P-F.com Approved (or appropriately discussed) Pistol Malfunction Thread?

[dustyvarmint]

In preparing for a group practice session in late April I am looking for a complete list of pistol malfunctions and the way to deal with them. And, while I might have to sift through various "the ways", I know P-F.com would be a better source versus what I did/might find generally Googling. I searched for "malfunctions" in Marksmanship & Gun Handling and in Mindset & Tactics without finding a complete list or discussed list.

Following is what I have with what I've found or been taught in class/es as "a way" or found here on P-F.com to reduce:

-Stuck case or complete case & bullet stuck in chamber (pistol locked up): Remove mag, grip slide overhand with support hand & forcibly impact grip from behind with weapon hand. Rack slide 2-3x, reload, reassess. Is this considered something to be fixed in an emergency?

-Stove pipe - Tap, rack/roll, reassess.

-Double feed - Lock slide to rear (depending on technique), rip mag (retain maybe), rack/roll 2-3x, reload, reassess

-Failure to fire (no round or no detonation) - Tap, rack, reassess.

-Out of battery - Tap, rack, reassess.

thanks for the help and happy shooting, Jerry

[Default.mp3]

Something to consider is, when you say "reload", do you mean a slide forward or slide locked back reload? Just something to be more explicit about, I've no strong feelings either way; while I was taught by Larry Vickers to reload slide forward and then rack, I typically find myself locking the slide back and reloading after malfunctions.

[Chuck Haggard]

Anything not a stuck case or extraction failure, aka "double feed", is for me a Tap-Roll/Rack-Bang/Reassess/whatever you wanna call the last part.

The Roll makes sure that crap in the gun gets dumped out, and it can be a very big deal.

[Up1911Fan]

Anything not a stuck case or extraction failure, aka "double feed", is for me a Tap-Roll/Rack-Bang/Reassess/whatever you wanna call the last part.

The Roll makes sure that crap in the gun gets dumped out, and it can be a very big deal.

Which way do you roll? My department teach's to roll the gun right side down so the ejection port is facing downwards. I've always rolled the other way.

[Chuck Haggard]

I'm a righty, so tends to be towards the right to expose more of the ejection port to gravity. I show both ways, and let the shooter work the problem. Not everyone is right handed, and not everyone has the same wrist mobility

[Shawn Dodson]

Here's what I was taught by Jeff Gonzales, Trident Concepts.

When the pistol fails to fire:

1. Perform Tap, Roll & Rack, Recover.
2. If Tap, Roll & Rack fails to get the pistol running then:
3. Attempt to perform a Combat Reload.
4. If I can't insert the fresh magazine into the pistol then:
5. I put the spare magazine between my ring & pinky fingers, lock the slide open, rip the "depleted" magazine from the pistol, cycle the slide three times and then finish the Combat Reload.

I always operate the slide the same way - I retract and release it using the overhand method. This simplifies OODA Loop decision-making. It uses the same movements for every problem. I don't touch the slide lock unless I want to lock the slide open to unload the pistol or to clear a doublefeed.

I don't attempt to diagnose that I've fired the gun to slide lock because there are failures that will look and feel like the slide is locked open (in-line stovepipe, failure to feed, and doublefeed). When I try to diagnose what caused a stoppage then I'm not as quick in getting the gun back up and running because I'm Observing-Orienting-Deciding-Acting instead of performing non-diagnostic Observe-Act immediate actions.

Tap-rack takes about a second to perform. It's performed automatically anytime the pistol doesn't fire when I press the trigger.

If tap-rack fails to get the pistol running then, unless I'm in a safe position, I should be reacting/moving to keep from being shot, stabbed, bludgeoned, etc., before I attempt a Combat Reload.

If I train to immediately perform a Combat Reload when I "see" that the slide appears locked open then I risk becoming preoccupied in diagnosing and reacting to the gun (internal problem) at the expense of reacting to the danger (external problem). If I incorrectly "observed & oriented" and the problem is not an empty magazine then my OODA Loop resets and I have to decide what to do next while I'm still exposed to danger - with a jammed pistol in one hand and a magazine in the other.

Whereas if Tap-Rack fails to get the gun running then I simply progress to the next decision - react/move or Combat Reload.

Tap, Roll & Rack can induce a true double-feed. When a failure to eject (stovepipe) occurs the slide is attempting to feed a fresh cartridge into the chamber. Tap, Roll & Rack frees the spent case but when the slide is released it may engage and attempt to feed the cartridge below the one that's partially chambered.

I also load & unload my pistol using the same movements I use to clear stoppages.

[41magfan]

I’m old and simple-minded, so techniques that don’t work under poor lighting conditions in the worst of circumstances don’t really interest me much. This works without the need to ID the "type" of malfunction.

If you have a bang failure, Tap & Rack because they clears most pistol malfunctions.

If that doesn’t work, UNLOAD THE GUN. Everyone generally knows how to do that ......

Immediately following that, LOAD THE GUN. Everyone generally knows how to do that .....

All of that may take a few seconds, but you can do it in the dark. If the gun won’t run after performing this simple procedure, you need to immediately initiate your Plan B …. whatever that may be.

[60167]

It was explained to me in simple terms:

Every time the gun does not go bang- Tap, rack/roll. If that don't work- Unload the gun, reload the gun. I was taught to retain the magazine and re-insert it after the malfunction was cleared.

167

[Chuck Haggard]

With double stack guns I have taken to teaching people that you can also just rip the magazine out and skip the "lock" step of locking the slide to the rear.

[LSP552]

With double stack guns I have taken to teaching people that you can also just rip the magazine out and skip the "lock" step of locking the slide to the rear.

That's my experience with Glocks and SIGs.

[LSP972]

That's my experience with Glocks and SIGs.


We've been teaching that since Day One; locking the slide back is simply not necessary in most Phase 2 malfs.

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