Had a squib, in my carry pistol, with personal defense ammo

[cbx]

My confidence in my carry setup is completely broken right now. I had the wild hair to practice with 10 year old TAP in .40sw that just sits, cause I never shoot my SD ammo.

First three rounds were great. Remember thinking "dang, this stuff is way hotter and more accurate that my cheap plinking ammo.

Fourth round. Click..........noticed the slide out of battery just a bit. Waited 10 sec. Pulled mag, pulled slide, exposed case with unburnt powder everywhere. Powder was almost sticky?

Bullet was lodged about an inch in......

So, what does a guy do to prevent this kind of situation? I live in the desert. Ammo always indoors.

I fired 10 more after I got a brass punch and pushed the bullet out, of the barrel, which was in there way tighter than I ever would have imagined.

If that happens in a self defense situation, dang..... Does a guy need a back up gun? Is this rare? All my years of firearms I've never had a squib, much less with "good" ammo.

[Leaveammoforme]

Cycle out your carry ammo more often than every 10 years would be a good starting place.

[Inkslinger]

I wouldn't lose confidence in my carry setup. I wouldn't carry it loaded with ten year old ammo either...

[Kain]

Cycle out your carry ammo more often than every 10 years would be a good starting place.

This! I cycle at least once a year, preferably every six months, and more often for stuff that gets cycled on a regular basis. Hell I don't like carrying rounds that were chambered even once! I know I piss off the guys who still carry Black Talons "because they be the greatest, grrr!" and are carrying ammo that is what, 20+ years old, and most of which they bought at $40 a box of twenty with no ideas on how it was stored? But seriously, while ammo that is stored properly can last for quite some time, stuff loaded in mags, left sitting in the glove box, carried day in and day out, it does in my mind have an expiration date. And, hell, how much is your life worth? A box of defensive ammo is what $25 or so for Golddot or HST, I order a few every time I order ammo, if they are in stock, stock it away, cycle it, shoot the old stuff for practice, and live happy and sleep a little bit better.

[FlyingHunter]

cause I never shoot my SD ammo.

Here's the solution. Every 6 -12 months for SD ammo.

[Airhasz]

This! I cycle at least once a year, preferably every six months, and more often for stuff that gets cycled on a regular basis. Hell I don't like carrying rounds that were chambered even once! I know I piss off the guys who still carry Black Talons "because they be the greatest, grrr!" and are carrying ammo that is what, 20+ years old, and most of which they bought at $40 a box of twenty with no ideas on how it was stored? But seriously, while ammo that is stored properly can last for quite some time, stuff loaded in mags, left sitting in the glove box, carried day in and day out, it does in my mind have an expiration date. And, hell, how much is your life worth? A box of defensive ammo is what $25 or so for Golddot or HST, I order a few every time I order ammo, if they are in stock, stock it away, cycle it, shoot the old stuff for practice, and live happy and sleep a little bit better.

Well said.

[Dump1567]

Carry a BUG.

[P2000]

Dang. I need to blast my carry ammo. Mine is 5 years old. Yikes!

[tb-av]

You had a defective round. You can shoot all your SD ammo you want, if it's a defect, it's not going to magically become good. 10 years is not a problem for non-defective ammo.

[Drifting Fate]

Yeah, "hotter" and "more accurate" are oft applied descriptions of quality ammo, no just self-defense ammo.

Re. your squib, could be a defect, but, most likely the primer was compromised by cleaning solvent or oil at some point over the years.

Cycling out more often - like every 6 mos. to a year will certainly help, but mostly with overall length due to excessive chamberings. Even more important from a squib standpoint, as ammo can potentially last decades, is being careful in how you handle it and what you expose it to.

Consider new carry ammo cheap life insurance. And, bonus points, most new self-defense ammo has better sealing on the primers helping the contamination issue.