Malfunctions

There are three kinds of malfunction in the unit standard. A failure to fire is when you press the trigger and hear a click, but no bang: the cartridge may be faulty, or there may be no round in the chamber at all. A failure to feed is when the next round doesn't go into the chamber, often because the magazine isn't seated properly, is dirty or damaged, or the pistol was held too loosely to cycle. A failure to extract is when the empty case stays in the chamber, from a dirty chamber, a worn extractor, or weak ammunition. Failures to feed and extract are pistol problems; a revolver can still fail to fire.

When you hear a click and no bang on the range, the cartridge may be a hangfire: one that fires late. So keep the handgun pointed downrange with your finger off the trigger, and wait at least 30 seconds before you open the action. Then clear it the way your trainer has taught you, and put the faulty cartridge aside for the range officer. Never look down the barrel.

If a shot sounds like a pop, or the recoil feels much weaker than normal, the bullet may be stuck in the barrel. This is called a squib load. Stop firing at once, unload, and check that the barrel is clear. Firing another shot behind a stuck bullet can burst the barrel and injure you. A stuck bullet is one for your trainer or a gunsmith to remove.

Trainers teach clearance drills slightly differently, and models differ, so always follow your trainer's drill for your pistol. The usual ideas are these. For a failure to fire, after the wait on the range, make sure the magazine is firmly seated and work the slide to load a fresh round, then reassess. For a failure to feed, seat the magazine and work the slide. For a failure to extract, lock the slide back, remove the magazine, clear the stuck case so the chamber is empty, then reload. Muzzle safe and finger off throughout.

A revolver is simpler. If a cartridge fails to fire, on the range wait first, then in double action the next trigger press turns the cylinder to a fresh chamber. If it fails again, open the cylinder and check the cartridges. A cylinder that won't turn or won't open is not something to force: stop, unload if you safely can, and take it to a gunsmith. Follow your trainer's drill for your revolver.

The unit standard asks you to know which malfunctions you can fix yourself and which need a gunsmith. You can usually seat or replace a magazine, work the slide to clear a round, clean a dirty chamber, and swap out faulty ammunition. Take it to a gunsmith for a bullet stuck in the barrel, a broken or worn extractor, any crack, bulge or bent part, or malfunctions that keep happening after you've cleaned it. If in doubt, don't fire it.

On his eighth shot in practice, Sipho's pistol doesn't fire and the slide has closed on an empty chamber. Anel points at the magazine: it wasn't pushed in far enough to click into place, so the slide couldn't pick up a round. He keeps the muzzle downrange, seats the magazine firmly, works the slide, and carries on. Push it in until it clicks, every time.

Your turn. Name each malfunction from what happened. Answer four quick questions. Then ask your trainer to show you the clearance drill for your model, with dummy rounds. Next lesson: inspection, cleaning, and exactly what the practical assessment asks of you.