Learn something new and a lucky escape.

[KiwiKev]

Weight your reloads to check that you put powder in. I was at the range, pulled the trigger on my Rossi 357 rossi, "pop" strange. The next round would not chamber. Reason because the projectile was still in the breach. Luckily we used a rod to push the projectile back out. I guess I am also lucky that the projectile was only a small way into the breach and stopped me loading another round. It would have been worrying if I managed to shoot a round with an obstruction in the barrel. I think my guardian angel was watching over me. Has this happened to anyone else?

[Blaine]

I'm glad you are ok....when you hear that pop, leave it alone for a bit pointed in a safe direction.....

[Mescalero]

That is where bulged barrels come from.

[jnyork]

This is a fairly common occurance, especially with cheap .22 ammo. Anyone who has shot a lot of reloads will tell you it has happened to them. If a round does not "sound right", stop right there, take a look down the bore before you try to load another round. Sometimes has disasterous consequences with folks who are running through a mag of centerfire ammo in a semiauto as fast as they can pull the trigger. Will ring the barrel in your .22 rimfire. I always take a jointed cleaning rod to the range with me in my kit, surprising how often it gets used by someone.

[earlmck]

This is why many of us have a "charged case" inspection step in our loading process. I don't seat a bullet in a case unless I have looked in the case under good light to see that a) I have powder in the case and b) it "looks about right" and is not a double charge nor a visually light or heavy charge that could result from "bridging" in the powder measure.

And yes, you were verrry lucky, KiwiKev. The times this has happened to me the bullet went far enough into the barrel that it would not have prevented chambering the next round. My two experiences were not from a "no powder" situation but rather from failure to set off the ball powder when using a standard small pistol primer rather than a magnum primer. Yeah, I no longer load H110 powder with anything but a magnum primer.

Congratulations on having a major learning experience without suffering any damage.

[shooter]

Embarrassingly, I've had it happen to me....more than once. A couple of times it was my fault. A couple of others it wasn't. Got a batch of either primers or powder once that wasn't very reliable. A couple of other times I somehow missed getting powder into the cartridges (the embarrassing part). Thankfully I have never pulled the trigger with a stuck bullet in the barrel.

Everyone makes mistakes. We are human and it happens. However, if we are diligent with safety at every step of your loading as well as shooting, we drastically reduce the number of those mistakes, and hopefully prevent minor oversights from becoming major accidents. As said, if it doesn't go BOOM, stop what you are doing, and whatever you do, don't chamber another round and attempt to fire. Eject the spent casing, check to see if the primer is dented and if the bullet is still in the case. If the bullet is not there, check the barrel and if needed remove the obstruction. Rapid fire is where one of these is the most dangerous, IMO, such as cowboy action shooting. You might be shooting faster than you can react to the unusual sound, or lack thereof.

[KiwiKev]

This is very good advice. In my muzzleloading days a dry ball was less stressful.

[El Chivo]

I also watch the target for a new hole or dirt kicking up, sometimes I can't hear as well with double ear protection. And quite often somebody else shoots at the exact same time as me, so I hear their report (kind of fun when shooting 22lr, and someone nearby shoots a 450 Marlin at the same time).

[Ben_Rumson]

Always take a range rod with you to the range... They can keep you from having to quit early....