Squib load

This type of malfunction can be extremely dangerous, as failing to notice that the projectile has become stuck in the barrel may result in another round being fired directly into the obstructed barrel, resulting in a catastrophic failure of the weapon's structural integrity.

In the case of no gunpowder in the cartridge, the primer, when struck, produces just enough force to push the bullet into the barrel but no further.

A weapon that has been subjected to the abuse of a stuck bullet then had another one fired, will display a slight bulge in the barrel at the site of the original stuck bullet (provided the weapon survives).

A well-known example of a squib load is one that killed actor Brandon Lee on the set of the film The Crow.

A squib from an improperly made dummy round (no powder charge, but with a bullet and a live primer) from a previous scene was stuck inside the barrel and propelled from the same weapon which had been negligently loaded with a blank cartridge, striking Lee in the abdomen and killing him.