What I did was, I decided not to pull the trigger again.

Good decision.

About once a week we visit my wife's folks' farm while they're in Florida and make sure everything is okay. Well, my wife does, I stand outside and blaze away at a dirt mound under a snowbank. Snow is a really good target, very revealing of slight inaccuracies.

I have been loading my .38 Specials way down lately, right at the bottom of the scale for that round, and firing them from a big, heavy, Smith M586 Combat Masterpiece, which weighs what feels like about nine pounds. My wrist is sore these days and I'm deliberately trying to make shooting fun, not painful. (For 158-grain HP bullets, the recommended load is 3.9 to 5.1 grains of Unique. I had been holding it right around 4.0 grains.)

So anyway, it was my first round, and with such a light load, and being outdoors, and wearing big earmuffs, it sounded like it MIGHT have just been my imagination. But I'm not completely stupid, so I stopped, opened the cylinder, looked down the bore and, gee, it was all dark in there.

So, the moral is, just like they say in the manuals, if it doesn't sound right, stop shooting.

ahhhh..........squib load (difference in recoil and/or noise) Wise decision, you might have been pulling pieces of barrel out of your face.

PS: love the name squib load ......use it whenever I can

Yup, I'm really glad I did stop and check.

I suppose that, theoretically, since all my loads were very light -- too light as this one showed -- the next one might only have ringed the barrel. But I have absolutely no intention of ever investigating such a possibility.

If the bullet was stuck in the barrel that's usually a sign that there was no powder in the case at all. The primer itself has enough power to propell the bullet into the barrel and stick there.

yes, I suppose that's possible, although I am very careful about looking into each case at least twice before seating a bullet.

Of course, what I'm looking for is to make sure I haven't accidentally charged the case twice. The difference between 3.7 grains and 4.0 is not going to be very obvious, while the difference between 4.0 and 8.0 is -- I know cuz I have tried it out to see what it looks like.

The bullet was about 5 inches down a 6-inch barrel.

Typically, that is the case. But it's very difficult to get that problem with a progressive reloader, as long as you follow pretty straightforward quality control procedures.

That said, it does seem strange that four grains wouldn't have it clear the barrel.

All in all, a great teaching moment -- and without anybody getting hurt.

Yes to the teaching moment.

The part that really could have caught me was this: I was wearing very good earmuffs. . . underneath a parka hood. . . and firing in the great outdoors (the only structure within a mile was the farmhouse behind me). . . and, most of all, it was the very first round, so I had nothing to compare it to.

But it just didn't sound right. More of "snap" than a proper "bang."

I had a squib at an IDPA match and in the heat of excitement,started to clear the "malfuntion" and continue firing.The safety officer stopped me and we took out the barrel and sure enough,the pencil didn't go through.
Every time I tell that story I end it by saying "thanks Leo".

Yeah, I sometimes wonder about what would happen if I were just rapidly firing, the way I sometimes do with an auto, just for fun, and got a squib in the middle of the string.

Well, I guess it wouldn't be the middle, would it? And it wouldn't be very nice. So maybe I should take my time with each shot. But dang, it's so much fun to just rattle off a bunch.

For the most part when you have a squib in a semi-auto they usually do not go very far in the barrel and does not cycle the gun. It usually (usually ) prevents the next round from being fed into the chamber when it hits the bullet in the barrel if you try to work the action. So even an immediate action drill won't get the gun up and running again. But there's always that possibility.

Revolvers are a different story. The bullet will go in far enough to allow the shooter to pull the trigger with nothing to impede the cylinder from turning. Ask me how I know this.

Since I started shooting competitively in '97 I have had 4 squibs. Two of which were my own creation and 2 from the factory. I load on a progressive Dillon 550 and Joel's correct in that it is hard to screw up with one. But not impossible. And that's kind of hard to admit as I am in charge of quality control of my manufacturing business. I personally witness about half a dozen squibs from other shooters a year at all of the matches I attend in a year.

OK, so one gets a "squib load", the bullet is jammed in the barrel, what does one do to clear the obstruction??It seems that it wouldn't be real easy to just ramrod it out or is it??

I brought it home and clamped the barrel in a wooden-jawed vise, then used a long Phillp's-head screwdriver to tap it out, hitting the back of the screwdriver with a small mallet. (I suppose you could use a regular vise if you lined the jaws with leather or something.)

There was no danger of the screwdriver tip slipping off the nose of the bullet because it was a hollowpoint. I would recommend against using anything but a wooden dowel with a round-nose bullet.

By the way, there was much resistance. That bullet was stuck in there very tightly. It would have been hard to do without the barrel being clamped in a big vise.

When the call goes out for a "squib rod" from a range officer he is usually handed an assortment of tools that shooters have in their range bags. It usually consists of a soft metal, plastic, or wood shaft and a hammer. One person hangs on to the gun while someone else, usually the range officer, pounds it out with the hammer while the gun is pointed downrange. Usually only takes a couple of taps, hard smacks with a hammer.

And when I think back on this year I can only remember seeing three squibs at matches.

Most squib rods are made of brass,fiberglass, or nylon. Useing wood can result in the rod breaking and injury to the hand or wrist usually result, Also it may break and actually jamb between the barrel and bullet makeing it more difficult to remove. Try to use a rod that is close to bullet dia to keep the rod centered on the bullet being careful not to damage the muzzle crown. Fiberglass and brass rods in different dia can be found at most locale hardware stores and are relatively inexpensive. Cut to desired length and keep a few in your range bag.

Yeah. I keep a brass rod in my bag just in case.