POTD: Squib Round Stuck in Polish P-64 Pistol!
Serellan writes about a recent squib incident he experienced. A squib is when a bullet does not have enough powder to exit the barrel. It is exceptionally dangerous because if you don’t realize the bullet is stuck in the barrel, and then fire another, you could easily a serious KABOOM. He writes …
Squib fire with Hornady Critical Defense 9x18mm, in my Polish P-64. I have never had a malfunction with hundreds of rounds through the gun. Luckily the squib was very obvious, as it was the first round out of the mag. Because of the nature of the debris coming out of the ejection port, I believe this round did not have powder in it.
Obviously this is a dangerous situation, luckily I am familiar with squibs and did not attempt to fire the weapon again. If this had been a self-defense situation the weapon would have been put out of commission. This is especially grievous in self-defense ammunition.
Thanks for sharing!
I founded TFB in 2007 and over 10 years worked tirelessly, with the help of my team, to build it up into the largest gun blog online. I retired as Editor in Chief in 2017. During my decade at TFB I was fortunate to work with the most amazing talented writers and genuinely good people!
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Amateur!!! I had a retired "Marine" come off of our range with his Taurus M85 .38SPL. "It won't fire after the first five and he couldn't open the cylinder!" he says! I wish I had a picture. He decided to fire the five rounds he had kept in it "forever". The fact that NO HOLES showed up on his target at 3 yards was NOT a big enough clue! It was his good fortune that this retired "Maroon" didn't have a catastrophic event and it is only due to the fact he kept the STAINLESS gun well (over well) lubricated with WD-40 and EVERY round had been basically reduced to a primer only load! Last round jammed the projectile in the forcing cone and cylinder chamber totally locking it up. Yes, FIVE 130grn FMJ bullets in the 2" barrel. While I COULD have rescued the pistol, I refused. I told him it was a "Devine beings" way of telling him he shouldn't have a working firearm!!! I found out from another person that knew this guy that another gunsmith cleared the bore and "fixed it" for him.
The one thing I find "unusual" about this event is the fact that the ammo has a cannelure. Most, I say "most" semi-auto ammunition does NOT use cannelure on the bullet unless that projectile is intended for use on other caliber compatible loads including revolvers, but it should NEVER be used for crimping! A cannelure is used on many/most revolver rounds to prevent "set forward" of the bullet during recoil by crimping the case mouth into the cannelure. While a good though, using a cannelure and CRIMPING a semi auto is NOT proper since the auto round "head spaces" on the case mouth! This is why it is highly recommended to NOT cycle the same rounds in an out of a semi-auto since that CAN allow a projectile to be "crammed" deeper into the case, causing a real issue when it is fired!
From the article, it is not clear whether these were reloads using the HCD bullets or OEM ammo.