Odd Squib at the range today

chiefjason

chiefjason

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This one was weird. Shooting my 300 BLK AR with reloaded ammo that I'm testing. I had a primer not go off so I decided to try and strike it again and reloaded it on top of the mag. Cycled it into the gun. It didn't fire. So I just pulled the bolt hard to eject and load the next round. Gun jammed. Tried to load 3 rounds and the gun was jamming and setting the bullet back. So I took it apart and checked the chamber. Apparently the second firing pin strike did not set off the primer but did eject the bullet out of the case. The next round drove it just into the chamber and the next two would not chamber because of it. Took a rod and pushed it back out.

Before anyone suggests the primer did fire. There was no sound at the hammer fall but the hammer. And I was wearing electronic ear pro.

Lesson learned, I'll probably never try to double strike a primer on a semi auto. I sure didn't try the second one that didn't fire. Could have been much worse. Particularly since I had my can on the rifle too. If I ever do, check the round after the second attempt instead of just ejecting it because you are annoyed.

There were 2 guys I know from the club there when it happened. Both reload. And neither one had ever seen that.
 
Actually, I think you came out pretty good, imagine what would have happened if the following round had chambered.
Put down as a lesson learned.my other questions is did the.neck.tension feel.corect on the.round did.you.try reseating the bullet into the case by hand
 
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S4f said:
Actually, I think you came out pretty good, imagine what would have happened if the following round had chambered.
Put down as a lesson learned.my other questions is did the.neck.tension feel.corect on the.round did.you.try reseating the bullet into the case by hand
Click to expand...

The bullet didn’t set back or seem to move the first time. The following bullets set back when I tried to chamber them. I use a factory crimp die too and yes I got lucky.


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Yes, quite an odd scenario there. The only reasons I can think of that would have driven the bullet out of the case are:
  • the primer did fire but was a semi-dud, giving just enough pressure to unseat the bullet
  • no neck tension on that case and chambering the round unseated it
  • Bullet was seated VERY long and grabbed the rifling
If you still have the original offending case, carefully de-prime (carefully) and check to see if the primer material is fresh or was fired. That will tell for sure.

I had a weird squib decades ago when shooting my handloads through a Colt 0-series 1911. The gun went BANG, extracted and ejected, but jammed trying to chamber the subsequent rounds. Turns out there was a bullet lodged just barely forward of the chamber. No abnormal sounds/feels were noted so I must have had a gross UNDER charge, with just enough powder to unseat the bullet and cycle action. Weird.

Count your lucky stars amigo!
 
Was your brass sized to the chamber or full length sized by the reloading die?
It may be that your chamber is long and the second hammer strike pushed the bullet into the lands just enough to be pulled out of the case.
 
I vote loose neck tension, with the bullet pulling a little during previous rounds, causing an improper chambering and light primer strike, then pulling when engaging the rifling later.

But, that's purely a guess...
 
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How about pulling the bullet, draining the powder and use a die to knock out the primer to see if it fired.
 
Dale Flinchum said:
How about pulling the bullet, draining the powder and use a die to knock out the primer to see if it fired.
Click to expand...

Bullet came out in the gun. Case was ejected into the brass on the ground at the range. I have all the brass, so I might see if I can ID the case later.

Cases were sized on the die. All are under COAL for 300 BLK. And I use a factory crimp die last. And another little tidbit, I did notice some unburned powder on the bullets that were jamming. So I'm assuming it did have a charge. And since I load on a single stage I would really have to screw up to not charge a case. The reason that didn't set off any red flags is I've seen it before with my subs, they are dirty and partially full cases seem to get some unburned stuff in the chamber.
 
I've never seen that either but i do think @georgel is right. Try pulling a few rounds with an impact hammer and see if they come out too easy.

You might also want to chamber one and extract it, then check for OAL change and rifling marks.
 
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Dale Flinchum said:
Should have asked before, what powder, primers and brass are you using?
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Powder is Vitavori N120. Primers are Winchester small rifle. Brass is a mix of factory fired brass with some new brass mixed in. Bullet is Hornady 180 gr SST.

I did have a second primer not fire. Going to take a look at that one today.
 
Just a thought, a good friend and I both had some Winchester primers that didn't ignite properly several years back. We both made the switch to CCI and no more problems, hope it solves your plight as well.
 
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