Need Help Diagnosing Why I Had a Squib

[edwardware]

Frankly I think checking powder drops every 5th round is way to often and probably the cause of your empty round.

Yes!

Once set, recheck the adjustment of your measure every 200 rounds or less often. A zero-charge is far and away more common than a meaningfully light charge.

If your measure comes out of adjustment in 200 throws, bin it and get a better one.

And stay far away from a wooden dowel down a bore. You'll escape unscathed sometimes, but when you splinter a dowel over an obstruction, you'll rue the day.

 

[LiveLife]

A zero-charge is far and away more common

More and more, I am thinking a skipped charge is likely as OP is using turret press but in single stage mode with auto index disabled and this is the second squib incident.

Have been reloading for about 9 yrs now and just had my 2nd squib.

Power Pistol ... Lee Pro Auto Disk ... turret press-used single stage, not progressive

And since turret press is being used in single stage mode, I suggested to OP to check the powder charge/PAD operation and to add a QC step to ensure proper powder charge in case before seating bullet.

case skipped the powder charge operation ... So I would look at [powder charge/PAD] operations and have QC added to prevent no/little powder charge of case

I have a small dentist type inspection mirror with lighting to check the powder charge before setting bullet to catch no/smaller powder charge as my built-in QC step.

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Once set, recheck the adjustment of your measure every 200 rounds or less often. A zero-charge is far and away more common than a meaningfully light charge.

If your measure comes out of adjustment in 200 throws, bin it and get a better one.

Power Pistol is small flake powder like Bullseye and meters with .1 gr variance in my PAD (10 drop variance from C-H 502: W231/HP-38 .12 gr and Bullseye .08 gr) - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/c-h-502-micrometer-powder-measure-10-drops.834894/

As long as I maintain the powder level in the hopper, fixed volumetric disk holes that cannot drift will reliably meter small granule powders with .1 gr variance even after 500-1000+ round reloading session unless wiper surface is damaged or mount nuts get loose or operation short-stroked (And I recommend the use of graphite powder or finely ground No 2 pencil lead shaving to lubricate the wiper surface).

 

[drband]

I find these comments humorous:

And will get a steel rod to fit the barrel, and become my own gunsmith when needing to have squibs removed from the barrel-LOL!

It better be REALLY soft steel. I would recommend brass instead.

I'd suggest a brass rod. A lot less likely to damage the barrel crown and/or lands.

I would suggest a wooden dowel,

And I think you would be better served with the brass rod.

NOooooo!
I would NOT recommend a wooden dowel!

Brass or aluminum rod for me and in a snap, paper towel wrapped 1/4" socket extension to tap out bullet stuck in barrel.

Yup, stay away from a wooden dowel, an old length of brass or aluminum cleaning rod won’t damage your steel bore and they’ll stay intact when pushing a tight fitting bullet out.

And stay far away from a wooden dowel down a bore.

No wooden dowels... Period!

 

[U.S.SFC_RET]

Running across a squib is humbling. A lot of us reloaders have had at least one, I know I did. The bullet was sooty black where the burning powder is exposed. For myself there are a couple of rules that I work with when reloading.
1. Do not get distracted while reloading.
2. Verify the proper powder charge when charging. I look into the case before I seat a bullet.

 

[jmorris]

And will get a steel rod to fit the barrel, and become my own gunsmith when needing to have squibs removed from the barrel-

I use either brass or bronze, if it’s steel I would coat it with something so it can’t contact the bore. I suppose a good fitting drinking or milkshake straw slid over it would do the job though.

 

[jmorris]

I must have had a "senior moment" loading these rounds

To err is human, why I run powder check dies every chance I get.

 

[Dudedog]

If you put a little gun oil down the bore and let it soak for a couple minutes it can make it easier to remove the stuck bullet.
I agree a wood dowel is a bad idea. Brass rod close to bore dia is your best bet.

 

[LiveLife]

I find these comments humorous:

No wooden dowels... Period!

You didn't find my comment on wooden dowels/rods splitting/shattering funny? ... Just kidding.

Metal rods won't split/shatter like wooden dowels/rods.

I tell you, stuck bullet and split/shattered wooden rod is no laughing matter.

 

[jonb32248]

No powder no movie, little powder more movie. Conclusion- no powder in case.

 

[H&R Glock]

Those look like the same Armscor (gold colored) surplus bullets I bought. Without cannelure. Maybe I got them from Wideners, but not sure. Those are the first "stuck in barrel" bullets I ever encountered in my 45 years of reloading.

Went about 1 inch of the rifleing of my Smith 19 six inch barrel. I made the mistake of lightly loading 38 specials with these.
From now on I only use them in 357 mag loadings with stiff loads as these seem to need more push than copper jacketed colored bullets to get down the tube.

 

[Sarge7402]

In one of his stories Skeeter Skelton wrote about his "Cow Killer Loads". Seems the powder he had used in a plastic powder holder had inter acted and caused the powder to drasticaly lose all if it's power. If the powder holder on your reloader looks like it's pitted, then I'd probably pull all the cartridges and dump the powder from them