First dud/misfire.

S

spanishjames

New member
I was about to shoot my Ruger LCP at the range recently, and the first round didn't go off. I gave the gun the obligatory dumbfounded look. It was the first time the LCP ever misfired and I thought I must've done something wrong. Maybe the slide wasn't in battery or something. Ejected the round, fired the next one fine. Loaded the bad one and "click". Then I knew it was the ammo.
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I compared the primer strike to the others and this one seems more shallow, even after being struck twice.

I'm glad I wasn't in a fight, because my first instinct was to look at the gun from all sides, instead of just racking the slide. Now I know what skills I need to sharpen.
I hope it was just this round that was bad and not the gun.

BTW, it was Winchester White Box FMJ.
 

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Hi, I notice your strike is shallow. I just checked one of my LCP fired rounds and it is better strike than that.
 
Next time that happens, throw that round down range! It could go off sending the case flying in your direction and could hurt you.
 
A good cleaning of the gun might be in order. I'm not sure how the hammer works on that (I know it isn't striker-fired), but if there is any kind of channel the hammer moves through that can have gunk in it, that could be the problem.

I know my Ruger SR9c had gunk in the striker channel, they seem to like to package guns with gunk in them. Worth checking out.
 
From you description bad primer. If the gun was in need of cleaning all the rounds would be giving you fits. Chalk it up to a bad primer. If there was no powder in the case and the primer was good it would have gone pop
 
I was loading up my mags with a new box of duty ammo and I came across a round with no primer. I kept the round and use it for teaching purposes. Sometimes the ammo is bad, even from the best of manufactures.
 
Didn't say if he kept shooting after that or not. I agree if the gun worked consistently after that it probably isn't in need of a cleaning.

In my case, the light strikes started slowly, once in a great while, and then picked up speed until I finally cleaned out the striker channel.
 
throw that round down range
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What? you could injure someone, it could land back your way and fire. :eek: I always give them to the range master(s) and thats the rules. They take care of them.
 
I have learned, almost the hard way, to investigate all failure to fires. Here's why:
Last week I was at the range testing some reloads. A friend wanted to shoot my gun, so I let him. He shot 3 or 4 rounds and then encoutered a squib. The next round wouldn't feed so he racked the slide to eject it, the next one wouldn't feed either nor the next one after that and so on. We just assumed that the rounds that wouldn't feed because they were too long. When I got home, I discovered that there was a bullet lodged in the barrel, from the squib, no doubt, causing the misfeeds. Had the bullet been lodged further up the barrel, he probably would have shot the next round following the squib with a bullet lodged in the barrel.​
From now on, I always investigate all misfires.
 
What? you could injure someone, it could land back your way and fire. I always give them to the range master(s) and thats the rules. They take care of them.
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Well, at my range, It's indoors and the stalls are separated all the way to the back. And besides if you throw it far enough there is far less chance of it hurting someone than if you carry it through the range to give to the RM.
 
What? you could injure someone, it could land back your way and fire. I always give them to the range master(s) and thats the rules. They take care of them.
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Interesting hearing about different rules. We just leave them on the table after making sure they won't hangfire. Heck, our RO would look at me funny if I did that.
 
Could Be A Hangfire

If you are shooting at a range and the cartridge does not go off after the trigger is pulled, keep the muzzle pointed downrange and wait at least 30 seconds before the action is opened to remove the cartridge (remove the magazine first if it is a semi-auto handgun or a long gun with a detachable magazine). Keep the muzzle pointed downrange when opening the action after waiting at least 30 seconds. A hangfire is a perceptable delay in the ignition of a cartridge after the primer or case rim has been struck by the firing pin. Also check to see that there is not a squib or any barrel obstruction. I suggest asking the range officer for assistance if you are not familiar or have not been taught how to handle ammunition malfunctions.

Once you have waited the required amount of time, follow the range procedures for the misfired rounds. Some ranges may want you to give them to the range officer. Some ranges have a steel container for misfired ammo. DO NOT throw the cartridge downrange.
 
If you are shooting at a range and the cartridge does not go off after the trigger is pulled, keep the muzzle pointed downrange and wait at least 30 seconds before the action is opened to remove the cartridge
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Well then I guess I "dodged a bullet". Immediately after this misfire, I held the round in my hand and was looking it over not 10 inches from my face looking at the primer strike indentation. I had safety glasses on, but I like the rest of my face as well. Thanks for the advice.

I haven't had a chance to fire the LCP since that time, other than a couple rounds after the dud. When I do I'll be able to confirm whether it's hitting the primer lightly or if this was just a case of a bad round/primer.
 
well good thing you learned what to do in the case of a misfire or any failure. remember smack the butt of the mag to make sure its seated then rack the slide back. should come natural with training.

the ranges i go to have dud boxes, some at each station or at every few stations.
 
I fire my G36 every couple of months just to make sure it works when I need it. After nearly 10 years and hundreds of rounds, I had a dud. I was sure the round was defective and after waiting a sufficient amount of time, I put it in my range bag and took it home to mail back to the manufacturer for inspection.

The ammo manufacturer sent a letter telling me it was the striker on the Glock and there was nothing wrong with the round. And...they sent me a check for $25 for my troubles. It wasn't about the money but I thought it was in poor taste to blame my faultless gun when it was obviously a bad primer. I have since fired hundreds of more rounds with the same gun without a problem. I would have preferred that the manufacturer fess up and admit they had a bad round and not have sent me a penny.

Duds happen.....
 
With a centerfire, I have only had one misfire in my lifetime; and it was a factory new round. This occurred a few years ago. However, I have witnessed several factory new cartridges of others shooters where the round would not even fully chamber (thankfully) in a semi-auto as the cases were damaged when the bullet was seated.
 
Shot 30 rounds through the LCP today and all went off fine. I tried the dud one more time and nothing. I think I'll call Winchester just to see what they say. Maybe I'll get a coupon or something.:)

Regarding duds at the range. I had a 22lr get caught trying to load, and the case was bent in the middle. I asked the "kid" sweeping up range brass and he said "just toss it on the ground". I guess every range is different.
 
I only see one firing pin strike. Being off-center, I'd expect to see two if it was loaded again and struck a second time.

If you are shooting at a range and the cartridge does not go off after the trigger is pulled, keep the muzzle pointed downrange and wait at least 30 seconds before the action is opened to remove the cartridge
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^^This. Except I think 10-15 seconds is enough. (About the time it takes for most to count to 30 :))

Next time that happens, throw that round down range! It could go off sending the case flying in your direction and could hurt you.
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Never heard of this. Can't imagine where it would be good practice. At outdoor ranges we really don't need live ammo downrange where it could be picked up by mowers, etc.
 
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Next time that happens, throw that round down range! It could go off sending the case flying in your direction and could hurt you.
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You're suggesting it's safer to grab the "dangerous" round with your precious fingers, and throw it down range; rather than eject it, and let it lie safely on the ground (where an incredibly unlikely "detonation" won't do much damage to anyone, especially your fingers and hand)? :confused:
 
Sucks when your shooting a .460 that happens, besides it's $2.00 a shot. Keep that gun pointing down range for at least 30 second's, maybe more.:eek:
 
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