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STOP ITS A SQUIB

KLGunner

Moderator
Staff member
I know we’ve all heard of a Squib. Probably one of the scariest things to run into when shooting at the range or even scarier during a self defense incident. Wait let me take a step back for a second for the new shooters.

What is a squib?
A squib load, also known as a squib round, pop and no kick, or just a squib, is a firearm malfunction in which a fired projectile does not have enough force behind it to exit the barrel, and thus becomes stuck. This type of malfunction can be extremely dangerous, as failing to notice that the projectile has become stuck in the barrel may result in another round being fired directly into the obstructed barrel, resulting in a catastrophic failure of the weapon's structural integrity.

So now that we all know what a Squib is what’s the proper way to react when this happens? The following is my practices in the case of any failure during range time.

1.)STOP
Stop everything your doing. After all your life could be in danger at this moment.

2.)KEEP YOUR FIREARM POINTED IN A SAFE DIRECTION
Keep your firearm pointed down range. Remember to always treat a firearm as if it is loaded and deadly at all times. Not all failures are a squib but a number of things could’ve just happened. One of the more common is a LPS (Lite Primer Strike) side fact did you know that you could have what’s called a slow burn round? A slow burn round is a faulty round that does eventually go off. Always wait keeping your firearm pointed down range for at least 30 Mississippi seconds before you eject your round.

3.) EJECT YOUR ROUND
After you’ve waited for 30 seconds with your firearm pointed down range eject your mag and round. Note if it was a squib you may already have cycled another round into the chamber.

4.)INSPECT YOUR BARREL
Inspect your firearm and your barrel. If you did indeed have a squib your round will be stuck inside your barrel and this firearm will be done until that round can be removed.

Again these are steps I take and there could be more steps to take. Have you ever had a Squib? If so tell us your story. If you have firearm failure steps you take what are they? I hate to say it but your failure/story can be a lesson for us all.
 
This is something that i do quite often when running a can. Sometimes the lack of a report makes you think it was a squib. I usually just remove the bolt and look down the barrel, or blow into the chamber to see if smoke comes out the other end.
 
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There has been a few times I've been shooting where when firing I got a really low report or lack of recoil. After this has happened I would clear my pistol/rifle then proceeded to send down a barrel snake to make sure there in no obstruction before going hot again. I've been fortunate enough to not actually encounter a squib in any of my guns but I have seen the potential aftermath in a few other guns on display at the range or in a store. I was shooting with a buddy of mine recently and he had a really soft report from his VP9 when I told him to stop shooting. My friend never heard of a squib before as he is still kinda new to shooting so I gave him a basic lesson in what the signs of a potential squib are and how to make sure his gun is clear. I've mostly encountered softer reports and duds from Winchester white box ammo bought at Walmart in 9mm and .22lr. I will not buy white box anymore for this reason.
 
I know we’ve all heard of a Squib. Probably one of the scariest things to run into when shooting at the range or even scarier during a self defense incident. Wait let me take a step back for a second for the new shooters.

What is a squib?
A squib load, also known as a squib round, pop and no kick, or just a squib, is a firearm malfunction in which a fired projectile does not have enough force behind it to exit the barrel, and thus becomes stuck. This type of malfunction can be extremely dangerous, as failing to notice that the projectile has become stuck in the barrel may result in another round being fired directly into the obstructed barrel, resulting in a catastrophic failure of the weapon's structural integrity.

So now that we all know what a Squib is what’s the proper way to react when this happens? The following is my practices in the case of any failure during range time.

1.)STOP
Stop everything your doing. After all your life could be in danger at this moment.

2.)KEEP YOUR FIREARM POINTED IN A SAFE DIRECTION
Keep your firearm pointed down range. Remember to always treat a firearm as if it is loaded and deadly at all times. Not all failures are a squib but a number of things could’ve just happened. One of the more common is a LPS (Lite Primer Strike) side fact did you know that you could have what’s called a slow burn round? A slow burn round is a faulty round that does eventually go off. Always wait keeping your firearm pointed down range for at least 30 Mississippi seconds before you eject your round.

3.) EJECT YOUR ROUND
After you’ve waited for 30 seconds with your firearm pointed down range eject your mag and round. Note if it was a squib you may already have cycled another round into the chamber.

4.)INSPECT YOUR BARREL
Inspect your firearm and your barrel. If you did indeed have a squib your round will be stuck inside your barrel and this firearm will be done until that round can be removed.

Again these are steps I take and there could be more steps to take. Have you ever had a Squib? If so tell us your story. If you have firearm failure steps you take what are they? I hate to say it but your failure/story can be a lesson for us all.
Very good information for everyone and especially the new shooters that have joined/follow the forum. Keeping the barrel downrange and waiting can't be stressed enough.
 
Very good information for everyone and especially the new shooters that have joined/follow the forum. Keeping the barrel downrange and waiting can't be stressed enough.
Have you ever had a slow burn? My first slow burn scared the crap outta me. I was green to shooting life when I had my slow burn. I was shooting my fathers browning handgun and sent about 6 mags down range at this point so I was comfortable with it then I fired one and didn’t go bang. Being new I was looking at the gun trying to figure out what happened when all of the sudden the round went off. Caught me off guard so much so I dropped the gun turned white as a ghosts and didn’t touch another gun for about 3 months. Thank you dad for making me pick them back up and start shooting again.
 
That's exactly why I keep a little fiber optic bore light in my range bag. I don't shoot reloads anymore but you just never know.
 
Had a Squib in my 45LC. It was my reloaded ammo. Bullet was about half way down the barrel. A good bit of the powder came out of the case. Powder was discolored and primer had gone off. I believe it was a weak primer as the report wasn't as loud as just firing a primer.
Piece of dowel and rubber mallet had it out in no time. Considering the tens of thousands of reloads I have fired it's not bad. Friends firing factory ammo have had more issues than I have.
 
Just leave it to the professionals!
Our son was all fired up on EOD and accepted in to the USAF. Didn't think about it much. Then Mom had to take him to the recruiters office. EOD came up and when she found out what it meant that was the end of that. He had a great career in Aircraft Ground Support.

Then one evening we were laying in bed and she was relating (done many a time) on feeling good about keeping her little boy out of EOD. I asked her what she thought of my reloading with all the gunpowder in the house?
Her, "it won't blow up will it?"
Me, "hasn't yet!, now roll over and go to sleep!"
 
Our son was all fired up on EOD and accepted in to the USAF. Didn't think about it much. Then Mom had to take him to the recruiters office. EOD came up and when she found out what it meant that was the end of that. He had a great career in Aircraft Ground Support.

Then one evening we were laying in bed and she was relating (done many a time) on feeling good about keeping her little boy out of EOD. I asked her what she thought of my reloading with all the gunpowder in the house?
Her, "it won't blow up will it?"
Me, "hasn't yet!, now roll over and go to sleep!"
Yeah, I had a WO remark one time that rarely do old timers still have all ten fingers. Your reply is hilarious, though!
 
Because of the type of shooting that I do - mainly defensive practice/training - the squib remains my biggest fear.

Whether it's hammering out an NSR drill, trying to flip over the MGM Spinner or just having fun racing against my buddy on a dueling tree, I often wonder if I'll be able to react fast enough to check myself, if I get a squib.....

I've been lucky so far: in a few hundred thousand rounds of both new and factory remanufactured (I don't, anymore, but during The Craze of 2012-14, I did buy remans as I was a very new shooter and gun-owner at the time, and didn't have cached ammo like I do, now) ammo that ranges from premium defensive/duty ammo to just the typical range-fodder, I've yet to experience a squib over the course of the last 10 years.

But I know it's just a matter of my odds running down.... :cautious: And yes, this actually scares me.

This was a great "in-situ" video that was shared about 8 or so years ago. I've kept it bookmarked to show folks:


^ It's worth playing the video in-entirety and reading about the lead-up to the event. The actual shooting starts at 1:09 into the video with the shooter preparing to start the stage, and the squib occurs at ~1:39 into the video. He's shooting an XD, BTW. :) Great catch by the RSO, as the shooter had responded to the stoppage via immediate-action. You can hear the Safety Officer yelling "Stop! Stop! Stop!" at ~1:42-1:43.

Great topic for a thread yet again, @KLGunner ! (y)
 
Because of the type of shooting that I do - mainly defensive practice/training - the squib remains my biggest fear.

Whether it's hammering out an NSR drill, trying to flip over the MGM Spinner or just having fun racing against my buddy on a dueling tree, I often wonder if I'll be able to react fast enough to check myself, if I get a squib.....

I've been lucky so far: in a few hundred thousand rounds of both new and factory remanufactured (I don't, anymore, but during The Craze of 2012-14, I did buy remans as I was a very new shooter and gun-owner at the time, and didn't have cached ammo like I do, now) ammo that ranges from premium defensive/duty ammo to just the typical range-fodder, I've yet to experience a squib over the course of the last 10 years.

But I know it's just a matter of my odds running down.... :cautious: And yes, this actually scares me.

This was a great "in-situ" video that was shared about 8 or so years ago. I've kept it bookmarked to show folks:


^ It's worth playing the video in-entirety and reading about the lead-up to the event. The actual shooting starts at 1:09 into the video with the shooter preparing to start the stage, and the squib occurs at ~1:39 into the video. He's shooting an XD, BTW. :) Great catch by the RSO, as the shooter had responded to the stoppage via immediate-action. You can hear the Safety Officer yelling "Stop! Stop! Stop!" at ~1:42-1:43.

Great topic for a thread yet again, @KLGunner ! (y)
Yea I haven’t had one yet ether but the idea scares me too
 
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