I was testing a Taurus Judge recently when I had my first ever squib load. The range I was using is an indoor range so it made me second guess myself whether it was a squib or not. It was so loud in the range I wasn’t sure if I had a light primer strike (failure to fire) or if it was a squib load.
Luckily I followed training protocol and held the gun on target for about 30 seconds to ensure I didn’t have a hangfire. I then opened the cylinder and removed the ammo. I had one empty case. A visual inspection of the breech end of the barrel showed this bullet lodged in the barrel.
45 LC squib load
This is the 45 LC squib I recovered. It came from American Eagle Ammunition. This brand is under Federal Ammo. As I mentioned this is my first ever squib load. I had a friend and fellow reloader who had them with regularity because of the rate he ran his press, but even in reloading I had not had one.
The point is to follow your training. Had I pulled the trigger again, I would have at least damaged the barrel, and could have blown up the gun at the worst. Not good when it is a customer’s gun, but worse when it’s your hands holding the gun.
How did I remove the bullet? Brass rod, hammer, and a vise. No big deal really, just another interesting day at the office.