Squib (stuck bullet in barrel) removal?

[His lordship.]

I had my third squib load malfunction a week ago.  I was using commercial reloaded 9 MM ammo from "Parabellum Research" of Buda, TX, I heard a "poof" sound, stopped shooting, stripped down my CZ-75 pistol, and saw the bullet stuck inside the bore near the chamber because there was no powder in the case, just an active primer. 

Using various sized drill bits and a drill, I cored out the bullet and hammered the copper jacketing out with small screw drivers.  The only barrel damage I can see is 2 scratch marks from the screw drivers.  Contacting the maker of the ammo to see what options there are as CZ (the pistol maker of my gun) wants $150.00 for a new barrel, and it will have to be hand fitted by a gunsmith.  The previous incidents were in 2008 with Winchester newly made white box ammo that blew up the barrel on my other CZ-75 in .40 S/W, they went half on the cost to fix the damaged gun.  Before that was with some .38 special hand loads purchased from a private party in California in 1990 that bulged the barrel on my Smith and Wesson M. 28 revolver.  I am getting tired of damaged guns from idiots who cannot put powder in the case!     I never had this problem with my centerfire rifles, but I either did my own handloads, shaking each cartridge to hear the sound of powder sloshing around, and also used mostly foreign made ammo.

Is there a special tool or technique that can be used to knock these jacketed squib loads out of a pistol, or even a long barreled rifle without damaging the bore?  I don't see how a drill bit can get into a 24" barrel? 

Thanks.

[skarke]

Next time, just take an old female threaded brass cleaning rod, cut the handle off, and carefully place the female end over the end of the bullet.  With the breech of the barrel on a solid wood block, drive it out with a hammer.  A couple of light taps should do it.

IMHO, NEVER put any steel tool down your barrel, unless it is specifically designed for that purpose.

Regarding your existing barrel, just run a tight patch with some JB up and down it to polish the edges of those scratch marks, 100 cycles should do, and I estimate you'll be none the worse for wear.

Here's a good rod for that purpose

 http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct/?productnumber=616296

[skarke]

http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=1251/Product/SQUIB_ROD

These rods fit the barrel of a long gun perfectly, and are designed for the purpose, but they are pricey.

[trotterlg]

It would have probably come out with a tap from the muzzel on an Oak dowl of proper size with no damage.  Stop shooting weirdshit ammo and life will be good.  Larry

[saddlebum]

I have used a wooden dowel with no problems. Only had to do it one time though. I started double checking my powder charges in the cases before seating a bullet after that. Early learning experience from loading lots of .38spl at a time.   

[His lordship.]

I appreciate the good advise I have gotten on this annoying problem.  I went online and found other people who have had the same problem, mostly with handguns.  Winchester White Box was mentioned as being a problem again, I stopped using their ammo after my other CZ burst it's barrel in 2008.  Winchester even sent me a $50.00 coupon to buy their ammo, but I returned it.  But in a good PR move they then sent me a check for $50.00 to buy somebody elses brand of ammo, so got some more Sellier and Bellot.

Some online suggestions were to use a commerical squib rod removal tool, a hardwood dowl, sometimes cut in links to aleviate the the stress on the rod,  brass rods, etc.  Soaking  the stuck bullets with copper remover, WD-40, etc.  Several shooters even carry these tools all the time to the range to be set to deal with a squib load problem!

trotterlg...I agree, weird ammo is to be avoided, I mostly use Sellier and Bellot, Magtech, PMC, and Monarch brands in the 9 MM cal. for my handguns, sometimes I use Remington green box and CCI too.  There have been some issues with CCI Blazer, but I have never had a problem after 28 years of using it, it is usually not high on my priorities .  I have used some military surplus stuff in the past, all shot off ok, but do remember it being hot, probably was intended for a machine gun.

I stopped using other private party handloads after my Smith and Wesson got damaged in 1990, but thought that a licensed remanufacturer of ammo would be safe, wrong!

[Senor Chisme]

For What It’s Worth.

“I’ve got a bullet stuck in my barrel, how do I get it out?”  How many times have we heard that, seen someone at the range with that problem, or have had it happen to us.  I’ve had it happen once too often.   You almost never have a wooden dowel the correct size handy and that means the end of the shooting session and a trip to the hardware store.  Then again, what size dowel do you buy?  How long do you get?  Is it for a pistol or rifle or both?  If you have several different caliber firearms, where do you store all the various diameter dowels? 
I finally came up with a solution that, I believe, solves all these problems.  Midway sells a Tipton brass cleaning jag set with 12 different caliber jags (Product #: 582621 - $18.00).  Each jag has a spike on the front to hold the patch.  I took a cut-off wheel on a dremel tool and cut off the spike to make a flat surface.  I also bought a Hoppe’s rifle muzzle bore guide (Product #: 311651 - $2.79).  It is the tapered kind that fits just about every caliber bore.  Lastly, I bought a Hoppe’s 3-piece Universal Rifle and Shotgun cleaning rod 33” stainless steel (Product #: 241735 - $12.29).  I chose steel because I thought it would withstand the pounding better. 
To use this device I slip the muzzle guide on the first section of rod then screw on the jag that corresponds to the caliber of the firearm.  I assemble as many sections as I need depending upon the length of the barrel.  Now at this point, some may ask where the hammer is.  Well, I don’t use one.   I use this device like a slide hammer.  First I point the muzzle straight up.  Then I carefully hold the edge of the muzzle guide with my off hand.  With my strong hand, I raise the rod as far as it will go without pulling the jag out of the barrel.  I then “throw” or “slam” the rod downward as hard as I can.  The kinetic energy thus produced will generally do the job.  Sometimes it might take two or three tries.  I have never has to use more than three “throws”.
The jag and the muzzle guide keep the rod centered so it never touches the bore.  The whole thing can be broken down into a package small enough to fit into a range box or even a pocket without taking up a lot of room.

[gunnut69]

Re-manufacturers use automated machines and the tendancy is to lower QC to increase output and raise profit.. most of the time it is simple enough to drive the bullet out but if a second round is fired into a blocked bore the bulged barrel is most likely.. The 22 rimfire is not immune to this but many barrels survive unscathed. I've taken 11 bullets from a single bore.. Most modern factories use a system that weighs each round of ammo and rejects those that are badly out of specification.. The extra time invested does cost though..

[PowPow]

For .224", I use a 3/16" brass rod that I bought at ACE Hardware.
Have not had a squib, but I made some too long and they got stuck in the rifling.
The antenna from my Jeep Liberty works on 30 cal.