# Squib Round Ruined My Revolver. What Should I Do?



## BBQGun (Mar 27, 2017)

I just posted an article to my website explaining what happened to me and a buddy Saturday night but I'm not allowed to post the link to this forum because I'm a new user. Essentially, a squib round ruined my new Uberti 1875 Outlaw .45 Colt revolver. 

Do I have any recourse with the ammo manufacturer? Should I ask them to replace my gun or is this just a part of shooting? Should I let Uberti know as well?

My buddy fired five more rounds before we knew that his first shot was stuck in the barrel. We both thought he was missing high over the target and into the snowbank. Terrifying and very fortunate no one was hurt. Thankful the Uberti was good steel.

Thanks for your input.


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## AZdave (Oct 23, 2015)

Link brokenimage


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

_Sigh!_

I'm sure that Uberti would like to know that you appreciate the strength they built-into their revolvers. Write and tell them.

I am not a lawyer. I took a course to become a paralegal, and passed it, but I never entered into practice.
Therefore, my advice is worth exactly what you're paying for it: Nothing.

I suggest that any ammunition manufacturer has the duty to deliver a product that does what it's supposed to do. Therefore, in this case, the ammunition manufacturer would have been liable to pay for any damage that his squib round did to your gun.
However, since your friend, the shooter, did not have the knowledge or the presence of mind to stop shooting when one of the rounds went off with hardly a sound and no recoil, and, willfully ignoring those signs, he continued to shoot, and he thereby ruined your gun, the ammunition manufacturer's negligence pales in comparison.
You may be able to get something from the ammunition manufacturer, to help pay for the gun, but the most proximately negligent person in this drama is your friend, the shooter. It was he who ruined your gun.

So now you have a choice: Collect from your friend for the gun he damaged, and thereby lose the friend, or absorb the replacement cost yourself.

In any case, you have learned a valuable lesson: Never lend your gun to anyone, on pain of losing either the gun, the friend, or both.

P.S.: It's a long shot (pun intended), but you might cajole Uberti into replacing your gun, by telling them how wonderful you think that they are.


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## yellowtr (Oct 28, 2016)

I agree with Steve. The squib should have been cleared by a gunsmith. If there was not enough powder to allow the bullet to exit the barrel, the shooter should have recognized the fact and checked out the pistol. 
As far as the ammo, it could have been old. Not stored correctly. Maybe not your fault but the store where you got the ammo could have let it get damp some how. Who knows for sure. 
Even with ear protection, you should know the correct sound of a normal fire. Same with recoil. 
Your friend is lucky the pistol did not blow up in his face. 
I doubt the pistol manufacturer will replace the gun. It was clearly not the fault of the pistol.


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## Bisley (Aug 24, 2008)

I don't completely understand what happened, or how you determined that you had a squib, if you fired five more times. The first round after the squib should have either pushed both bullets out of the barrel, possibly with a stronger than average recoil, or blown the gun up. 

I'm assuming that the first round after the squib actually cleared the barrel of both bullets, but damaged it, and that the next four were badly inaccurate, as a result.


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## Blackhawkman (Apr 9, 2014)

I'd quit shooting IF I were you. Reloading too! fwiw


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## pic (Nov 14, 2009)

What determined it was the first round that squibbed ?


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## BBQGun (Mar 27, 2017)

Steve M1911A1 said:


> _Sigh!_
> 
> I'm sure that Uberti would like to know that you appreciate the strength they built-into their revolvers. Write and tell them.
> 
> ...


________________________

It's interesting to me that you guys all jump to the conclusion that the squib was obvious. It wasn't.

It was the first time out with the new revolver, neither of us had a history knowing what that .45 sounded like. But I can assure you it sounded like a typical .45 ought to. We were sighting in the gun for the first time shooting at little blocks on the ground with a snowbank background. We assumed he was missing into the snowbank. No logical person shooting a gun for the first time ASSUMES a squib. Logic says, "I'm missing and I need to get used to this gun."


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## BBQGun (Mar 27, 2017)

Bisley said:


> I don't completely understand what happened, or how you determined that you had a squib, if you fired five more times. The first round after the squib should have either pushed both bullets out of the barrel, possibly with a stronger than average recoil, or blown the gun up.
> 
> I'm assuming that the first round after the squib actually cleared the barrel of both bullets, but damaged it, and that the next four were badly inaccurate, as a result.


_____

Squib is our best guess. Won't know unless the manufacturer wants to mill the barrel. There is a bullet near the end of the barrel that never came out. There is a bulge behind it where several more bullets obviously collected. That's what happened, I don't know how to explain it any better.


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## BBQGun (Mar 27, 2017)

Blackhawkman said:


> I'd quit shooting IF I were you. Reloading too! fwiw


It was brand new manufactured ammo purchased directly from the manufacturer online barely one week ago. I don't re-load.


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## Bisley (Aug 24, 2008)

I'm amazed. 

It seems like it should have blown out the back, unless all of the rounds were squib loads.


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## pic (Nov 14, 2009)

BBQGun said:


> ________________________
> 
> It's interesting to me that you guys all jump to the conclusion that the squib was obvious. It wasn't.
> 
> It was the first time out with the new revolver, neither of us had a history knowing what that .45 sounded like. But I can assure you it sounded like a typical .45 ought to. We were sighting in the gun for the first time shooting at little blocks on the ground with a snowbank background. We assumed he was missing into the snowbank. No logical person shooting a gun for the first time ASSUMES a squib. Logic says, "I'm missing and I need to get used to this gun."


you're absolutely correct, imo. Catching a squib or realizing a squib happened could be very difficult.. Especially if rapid firing your pistola. Ear plugs along with other shooting going on around you can easily cause a squib to go unnoticed.


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## pic (Nov 14, 2009)

My guess is the barrel was already cracked or the barrel metal wasn't tempered properly. If you can have the temper of the barrel checked you may have a legitimate claim.
I mean the barrel may not have been tempered at all.. 
the next shot would have been kaboom, instead of collecting the additional bullets behind it


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## BBQGun (Mar 27, 2017)

Bisley said:


> I'm amazed.
> 
> It seems like it should have blown out the back, unless all of the rounds were squib loads.


Bingo. After visiting my gunsmith with the unspent cartridges from that box, it appears that this is exactly the case.


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## BBQGun (Mar 27, 2017)

Just got home from the gunsmith. He took an unfired round apart from the same box of ammo the squib came from and, low and behold, underloaded. Only 6.8 grains of powder for 255 grain bullet. Range ought to be 8.5-16 grains according to online specs. So apparently all the rounds we were shooting from this box were underloaded, hence why they all seemed, sounded, looked, felt the same. Shots 1-18 were no problem. #19 lodged in the barrel and 20-24 weren't strong enough to dislodge him or blow the gun up (thank God).

The manufacturer is responding rapidly and I appreciate their concern, first of all, for the safety of other shooters. I also appreciate that they seem to be open to replacing my revolver.

I also contacted Uberti and thanked them as some of you suggested. I offered to let them use any and all photos for product enhancement and testimonials. Very good product.


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

BBQGun said:


> ...No logical person shooting a gun for the first time ASSUMES a squib...


If you are not a completely inexperienced shooter, you should be able to tell when a strong-recoiling cartridge like .45 "Long" Colt neither sounds nor recoils appropriately.
You don't have to have specific .45 "Long" Colt experience to do that.

If your friend was inexperienced, it might've been a good idea to watch him shoot, so you could correct his errors.
In that case, you might've been able to tell that the cartridges were underloaded, and also that there had been a squib.

Your adventure is full of useful lessons for all of us.


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## BBQGun (Mar 27, 2017)

Steve M1911A1 said:


> If you are not a completely inexperienced shooter, you should be able to tell when a strong-recoiling cartridge like .45 "Long" Colt neither sounds nor recoils appropriately.
> You don't have to have specific .45 "Long" Colt experience to do that.
> 
> If your friend was inexperienced, it might've been a good idea to watch him shoot, so you could correct his errors.
> ...


I readily admit my friend and I are less experienced than most of you, though we've both shot a good bit in our lives. But I stood there and watched him shoot and nothing seemed amiss. The shots looked, sounded, and felt fine (just like the first 18 we fired). And this makes sense now that my gunsmith confirmed that even the unfired rounds were slightly underloaded. Just enough to stick in the barrel once in a while. It also explains why the following shots didn't do more damage or push the first shot out the barrel as some on here have suggested can happen. I own and shoot a 44 mag Virginian Dragoon, and though I'm no expert or avid shooter, I generally know what a revolver ought to look, sound, and feel like while being fired. The .45 gave us no indication something was wrong. Perhaps a guy with 5,000 rounds under his belt could have felt the slight differences, but we could not.


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## TAPnRACK (Jan 30, 2013)

What ammo brand were you using?


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## BBQGun (Mar 27, 2017)

TAPnRACK said:


> What ammo brand were you using?


The manufacturer is Freedom Munitions and the Lot # is: L170307130105-45

I want to make this clear though: their rep was very concerned about the incident and moved very quickly to get the paperwork to me to get this reported. So far, they have been great to deal with and I have tried to be towards them as well. They have made me no promises and I have made no demands. I'm simply working through the paperwork process with them and they seem genuinely interested in keeping everyone else safe.


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## TAPnRACK (Jan 30, 2013)

Did you have any rounds left to ship back so they can inspect them? I would think they would want some back to determine what the issue was (low powder/no powder or other issue).


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## BBQGun (Mar 27, 2017)

TAPnRACK said:


> Did you have any rounds left to ship back so they can inspect them? I would think they would want some back to determine what the issue was (low powder/no powder or other issue).


Yes, paperwork and all that already in process. They've been top notch about it since I notified them earlier today.


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## win231 (Aug 5, 2015)

BBQGun said:


> Yes, paperwork and all that already in process. They've been top notch about it since I notified them earlier today.


If they're replacing your gun, they're doing the right thing. But I wouldn't be using any more of their ammo. There is NO excuse for that many underpowered rounds. Shows awful quality control.


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## pic (Nov 14, 2009)

First the autos,, then the water,, now the ammo.


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## Cait43 (Apr 4, 2013)

I have purchased ammunition from Freedom Munitions with no problems knock on wood.

FYI: Freedom Munitions sell new and re-manufactured ammunition....... Which did you purchase???
https://www.freedommunitions.com/ammunition/pistol/45-acp.html


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

In this case, Freedom Munitions seems to be handling the issue in the way that a reputable business should.
If they offer some sort of reasonable make-good, I suggest that they should be given another chance...but carefully.

This time, pay very close attention to how the pistol sounds and feels, as you fire it.


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## rustygun (Apr 8, 2013)

I had a somewhat similar situation with fredomunitions. I had bought some .357 mag ammo and shot it through a new revolver and was amazed how my new revolver was handling recoil until I shot some different ammo. I would say the freedom stuff was like .38 special +p maybe out of a .357. I guess it was just kind of a fluke thing. I usually find their ammo to be somewhat hotter than stuff off the shelf at stores. I have shot a couple thousand rounds of theirs without issue. I really like their 9mm and .45 ACP ammo.


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