Squib Round: What It Is & What To Do If You Have One

[SumtnFancy]

Was shooting with a buddy some years ago and he had a squib in his Kelt-tec Sub2k. He thought it was a type 1 malfunction, charged a new round and fired. Actually split the barrel and blew the foreguard into pieces. Was a cold day so it stung his hand pretty badly but he wasn't hurt.

 

[Bill2905]

I had one years ago in a PPC match. In the heat of competition, I did not sense that it had occurred. Luckily for me, the bullet bridged across the cylinder gap and I was unable to pull the trigger due to the cylinder being locked. The bullet was easily removed by pushing it back into the cylinder with a cleaning rod. It was a valuable learning moment that changed my reloading practices for the better.

 

[nonobaddog]

The meaning of squib load has changed. Originally it was just low power loads. Now through misuse it has become synonymous with 'bullet stuck in barrel'.

 

[d.kaufman]

Have had 1 squib in my time shooting. Cant remember for sure what brand, but it was a factory load. New instantly from the sound what happened.
Always try to teach new shooters its important to listen to the sound of each shot. If you hear something that doesn't sound right. Stop, drop mag, clear chamber, and inspect

 

[Robert Richardson]

I had one, 45 ACP in a 1911 I had many moons ago. Was at the NRA range in Fairfax Va.
Didn't notice the lack of sound or recoil and sent another down the spout.
Destroyed the barrel, but that's all the damage I had.
Still have the burst barrel...to remind me.... you can see a slight bulge and the split

I had the exact same deal shooting my old Commander. First thought the slide didn't lock back on the empty mag. Luckily, had 1round left in the mag and the empty case ejected when cracked the slide. Looked down, seen the round in the mag and thought oops. There was the bullet about 1.5" down the barrel, luckily for me I did not load another mag and shoot. Good ole "Gun Room" reloads.

 

[DadSmith]

Reading through this thread it looks like most have had squib rds mostly with factory made ammunition.

 

[russc2542]

If you're going to get a squib, don't do it in a polygonal barrel. I got one in my HK P7M8 and had a 4lb hammer trying to beat it back out in the vice. let it soak overnight in copper-remover to no avail. Turned a FMJ into a mostly jacketed, jagged wadcutter.

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View attachment 125169

I bet a contributing factor in this case was the porting. with no more pressure behind it, the jacket stopped before exiting from friction vs the lead core

Might have worked fine with the wadcutter but not a good idea. The stuck bullet is a barrel obstruction and we all know what can happen.

It was a blank. If the bullet didn't exit due to lack of a powder charge, just adding a powder charge without another projectile isn't that crazy. On the other hand, loads are calculated based on known case volume, chamber, bore diameter, etc. so a blank not meant to fire a projectile could be vastly overpower or under power. In addition, factory blanks often don't have the same brass and using them under loaded pressures could maybe rupture them.

 

[nonobaddog]

I saw a show about the main guy that does hollywood guns. He made blanks with different power levels and then he used partial barrel restrictions as well. He would get it just right so semi-auto and even full-auto guns would operate normally on blanks.

He had an outstanding collection of firearms to work with.

 

[johntheplinker]

If you're going to get a squib, don't do it in a polygonal barrel. I got one in my HK P7M8 and had a 4lb hammer trying to beat it back out in the vice. let it soak overnight in copper-remover to no avail. Turned a FMJ into a mostly jacketed, jagged wadcutter.



I bet a contributing factor in this case was the porting. with no more pressure behind it, the jacket stopped before exiting from friction vs the lead core


It was a blank. If the bullet didn't exit due to lack of a powder charge, just adding a powder charge without another projectile isn't that crazy. On the other hand, loads are calculated based on known case volume, chamber, bore diameter, etc. so a blank not meant to fire a projectile could be vastly overpower or under power. In addition, factory blanks often don't have the same brass and using them under loaded pressures could maybe rupture them.

Yeah, and factory blanks also use a faster burning powder than normal loads. Part of the reason it worked is a wadcutter uses soft lead and is "slick", a jacketed bullet is much harder and "stickier". I'm guessing it also involved a revolver so the cylinder allowed some pressure to escape. A solid breech with a solid obstruction and a blank is just asking for trouble.

I saw a show about the main guy that does hollywood guns. He made blanks with different power levels and then he used partial barrel restrictions as well. He would get it just right so semi-auto and even full-auto guns would operate normally on blanks.

He had an outstanding collection of firearms to work with.

A partial obstruction is a whole 'nother animal than a full obstruction. He knew what he was trying to do and didn't just stick a blank behind a full obstruction. Basically what he did was a internal blank firing adapter. The BFAs I've had the pleasure of fiddling with weren't a complete obstruction and have gas/pressure relief built into them.

 

[nonobaddog]

A partial obstruction is a whole 'nother animal than a full obstruction. He knew what he was trying to do and didn't just stick a blank behind a full obstruction. Basically what he did was a internal blank firing adapter. The BFAs I've had the pleasure of fiddling with weren't a complete obstruction and have gas/pressure relief built into them.

Yeah, this guy had it down pretty good. He made his own adapters. He could calculate the size of the opening he would need for the adapter and then he still would start bigger and approach that size carefully. He made different adapters depending on which type of blanks were needed for the movie. Some directors wanted more flash than others and some wanted more smoke - whatever, he could make it work.

Many of the guns used were real and very valuable while some others were reproductions.

 

[SnoopLoggyDog]

Had two from a batch of two hundred 9mm reloads that were given to me by a friend. I carry a brass rod in my range bag and was able to knock them both out. Bagged up the rest of the ammo for a bullet pulling party.

 

[nonobaddog]

A long time ago I used to make squib loads for my Dad's 30-30 Winchester 94. I used single digit grains of Unique but don't remember the numbers. I didn't have a chronometer but the bullet trajectory would drop very much like a 22LR. It was great for coons, coyotes and fun.

 

[DadSmith]

Had two from a batch of two hundred 9mm reloads that were given to me by a friend. I carry a brass rod in my range bag and was able to knock them both out. Bagged up the rest of the ammo for a bullet pulling party.

That's what I'm going to buy if I ever run into that problem again. I noticed my local hardware carried different size and length. It would have been smarter than using a threaded rod wrapped in electrical tape.
I now reload mostly so I haven't had a squib problem. I've got around 200 brass cased reloads of 7.62x54R now so no more old Russian mil surplus to worry about.

 

[2A-Hoosier23]

So, does "squib load" mean any underpowered cartridge, or specifically a bullet that gets stuck in the bore?

 

[nonobaddog]

So, does "squib load" mean any underpowered cartridge, or specifically a bullet that gets stuck in the bore?

The original meaning of 'squib' did not mean 'stuck bullet'. 'Stuck bullet' meant 'stuck bullet'. Squib loads were intentionally reduced power loads and were developed to make loads for varmints or for training people new to shooting or anytime one wanted a load that was quieter or had reduced recoil. They were definitely intentional. This is from back in the days when most people only had one rifle. So they would get a powerful rifle for bigger game and defending their family but it was useful sometimes to have lower powered rounds for teaching children or for taking smaller game or simply to make less noise and recoil, ear protection was not common then. So they would make lower power rounds called squib loads. Of course sometimes this resulted in a bullet getting stuck in a barrel, especially if one used his squib load in another person's rifle that had a longer barrel or a tighter barrel.
But the term 'squib load' was a reduced load and the term 'stuck bullet' was a bullet stuck in the barrel. They were NOT the same. It helps to be an old timer reloader to remember this. If you know any old timer reloaders they will probably remember this too, especially if they ever played around making their own squib loads.

The term 'squib load' has been misused so much that the original meaning is almost over-shadowed. The internet is full of many examples of people misusing the term to mean 'stuck bullet'. But the internet, of course, is a relatively recent thing. Things get propagated fast and furiously these days - but that does not at all mean they are correct. These internet examples are all fairly recent examples. If you go back to 'usenet' and read some postings in 'rec.guns' you can find many references to favorite squib loads used for a variety of things like dispatching coyotes and other varmints or even for teaching youngsters to shoot rifles without having to endure the recoil of full power loads. There have been books written about favorite squib loads for various cartridges.

Here is how SAAMI defines it:
LOAD, SQUIB
A cartridge or shell which produces projectile velocity and sound substantially lower than normal. May result in projectile and/or wads remaining in the bore.
https://saami.org/saami-glossary/?letter=S

Wikipedia has it all wrong but then they have a lot of things all wrong since they are mostly reader opinions and recent reader opinions at that.

Here are a couple articles from Guns Magazine that mention squib loads. The direct links to those articles don't work anymore because they moved the old magazines. Now you can download them here for 1956
https://gunsmagazine.com/classic-issues/guns-magazine-1956-classic-editions/
and here for 1964
https://gunsmagazine.com/classic-issues/guns-magazine-1964-classic-editions/
and you can change the year in the URL for other old editions.

1956
"Sporting Rifle No. 80 was a favorite squib load in the big .30 caliber rifles." - Page 23

1964
"Keep such shells for light squib loads only, identified with nail polish on the head face." - Page 12

Squib loads are still somewhat popular today with shooters that cast their own bullets. Here are some favorite squib loads in a whole variety of calibers at castboolits.

1990
"Sticky idea! Ultimate favorite squib load list page." - Lots of people's favorite squib loads in various calibers.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/archive/index.php/t-66428.html

There are factory squib loads too. In 22lr there are Quiets and Super Colibri - all they are is factory squib loads and sometimes they turn into stuck bullets - like in a CZ 452 Ultra Lux with its long tight barrel. In 45 Long Colt they have Cowboy Action loads which are just squib loads and are weak compared to what I call a real 45 Long Colt.

I believe people will continue to misuse squib to mean stuck bullet but I also believe it doesn't hurt to know the real meaning behind it.

 

[2A-Hoosier23]

The original meaning of 'squib' did not mean 'stuck bullet'. 'Stuck bullet' meant 'stuck bullet'. Squib loads were intentionally reduced power loads and were developed to make loads for varmints or for training people new to shooting or anytime one wanted a load that was quieter or had reduced recoil. They were definitely intentional. This is from back in the days when most people only had one rifle. So they would get a powerful rifle for bigger game and defending their family but it was useful sometimes to have lower powered rounds for teaching children or for taking smaller game or simply to make less noise and recoil, ear protection was not common then. So they would make lower power rounds called squib loads. Of course sometimes this resulted in a bullet getting stuck in a barrel, especially if one used his squib load in another person's rifle that had a longer barrel or a tighter barrel.
But the term 'squib load' was a reduced load and the term 'stuck bullet' was a bullet stuck in the barrel. They were NOT the same. It helps to be an old timer reloader to remember this. If you know any old timer reloaders they will probably remember this too, especially if they ever played around making their own squib loads.

The term 'squib load' has been misused so much that the original meaning is almost over-shadowed. The internet is full of many examples of people misusing the term to mean 'stuck bullet'. But the internet, of course, is a relatively recent thing. Things get propagated fast and furiously these days - but that does not at all mean they are correct. These internet examples are all fairly recent examples. If you go back to 'usenet' and read some postings in 'rec.guns' you can find many references to favorite squib loads used for a variety of things like dispatching coyotes and other varmints or even for teaching youngsters to shoot rifles without having to endure the recoil of full power loads. There have been books written about favorite squib loads for various cartridges.

Here is how SAAMI defines it:
LOAD, SQUIB
A cartridge or shell which produces projectile velocity and sound substantially lower than normal. May result in projectile and/or wads remaining in the bore.
https://saami.org/saami-glossary/?letter=S

Wikipedia has it all wrong but then they have a lot of things all wrong since they are mostly reader opinions and recent reader opinions at that.

Here are a couple articles from Guns Magazine that mention squib loads. The direct links to those articles don't work anymore because they moved the old magazines. Now you can download them here for 1956
https://gunsmagazine.com/classic-issues/guns-magazine-1956-classic-editions/
and here for 1964
https://gunsmagazine.com/classic-issues/guns-magazine-1964-classic-editions/
and you can change the year in the URL for other old editions.

1956
"Sporting Rifle No. 80 was a favorite squib load in the big .30 caliber rifles." - Page 23

1964
"Keep such shells for light squib loads only, identified with nail polish on the head face." - Page 12

Squib loads are still somewhat popular today with shooters that cast their own bullets. Here are some favorite squib loads in a whole variety of calibers at castboolits.

1990
"Sticky idea! Ultimate favorite squib load list page." - Lots of people's favorite squib loads in various calibers.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/archive/index.php/t-66428.html

There are factory squib loads too. In 22lr there are Quiets and Super Colibri - all they are is factory squib loads and sometimes they turn into stuck bullets - like in a CZ 452 Ultra Lux with its long tight barrel. In 45 Long Colt they have Cowboy Action loads which are just squib loads and are weak compared to what I call a real 45 Long Colt.

I believe people will continue to misuse squib to mean stuck bullet but I also believe it doesn't hurt to know the real meaning behind it.

If I could rep you 1000 times I would. This has been one of the most informative threads I've read since I joined and your post is tops in this thread. Thank you for such a detailed response, and thanks to bwframe for starting this thread. Cheeseburgers on me if you ever find your way out here

 

[nonobaddog]

Thank you very much for the kind words.

 

[sloughfoot]

Years ago, when I was a young and stupid E5, I traded a returning Viet Nam SFC a case of beer for a US government marked S&W Model 15- 4 inch. I also had 15,000 rounds of 38 special ammo from the MN Air Guard that needed to be disposed of. So i decided as a perky EOD soldier to dispose of them one round at a time.

Things were going well until about the halfway mark when I experienced a squib. Instead of just driving the bullet out and continuing to shoot, I put that fine revolver in a pile of 155mm howitzer shells that needed to be blown up. I still miss that revolver. I still hanker after model 15's.....

Then in the early 90's, I was at one of those handgun schools that specialized in 1911 gunfighting. In one of the rapid fire stages, I had a squib but did not recognize the squib and pushed the squib bullet out with a follow up round. This swelled up the chamber into the locking lugs and produced an instant accuracy increase. . This is not recommended but I still have the 1911 and it shoots just fine.

And that is my handgun squib story

 

[Opie]

Had a squib in one of my first IDPA matches around 1999. I was pretty new to guns and had one in a S&W 686 firing someone else's reloads. I didn't even know it had happened until the S.O. told me to cease fire. By this point I had already fired one more into the barrel behind it. Luckily I was not hurt.

I never shot anyone else's reloads after that!

 

[1775usmarine]

As a noob reloader left my bullseye in the hopper over the winter and when spring came started working on my 45 loads. Well obviously the moisture caused the bullseye to clump making it appear even after random weighs that the cases looked right. Was shooting through my 4506-1 when it happened. Had 3 in the batch I did, so when I got home pulled all 250 to the side to either pull down or shoot one at a time and deal with the squibs when they happen.


Had 1 squib and 1 non crimp in my 9mm out of close 3k loaded and fired. That came from my noob batches. Knock on wood my 38's run great from my gp100 with no issues