Wow. That had never happened to me before. Thank you for sharing this!
It is very rare with factory ammo, but very dangerous when it does happen. I found it more common when I was young and loading my own shotgun shells. On occasion, the powder bar would stick or something and little or no powder would end up in the shell and I would not notice it before going to the next stage and loading the wadding. With a shotgun, the pellets are not an issue as they just roll out of the barrel, but the plastic wadding can get lodged in the barrel causing an obstruction.
This was the first time it happened to me using factory loads, but a few others have told me it happened to them. I have a couple more near-horror stories that have happened to me personally along this line and have happened to others.
This first one is a personal story. I was muzzleloader hunting. I fired at a doe and the primer went off but the charge did not ignite. We were always taught to simply load another primer (or cap) and try again. In fact, one of the Hunter Education videos we use demonstrates that exact procedure. I did just like I was taught. I loaded another primer and attempted another shot!
BIG MISTAKE! DON'T DO IT! (if you are using pellets rather than loose powder).
Fortunately, the charge did not ignite the second time either. When I got back to camp and tore down the muzzleloader, here is what I found. I had left the muzzleloader charged over night and had accidentally left it on my ATV in the shed rather than bringing it into my trailer. It was a damp rainy night and the pellets had absorbed moisture which is why the did not fire. The dangerous thing was that the first primer activation produced enough pressure to go through the holes in the center of the pellets and push the sabot and bullet several inches down the barrel. This created a significant air gap between the pellets and the projectile. Had the first primer activation dried out the pellets enough for them to ignite on the second attempt, there is a good chance the muzzleloader would have blown up in my face.
The next incident did not happen to me personally, but it is one we use as an example in hunter education classes because it happened to more than one other hunter. A man and his young son were rabbit hunting. Dad had his 12 gauge and the youngster had a 20 gauge. Partway through the day the boy got tired so dad volunteered to throw some of the kids ammo into one of his own vest pockets to lighten the kid's load. After a while they kicked up a rabbit and dad shot it. He reached into his vest pocket automatically and loaded another shell into his break action single shot. Later that day they kicked up another bunny. Dad shouldered his 12 gauge and "click"...He must have forgotten to reload, so he reaches into his pocket, grabs another shell and loads. That rabbit got away, but it wasn't long before the kicked up another. Dad shoulders his firearm and fires and it
BLOWS UP IN HIS FACE! When he loaded after shooting the first rabbit, he had accidentally grabbed on of his kid's 20 gauge shells. When he closed the action, the shell slid down the barrel but did not make it passed the choke. He later loaded a 12 gauge shell behind it. A VERY dangerous situation.
While this is not a misfire situation, it is certainly a barrel blockage issue. Don't carry any ammo for a gun other than the one you are using.
Thanks,
Jack
