James F. lives in Jacksonville, Oregon, and is described by neighbors as a “Good ole boy.”
He reloaded ammunition and sold it.
In fact, it was estimated that at one point he had over 40,000 rounds of ammunition stored in his house.
Neighbors said that ammunition was usually seen sitting around the house.
One day, neighbors were outside James’s home when they noticed birds quickly flying away, then there was a large explosion.
Multiple barrels of gunpowder exploded, and somewhere between 5,000 to 10,000 bullets exploded in James’s house.
“It sounded like the Fourth of July,” said one neighbor.
After the explosion, James was rushed to the hospital with burns on his face and hands.
Even though he made it out of the house, barrels of gunpowder continued to explode while firefighters arrived.
A fire department official said, “Actually, it’s not uncommon for us to deal with ammunition during fires. We have this happen twice a year or so.”
The official added that it could be difficult to find the exact origin of the fire since there could be several possible causes.
Firefighters had to cut ventilation holes in the roof of the home, and by the time the fire was extinguished, the house was a complete loss.
Now, I think that reloading ammunition is a great skill.
If you know what you are doing and have the time, skills, and equipment, then reloading ammo can save a lot of money.
Yet, when reloading ammo even the tiniest mistakes can have dangerous consequences.
One consequence of a reloading mistake could be a squib round.
What is a squib round?:
A squib load occurs when you pull the trigger and the bullet’s primer ignites the cartridge, but it doesn’t push the bullet out of the barrel.
Sometimes the bullet might exit the barrel at a slower speed than usual.
But, there is no guarantee that the round left the barrel, which is why a squib round can be dangerous.
The problem is that if you fire another round after a squib round the bullets could collide and cause an explosion.
What creates a squib round?:
A squib round is usually the result of not having enough powder inside the casing.
So, when the firing pin hits the primer it ignites, but the powder in the case does not ignite or there isn’t enough of an explosion to propel the bullet out of the barrel.
Another reason that a squib can occur is if there is too much fouling in the barrel.
This is why it’s important to clean your guns.
If there is too much unexploded gunpowder, or carbon build-up, it can slow the round down and create a squib.
Lastly, using cheap, low quality ammunition can increase the chances of more squib rounds.
How to tell if you have a squib round:
The most telltale sign you have a squib round is the unique pop of the primer igniting without the powder.
In addition, with a semi-automatic firearm, the gun will likely fail to cycle.
If you think you have a squib round, immediately stop shooting.
Then, remove the magazine to prevent any more rounds from firing.
While following the four firearm safety rules you can use a barrel rod to check for obstructions.
If the barrel is clear, you should field strip the weapon to see what went wrong.
To prevent squib loads you want to make sure your gun is properly cleaned.
This includes cleaning the barrel and making sure there isn’t gunpowder buildup.
In addition, use quality ammo such as Hornady, Federal, Speer, and Remington.
With modern ammo squib loads are rare.
They are more common with reloaded rounds because the person doing the reloading might have the gunpowder calculations wrong.
When you have a malfunction at the range it’s important to determine if it’s a squib round or something else.
If it is a squib round, avoid the rest of the ammo batch and buy some different, high quality factory-made ammunition.
And ensure you have enough ammunition to run through all the drills you need to boost your skills and keep them sharp.
