Factory Squib Load... What to to?

[Deja vu]

I have a few boxes of Hornady 125 grain Critical Defense in 357 magnum. I have used it as my Carry ammo in my S&W 640 but also shot it in my Coonan and my Marlin several times.

Any way I just got my Ruger 77/357 carbine a few days ago and tried out this ammo. the first magazine worked great but on the second round of the second magazine when I shot the round it had a much more quiet report followed by a hissing sound. I knew some thing was wrong so I dropped the mag opened the bolt and checked the barrel and about 3-4 inches in the barrel was the bullet. Fortunately I was only about 5 min from my house so I got a wood dowel and with some effort (not as much as I thought it would be) was able to hammer out the bullet.

Any way long story short this time it was not a problem but if this had happened on my Coonan during one of my local ranges informal bowling pin shoots I may have been in trouble because I typically tap and rack. A squib that only went 3-4 inches in my Ruger likely would have stuck in my Coonan as well. I guess I don't use these rounds for bowling pins because the heavy (180+ grain) rounds work better.

I have always thought Hornady rounds where good rounds I use them as my CCW. I called Hornady and they asked me the lot number and are sending me a check for the amount of the ammo and they said they would also throw in a coupon for some more reloading supply (I liked that). But that still leaves me a little scared. I guess I need to be careful even in competition.

 

[michael t]

Contact the company . They will likely want remainder of the box and you will get a replacement box.

I had problem with another well known brand and that what they did.

 

[T. O'Heir]

One of the many reasons to remember that 'Critical Defense' is a marketing term only. Reloading makes the whole issue go away.

 

[orionengnr]

That is kind of scary. A .357 Mag round that won't clear a 4" barrel probably has no powder at all.

Hornady CD ammo is supposed to be top of the line ammo. I don't think I'd trust those rounds (or that company, for a while).

I'll be interested to see the outcome of this...

 

[wogpotter]

Every mas production facility has a "Oops" now & then, they aren't perfect but they do try to keep the MTBF down as low as possible.

Give them a call with the lot # & other info. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by the response. I had a box of ammo from a major manufacturer that would not chamber in my Remington 700 custom. It was my chamber, cut for a specific bullet type, but they gladly replaced the ammo with a different type that would fit even though it was my fault, not theirs.

 

[Guv]

Hornady will indeed want them back. Along time ago I sent a box of 380 back to them for an over length cartridge case, I got back 2 new box's and a nice letter.

 

[SaxonPig]

I had a round of 45 ACP that lacked the flash hole. Primer fizzed but powder charge could not ignite. I had been carrying that round in the magazine of my 1911 for some time. Anything made by man cannot be perfect. It happens. Doesn't make you feel better when you realize that sort of thing can get you killed.

 

[publius]

It is scary, Orion. Especially since this is ammunition that your life could depend on, not just cheapass plinking ammo.

 

[Model12Win]

OP it's a VERY good thing you had the wherewithal to STOP and investigate the squib.

Some don't do this and the results are usually... not good!

You should pat yourself on the back, and personally I would press Hornady a bit more and demand some updates/information on why this happened. If you got a case with no powder or something, than there is liable to be other rounds of that ammo with the same issues in circulation and it might be sitting in someones magazine or cylinder as we speak.

 

[DaleA]

so I got a wood dowel and with some effort (not as much as I thought it would be) was able to hammer out the bullet.

I think it's Frankenmauser that has a good story and a superb picture of what happened to him when he used a wooden dowel to try to get a stuck bullet out of a rifle barrel. He recommends metal for the job now.

For everybody telling the OP to contact Hornady he said in post number 1 that he called them.

 

[TimSr]

I once got a bag of Doritos from a vanding machine that had no chips in the bag, only air. It happens.

They make millions and millions of rounds of ammo. I can guarentee that ever ammo maker out there has sold an occasional squib. How to handle a squib should be part of every firearms course. if you shoot alot, you are likely to run across at least one in your lifetime.

OP, you did everything right. Stop shooting, clear it, and contact the mfg so they can determine if its a problem with a lot number, or just one round, and for your cooperaton, they give you some free stuff.

 

[whip1]

Every mas production facility has a "Oops" now & then, they aren't perfect but they do try to keep the MTBF down as low as possible.

Give them a call with the lot # & other info. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by the response.

This. Don't over react.

Reloading makes the whole issue go away.

Even if you reload, mistakes can be made.

 

[243winxb]

The rest of the powder from that round, may be in the next round. Kaboom if you shoot it.

 

[44 AMP]

Even if you reload, mistakes can be made.

Oh, ABSOLUTLELY!!!

But, when/if you do, it is YOUR MISTAKE! And your fault!

Reloads are the only ammunition where you can check all the components (except the primer - that we always have to take on "faith"), to ensure they will work correctly before firing.

You check the case, ensuring it is ok, (and you know it works, because its been fired once, already.)

You ensure there is powder, and the type and amount. (you can test the powder to make sure it burns, by igniting a small amount - if you are that paranoid about it)

When you shoot factory ammo, or ammo made by anyone else, you simply have to take it on faith that things will be right.

I congratulate you on not being so wedded to tactical training that you were able to recognize you had a problem and not automatically do a "tap rack bang".

Tap, rack, bang is the right drill for many malfunctions, but not for all of them. And is exactly the worst thing you can do if you have a squib!

A couple of generations ago, when I was learning to shoot, the rule was, ANYTHING out of the ordinary (unusual report or recoil, not seeing a bullet strike where you absolutely would under usual conditions, etc.,) meant you STOPPED, kept the weapon pointed in a safe direction, and slowly counted to 30 before trying to open the action.

Misfires, hangfires, squibs, failed cases, ALL kinds of ammo malfunctions were much more common in the past, and the further back you go, the more common they were.

Virtually all the military designs, and a lot of the civilian designs from those days have some means of handling gas from a pierced primer or ruptured case. Because back then it was only uncommon, not extremely rare (like today) to get bad rounds.

Statistically, a dud is more likely than a squib. And, by the numbers, a malfunction in an auto pistol is many, many times more likely to be either a problem with feeding, ejecting, a dud, or something else than a squib.

Which is why, tap, rack, bang is taught as the immediate remedy for a malfunction, in a "tactical" situation. It's a calculated risk, but when the priority is getting the gun back in action as fast as possible, with deadly consequences imminent if you don't, its a risk worth taking.

I don't consider it a risk worth taking, any other time. On the range, or in the game fields taking the time to be safe should be the priority.

I might not be happy that I lost a match or didn't get another shot at the game because my gun malfunctioned, but I'd be even less happy if my gun KA-BOOMED, because I didn't take the time to allow for a hangfire or a squib...

Rare though they are, they still exist. And despite the numbers saying how rare, it's really always a 50/50 chance. Either the round works right, or it doesn't.

The main reason to ALWAYs contact the ammo maker isn't to get some free stuff for your time & trouble, most makers do that as a courtesy and a way of thanking us for letting them know something went wrong. The reason is to let them know something went wrong.

one thing is certain, if they don't know something is wrong, it doesn't get fixed.

 

[s3779m]

I think it's Frankenmauser that has a good story and a superb picture of what happened to him when he used a wooden dowel

I have to ask, what happened. I would have thought that a wooden dowel would be better than metal for the barrel??

 

[DaleA]

Above is the picture. IIRC he used a wooden dowel and the dowel splintered and jammed horribly in the bore and he had to use the above setup to drill it all out.

I'm a convert. Next time I get something stuck I'll use a metal rod and avoid the above situation.

 

[James K]

"Reloading makes the whole issue go away."

No, it just transfers the blame for mistakes to someone else.

Jim

 

[Carmady]

Does it say "China" anywhere on the box?

 

[briandg]

what I want to know is whether you had a wad of unburned powder in the barrel?