZ75 SP-01. Running Starline brass, 145 gn round nose ACME coated bullets, CCI small pistol primers, Win 231 powder. I'm loading on a Lee 1000 Pro press.
The press comes with the Lee auto disc thingy for measuring powder. What I've been finding is that the disc size is roughly 1/10 the powder weight... ie, the ".32" disc gives me about 3.2 grains powder (the density is .93, so that's about right). I'm trying to bring my power factor down as much as I can (and stay above 125), so I've been playing with powder loading.
I need 860 fps min. The .34 disc gives me 975 fps, .32 gives me 925, .30 gives me 875 (nice linear relationship). I did have a couple .30's fall below the 860 I needed...what I need is a .31 really. Should average 900 fps and have my lowest be about 870. About perfect.
Unfortunately, the Autodisc doesn't come with a .31 hole. So, I purchased this: https://www.midwayusa.com/product/150005/lee-auto-disk-adjustable-powder-charge-bar
I loaded 10 each of .30, .31, .32, .33, and .34. I was at the range tonight and decided to shoot 5 of each for accuracy/impact position. The third shot on the .30 (the first load I shot) was a squib.
When I pulled the trigger on the load, the gun hissed. Smoke poured out of the chamber, and I swear it hissed for about a second. Maybe it was just me freaking out drawing the time out? Regardless, yikes. I quickly disassembled it, and found a few things. 1) The brass was crazy sooty. 2) The chamber had tan looking particles in it that looked a lot like unburned powder? 3) the bullet was about 3/4 of the way down the barrel.
Any ideas WTH happened? It looked to me like there was powder in the round, but it didn't burn. Is it possible that I downloaded this far enough that it basically lit a "bonfire" instead of an "explosion"? Brass didn't seal off, so it never really pressurized? I have about 1,000 round through this press in the last 6 weeks and this is the first squib I've had. The round would've been somewhere in the 100-110th round I had loaded during that loading session, and all of the others before it went "bang" just fine.
I've tried to get as many of the questions I can think of answered in advance...thanks for reading!
Dustin