Delayed ignition?

V

vandyatc

New member
I hope this is an appropriate post for the general handgun discussion.

I had a bizarre experience a couple of weeks ago. I was getting some range time in my 1911 and I had a round that seemed to have a delayed ignition.

I was halfway through a magazine and pulled the trigger getting an audible "click." The hammer fell... Nothing (for what seemed like an eternity)... Just as I began to let up m grip a little like I was taking my eye from front sight to see if I had a FRTB or something. I angled up about 10 degrees as I was about to look at the gun itself (still pointed downrange mind you, but I was relaxing my grip a bit while confused) and BANG! Scared the crap out of me! I racked my brain trying to figure out what I did wrong. I was off the trigger and heard the hammer fall, and I even flinched (yes I still flinch or jerk the trigger... I'm working hard on that). That "eternity" was probably only a half second, but it was late! I know the bullet shot because I saw the shot hit the buffer in the ceiling 20 yards downrange (I was VERY embarrassed about that, but apparently not the first by the looks of it). I dropped the magazine, cleared the pistol and set it down to collect myself and think.

Has anyone ever experienced this? Am I imagining my trigger discipline and the timing? Is a "delayed ignition" even possible?

It was Winchester White box 230 grain from WalMart. I've NEVER had any other issues with that ammo, and generally use it because it's economical and feeds well in my 1911.

I shot the rest of the box and it was fine. I'm not spooked, but just looking for some answers. Besides keeping the gun pointed down range what is the proper procedure for clearing a possible live round that may still blow?

I want to be safe in the future and am looking for some feedback.

Thanks in advance.
 
Any time you have a misfire it is important to wait 30 seconds with the weapon pointed down range or at the target. The reason is for just what you may have experienced. It is possible for the round to take that long to fire. It is very rare, but possible. After thirty seconds you should remove the magazine and clear the chamber.
 
Gen Hatcher, in his book, Hatcher's Notebook says "5" seconds. That's what is taught at the CMP GSM Master Instructors course.

I've had "hang fires" just keep your gun pointed down range toward the target and you'll not have any problems, 5 seconds does seem like a life time though.

I've never heard of any hang fires lasting longer then 5 seconds.
 
I'm sure your right Captain. I got the 30 seconds from a warning lable in one of my owners manuals. I haven't experienced it myself, but I guess I would wait a little longer just to be sure lol.
 
The delayed ignition is sometimes referred to as a hang fire.

In shooting tens of thousands of round, I have had two. They were from some old ammo I found in my grandfather's closet decades ago some years after he died. The longest delay was about 3 seconds on the second hang fire. Sounded strange too.

If you ever experience it again, through an abundance of caution; keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction and wait a reasonable time. Thirty seconds is reasonable.
 
Hangfires aren't that common but they happen. I once had a fair number of them when shooting some old POF .303 ammo. Good training for follow through.

The NRA teaches that when you have a misfire, keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction, wait 30 seconds, then unload safely.

That is the procedure I use for my courses and the procedure we use at the local scout camp rifle range.
 
I’ve never experienced a hang fire with center fire ammunition. I have had one with .22LR and a muzzle loader. With the .22LR, like yours it was only about half a second late. I still had a normal firm grip on the pistol, so it didn’t scare me, but did concern me. Not too bad considering the tens of thousands of .22’s I’ve shot in my lifetime. The hang fire I had with a muzzle loading rifle scared the poop out of me. At the time I was new to muzzle loading. Squeezed the trigger and heard the pop of the cap, but nothing. Instead of keeping the rifle shouldered and pointing at the target, I lowered it to look it over. About five seconds after the cap popped, the rifle discharged. I almost dropped it. The bullet struck the dirt about ten feet in front of me, so I guess I was still using safe handling practices. I blame this on a dirty nipple, but don’t really know for sure.
 
Have had a few hang fires over the years but only in shotguns - If you always remember to keep your barrel pointed downrange and count to 10 after the click you should be fine. Bad part is that they cost me a target, I remember having 2 in one trap event - most likely I had gotten a bad batch of primers - they all fired but there was a 1-2 second delay. Be safe!!
 
I had 2 hangfires from a 500 round box of BVAC at the range Sunday. The first was about a 3 second delay the second was about a 1 second delay. This is the first time I have ever had this experience. The first one ignited just as I was about to press check it.
 
A sobering thought... I've had a few light primer strikes while shooting my revolvers in Bullseye competition. If early in the cycle and time permits (rapid fire is 10 seconds, timed fire is 20 sec), I keep shooting and sometimes get all the way back around to the round that failed to go off the first time, thus avoiding an alibi situation.

Were one of those light strikes to be a hang fire, and the cylinder cycled past the barrel to the next chamber before the prior one fired... that could be an ugly situation. :eek:

Anyone ever hear of this occurring in any context? What happened?
 
Is a competition worth your safety?? If you have a FTFire I would stop! Its insane to keep shooting a revolver thats had a bullet struck, and not fired. What happens when it decides to go off after you have rotated the cylinder and it blows up the gun in your hand? Same goes for people that shoot wads out of their shotgun after a light fire. I just stop, take the barrel off, and inspect it. No sense in blowing up a shotgun barrel full of lead bb's 6" from your face...over some clay pidgeons.
 
Did you have any warning that this might happen, like trouble with the other rounds you shot?

Hang-fires are quite common in M/L shooting and only encountered this in a breech loading shotgun, that was due to old ammo. .... :mad:

We teach how to address hang-fires in M/L's and by the time the students shoot, they clearly recognize what has happened. We have to allow more time, that 5 or 30-seconds for hang-fires, in M/L's. As you know, a hang-fire can take a split second or much, much longer. ..... :rolleyes:


Be Safe !!!
 
also, every range should have some sort of contraption to dispose of failure to fire rounds. It usually is a lead pipe with caps and a hold drilled in the top. Be sure you know where that is before shooting and promptly dispose of any rounds that have been struck and FTF.
 
Years ago a friend of mine had some really old .45ACP "Cartouches"
Most of them were delayed in igniting about like a flintlock with kind of a hiss-bang.

We probably shouldn't have finished the box for fear of a squib but we got thru it.

That's the only hangfires I've ever seen.
 
Hangfires are uncommon, but are a good reason NOT to apply "immediate action", as some of the military-wannabees advise. Racking the slide or opening the bolt just as the round goes off can change an odd situation into a highly dangerous one, with pieces of brass blown into the skin or face.

Jim
 
sirsloop - can't say I've ever had or seen a hang fire... all my ammo is freshly reloaded (last several months) so I'd be willing to bet (obviously) that light strikes are not going to ignite later. Can't say that I've ever thought about it, though. And the few light strikes I've had always fire the second time around.


Racking the slide or opening the bolt just as the round goes off can change an odd situation into a highly dangerous one
Click to expand...

Does this apply to a revolver as well? Has anyone seen it happen? If the cylinder was open, I could see the brass exiting in a big hurry. If not, then it would seem to be at least partially held but bad things could happen at the business end of the cylinder.
 
I've had a few boxes of that cabelas MFS2000 9mm FMJ that had really high FTF percentages.. like 10%. Annoying and scary as hell when you take one out and its got a nice deep primer strike and no bang. Who knows... it could go off at any moment for all you know. Get it in the pipe before anything bad happens...
 
Gen Hatcher, in his book, Hatcher's Notebook says "5" seconds. That's what is taught at the CMP GSM Master Instructors course.
Click to expand...

I use the "5 second rule" if I will be ejecting the round onto the ground, and away from any persons in the area. ...With the idea that once it hits the ground, it stays and is given no more thought.

If I intend to inspect the primer (holding the cartridge in my hand), I wait up to 30 seconds.



I haven't had any hang-fires for several years, though. The last incident was with .243 Win hand loads from 1961, with contaminated powder.
 
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