Pistol, Misfire / Stovepipe
Misfires and Stovepipes are fairly common pistol malfunctions. Fortunately, the clearance procedure is very simple. Just, Rack and Go.
This procedure is often called Tap, Rack and Go; OR Tap, Rack and Scan. Regardless, the tap is really unnecessary.
If you've been shooting, and haven't touched the magazine release then Tap is wasted time.
However, if you've just performed a tactical reload and haven't given the magazine a tug to ensure that it has been seated, then a tap may be needed.
Inserting one or two dummy rounds into a magazine on the live fire range will give you good practice on this skill.
++++ONLY USE INERT TRAINING ROUNDS FOR THIS DRILL++++
Setting Up the Misfire
Step 1: Load a magazine with inert/dummy rounds.
Step 2: Load the pistol with the dummy magazine.
Clearing the Misfire
I wish there were something more to be said about clearing these malfunctions. The procedure is really straight forward:
Step 1: Tilt the weapon in the direction of the ejection port.
Step 2: Work the slide.
Step 3: Scan or re-engage targets.
Things to Note:
If you are working with a weapon (such as the Beretta 92f) that has a de-cocking safety, modify your grip and/or release of the slide so you do not accidentally engage the safety when performing this technique.
Drills & Skills
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