The best solutions to pistol malfunctions.

[Gabe Suarez]

Guys...when I was teaching with Taylor back in the 1990s, we switched from the "sweep" to the Tap Rack because some of the modern semi autos would not "stovepipe" like the 1911s. The poster is correct that you clear the failure to eject in the same way as the failure to fire, by tap-racking- with a flip to eject the round. What I have seen happen sometimes is that if the hand is not well clear of the ejection port, the hand may actuially cause the case to stay inside and thereby multiplying the malfunction.

 

[cedartop]

The method I've always used is tap-rack/rake-bang. If I see a case in the chamber (a double-feed) when I rack, then I interrupt the rack and lock the slide to the rear, remove mag, retain it under the shooting armpit, cycle the slide 2 or 3 times (until case ejects), insert a new mag if one is available (retained magazine otherwise), release slide.

If the case doesn't eject in 2 or 3 cycles, then the ejector/case head is probably broken/ripped through. Time to pull a backup gun, unless that was done as soon as the double-feed was recognized. If it's a ripped case then something like a D-Jammer tool will dislodge it. That takes too long if you have a backup, otherwise it's your last option.

Just racking the slide will aggravate a double-feed rather than clear the jam. I must've missed the part about the "sharp flipping" on the supplied url/link.

Sticky, it is clear we are on different pages here. One of the reasons I have never seen what you have seen a lot, is that I never use underpowered reloads or 1911's. Also, while I have nothing against competition, it is not what we train or teach for. Could you do what you describe above while on the move and being shot at?

Last year alone, I can't count how many thousands of rounds that I shot or watched go down range.(far less than many I'm sure.) Out of all of these I saw very few failure to ejects that weren't caused on purpose. Of those that I did see, all were cleared with the method Gabe describe's. In one class I was teaching, a student did have a failure to extract that was later found to be a thin rim on the case that tore. We did have to beat out the case. In a real encounter, had he not had a backup, he would have been in trouble. This is where mindset and attitude would have come in.

You are clearly not going to see things the way we teach them, that is your perogative.

In one

 

[Sticky]

...
You are clearly not going to see things the way we teach them, that is your perogative.

In one

I've cleared weapons while being shot at several times back in the 70's. That was with a rifle and pistol chambers offer easier access. So yes, I could easily move and clear, at the same time; even while carrying a 40 pound pack. Been there, done that.

With regular factory ammo and any decent pistol, failure-to-eject is much less common and usually caused by a limp grip, i.e. operator error.

The double-feed (failure-to-extract) is a much bigger problem. I think that recognizing a double-feed on the first rack is a big time saver. Assuming it really is a double-feed. Of course, the best cure for a double-feed is a second gun. A lot of citizens don't carry a second gun; or even a second magazine. So clearing a double-feed becomes more of an issue.

I think I agree with you much more than I disagree.

 

[cedartop]

With regular factory ammo and any decent pistol, failure-to-eject is much less common and usually caused by a limp grip, i.e. operator error.

I think I agree with you much more than I disagree.

It looks like you may be correct. Didn't mean to imply we shouldn't try to clear and move, of course we train that. I was just referring to the Diagnostic style of remedial action drills.

If you were referencing a little conflict in Southeast Asia. Thank you for your service. My Army time saw no combat, even though I was Infantry.

 

[redpitbull44]

Not having read anything but the OP and link yet, I find myself doing exactly what he described by instinct. The only difference in what I do is I lock the slide back, kinda turn the pistol, ejection port down, muzzle up, and shake it, then I slingshot the slide back forward. This only takes about a second and will make sure that anything in there comes out, unless it is a split casing. If the pistol goes bang, then I keep shooting.

If it goes click, I lock the slide back again, I pull the pistol into my body, muzzle towards the threat, and look down into the chamber to see if the mag is empty. If the magazine is empty, I swap mags, and try shooting again.

If there is still ammo in the magazine, and the chamber is empty, I keep hand cycling and pulling the trigger until that magazine runs dry (we're talking 1911 here, not XDM9 or something), hoping I've got a dud, an not a broken firing pin. By the time you are hand cycling presumably good ammo that isn't going bang, you've got an internal breakage, and it's time to transition to whatever the next deadliest thing you have handy may happen to be.