The Flat Pop and the Open Powder Tin
Pieter holds section 16 dedicated sports-shooter status. At a club shoot he fires his own 9 mm reloads through his pistol. The third round of a string makes a flat 'pop' instead of a sharp crack; there is smoke from the ejection port and the slide has not fully cycled. Pieter racks the slide, a case drops out, and he lifts the pistol to fire again. The range officer shouts 'stop'. On the bench in front of him are an open 2 kg tin of nitro powder, a sleeve of 1 900 primers, and two ammunition boxes: 1 900 rounds of 9 mm and 300 rounds of .223 for his section 16 rifle. In his pocket are 60 rounds of .22 ammunition for a club rifle he does not own and is not licensed for.
1. What has most likely happened, and why would firing again have been dangerous?
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Diagnosis The signs - a flat 'pop' instead of a report, smoke, and a slide that did not cycle - point to a squib load: a round with little or no powder, driven by the primer alone. The primer has enough energy to push the bullet a short distance into the barrel, but not enough to cycle the slide or send the bullet out of the muzzle.
Why the next shot is the dangerous one
- The barrel now contains a bore obstruction.
- Firing a second round behind a lodged bullet produces a sudden, massive pressure spike. The likely results are a bulged or ruptured barrel, cracked slide or frame, and metal and gas travelling towards the shooter's face and hands.
- The shooter often feels nothing unusual after the squib, which is exactly why the drill has to be automatic. The instinct to rack and continue is the instinct that causes injuries.
Practical point The cause is usually a powder-charge error on the reloading press - a dropped or missing charge, contaminated powder, or a bridging powder measure. Once one squib appears, the whole batch is suspect and must be quarantined and broken down or at least segregated.
2. Set out the correct immediate drill, and what Pieter should do before that pistol is used again.
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Immediate drill
- Keep the muzzle pointing downrange and keep the finger off the trigger. The range officer's 'stop' is the correct command and must be obeyed instantly.
- Remove the magazine and lock the slide to the rear.
- Visually and physically inspect the bore - look through from the chamber end with the slide locked back, and, if it cannot be seen clearly, pass a cleaning rod or squib rod down the barrel from the muzzle. Do not look down the muzzle.
- If a bullet is lodged, drive it out from the muzzle end with a proper rod, or hand the firearm to a gunsmith. Do not tap it back into the chamber.
- Tag the firearm out of service. It does not go back into the string today.
- Quarantine the remaining ammunition from the same loading batch and mark the lot; do not simply carry on shooting the box.
- Check the press and the charge weight before loading again, and preferably have the pistol inspected by a gunsmith before the next session.
Why this matters beyond the range The safe-handling rules - muzzle direction, finger off the trigger, treat every firearm as loaded, be sure of the target and what lies beyond - are designed so that a mechanical failure costs money rather than fingers. Pieter's rack-and-continue reflex broke the fourth rule: he acted on the assumption that the firearm was in a normal state when the evidence said it was not.
3. Assess the ammunition, primer and powder holdings against the Act and the storage requirements.
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Ammunition quantities
- The general rule is a cap of about 200 rounds for an ordinary licence holder.
- A dedicated hunter or sports shooter may lawfully hold substantially more - up to 2 400 rounds per firearm - which is exactly the exception Pieter is relying on for his section 16 firearms.
- 1 900 rounds of 9 mm and 300 rounds of .223 are therefore within the dedicated-status allowance, provided the ammunition is appropriate to the firearms for which he holds licences. This part is lawful.
The .22 rounds
- He holds no licence for a .22 firearm. A licence holder may possess ammunition appropriate to the firearms for which he or she holds a licence.
- Sixty rounds of .22 in his pocket is unlawful possession of ammunition, however innocent the intention. The friend's rifle being at the club does not fix it - the friend should hold and use his own ammunition.
- The .22 rounds must be handed to a licensed person, a dealer or SAPS.
Powder and primers
- Propellant and primers must be kept in their original containers, in a locked container or safe, separated from each other, away from heat, flame and sparks, and out of reach of unauthorised persons.
- An open 2 kg tin of nitro powder and an open sleeve of primers on a shooting bench, with a shooter who has just had a squib, is a serious lapse. It invites contamination of the powder, a fire or explosion risk, and unauthorised access, and it is inconsistent with the duty to store explosives and firearm components safely.
Conclusion The quantity of 9 mm and .223 is fine because of dedicated status; the .22 rounds are unlawful; and the open powder and primers are a storage and safety failure that a range officer or inspector would rightly act on.