squib load

[snapshotmd]

I just got a bullet lodged in my barrel from a cartridge without powder in it

What is the standard method of getting the bullet out of the barrel? Use a centerpunch and whack it out?

 

[Inigoes]

A cleaning or dowel rod to push it backward toward the chamber. you are basically pushing the bullet back the way it went in.

Do not push it toward the muzzle.

 

[marko]

What gun / round???

I was just shooting muzzle loader w/ my buddy, and axed him the same thing - what happens if I jam this bullet down and forgot to put in the powder???? He said they make an extractor, but its $$... Hope you get it fixd on the cheep.

 

[MrWhiteRabbit]

I, like Inigoes, have always heard of the dowel-down-the-barrel option, but never tried it. I'm sure someone with experience will be along shortly.

 

[j8064]

In over 20 years I've only had that happen once. Once was enough.

Don't know what gun you're trying to remove the bullet from, but a wooden dowel about the same diameter as my .38 Special's bore and a mallet drove the bullet back out from the muzzle end much to my relief with no damage to the bore.

Good that you caught the issue before firing another round through your gun. Squibs have a distinctive sound when fired...it isn't pretty.

Edit for clarity:
Secure the gun and drive the slug out from the muzzel toward the chamber. If it's a rifle, cutting a dowel into shorter lengths as you drive the rod with a mallet can help to push the bullet out. It's sort of like slugging a barrel.

 

[marko]

Good that you caught the issue before firing another round through your gun

I guess if he did, he would not have been posting quite yet???

safety and knowledge, and good practices, and the safe rules of shooting - that's why I am a big fan!
That's why there's no book : "Shooting for dummies". not happening.

 

[Drmsparks]

make sure you hammer it out with something softer than the barrel.....

 

[Naptown34]

I'm guessing they sound and feel like the 22 shorts i sent out of my 22 revolver this weekend. Could almost see the lead in flight.

 

[j8064]

Nope, a squib round sounds different than even a .22 short. It's difficult to describe, but once you've heard it you'll know it. And you'll not want to hear it again.

Being aware of each and every round you fire is fundamental gun safety. That also means understanding what the previous round you fired did in anticipation of the next round you fire.

 

[jorjohn11]

In over 20 years I've only had that happen once. Once was enough.

Don't know what gun you're trying to remove the bullet from, but a wooden dowel about the same diameter as my .38 Special's bore and a mallet drove the bullet back out from the muzzle end much to my relief with no damage to the bore.

Good that you caught the issue before firing another round through your gun. Squibs have a distinctive sound when fired...it isn't pretty.

Edit for clarity:
Secure the gun and drive the slug out from the muzzel toward the chamber. If it's a rifle, cutting a dowel into shorter lengths as you drive the rod with a mallet can help to push the bullet out. It's sort of like slugging a barrel.

+1 same thing happened to me years ago. Get a wooden dowel rod as close to the bore diameter as possible and put it in from the muzzle. Mine was actually a factory round in a 9mm. It actually ejected the brass and cycled the next round in, but something just didn't seem right and I'm glad I checked.

 

[CKOD]

It's sort of like slugging a barrel.

might as well measure it once it comes out

 

[snapshotmd]

Update... I got the bullet out. The gun in question is a Norinco 1911 clone which was rebuilt, by me, into a match pistol. The barrel is a Wilson Combat match barrel.

I tried the dowel method but all I had on hand was 1/2" and 1/4". The 1/4" dowel kept breaking and the 1/2" was too big. It was kinda late when I started so all the stores were close. Being impatient, I took a steel center punch, wrapped masking tape around the whole thing, and started whacking with a hammer. That bullet was really lodged in there because I really had to whack it to get it to move.

Anyway, it's out and I don't see anything wrong with the barrel. I'll look at it some more today. I think I'll invest in a brass punch set.

It was a good thing tdt91 was there and watching me shoot. This was my first squib, and I didn't think of it until he stopped me from shooting.

 

[mike_in_md]

It's good that you didn't put another round through it. I had a squib once with a revolver. I didn't hear anything and thought that perhaps the primer didn't get hit hard enough. My guardian angel was protecting me that day. Instead of pulling the trigger to chamber another round, I stopped, opened the action and saw that the cartridge in the cylnder I just fired was missing a bullet. I looked down barrel and there she was...wheww!

 

[canuck]

Update... I got the bullet out. The gun in question is a Norinco 1911 clone which was rebuilt, by me, into a match pistol. The barrel is a Wilson Combat match barrel.

I tried the dowel method but all I had on hand was 1/2" and 1/4". The 1/4" dowel kept breaking and the 1/2" was too big. It was kinda late when I started so all the stores were close. Being impatient, I took a steel center punch, wrapped masking tape around the whole thing, and started whacking with a hammer. That bullet was really lodged in there because I really had to whack it to get it to move.

Anyway, it's out and I don't see anything wrong with the barrel. I'll look at it some more today. I think I'll invest in a brass punch set.

It was a good thing tdt91 was there and watching me shoot. This was my first squib, and I didn't think of it until he stopped me from shooting.

Get a squib rod from Brownells. they sell them in specific calibers. They are brass. Good thing to keep in your range kit. Glad to hear all is well.

 

[Nanook]

I had one a month or two ago in my M9 w/ commercial 'range safe' ammo. Working on my Bullseye slow fire and distinctly had a 'hot' one. At first I thought I was so into the concentration zone that I "saw" the fire belch for the first time and felt the bigger recoil...after a few normal rounds later was the 'pop'.
A cushioned wrapped barrel in the vice, dowel, hammer, some gentle persuasion: a cool reminder of why not to pull the trigger for a double-tap until it goes boom the first time.

 

[kalister1]

What gun / round???

I was just shooting muzzle loader w/ my buddy, and axed him the same thing - what happens if I jam this bullet down and forgot to put in the powder???? He said they make an extractor, but its $$... Hope you get it fixd on the cheep.

The extractor for my 50 cal BP rifle is a wood screw you screw onto the end of your ramrod, not very expensive.

 

[DSF Training]

Just punch it out with a brass rod (got mine from a hobby shop)

http://www.mdshooters.com/showthread.php?p=257472#post257472

About 30+ by now.

 

[Atlasarmory]

I under charged my black powder revolver and the ball got stuck half way between the cylinder and the barrel which prevented me from being able to rotate it. Fortunate for me because I didn't realize what had happened and was going to fire again

 

[Trapper]

I had 5 or 6 in .38 when I started reloading a few months ago (first charge was too light for plated, I was trying lead data). Lucky for me OnTarget has a brass drift and hammer that took them right out. Now I take a mini-mag to the range with me and if it doesn't feel right I shine the light down the barrel and check it.

I presently have 6 rounds made up to almost squib and to squib. The next time the wife and I get to go to the range together I'll be squibbing her on-purpose (yes, she knows), and then showing her how to remove the bullet. Its a training opportunity waiting to happen. "Pop-and-no-kick" is what the army Drill Sgt called it and they really drilled it into us to pay attention to every round, just in case. Since then I've always listened and felt for it as the rounds fire. Now that I load my own I can create the situation and learn what to look for when shooting.

I use berry's plated and the bullets hold up well to this and with the +p rated gun I'm not worried about it much.

 

[R81]

You can get all size length and diameter brass rods on Ebay. I bought a 7/16" rod for .38 Special.