The safe, accurate, and effective handling of a firearm is contingent on a variety of factors, and any firearms expert will tell you that there are a lot of variables that can contribute to a jammed gun. Anyone who has ever experienced a gun jamming can tell you – anxieties can run high and nerves can be tested. After all, you might have a faulty cartridge that is loaded to 40,000-psi sitting in the chamber, ready to ignite. Or, you may be unable to work the action of the firearm at all – creating a hazardous situation for you or anyone around you. Semi-automatic firearms are generally the culprit when it comes to gun jams, so the information below will focus on activities related to these types of firearms.
When in a self-defense situation, you’ll need to understand the quickest and safest ways to clear a jammed gun – after all, your life may depend on it! The following are the three main types of gun jam situations, and how to safely and effectively clear a weapon in case of malfunction:
FAILURE TO FEED
The failure to feed situation refers to a semi-automatic firearm’s inability to transfer a live cartridge from the magazine or clip into the chamber of the weapon. The slide on a pistol or the charging handle on the carbine might not have been allowed to ride forward freely, and that can quickly cause a jam. To clear a failure to feed, you’ll need to drop the magazine into your hands, rack the slide two or three times, then re-insert the magazine. You’ll then need to rack the slide again to put the gun into battery and introduce a new round into the chamber. This is a time-consuming process during a self-defense situation, but is one that is often managed by keeping your gun clean, using high-quality magazines, and allowing the slide to ride forward under spring tension.
FAILURE TO EXTRACT
In this situation, you’ve already fired a round and the empty casing is still sitting within the chamber. As in a failure to feed situation, this malfunction can be mitigated by keeping your gun clean and well-maintained. Most new shooters find that a failure to extract can be traced back to “limp-wristing” the gun, or not providing enough hand and arm tension to allow the firearm to cycle appropriately. Semi-autos need a firm grip to allow the recoil of the weapon to appropriately push the slide to the rear of the gun, where it will then strip a fresh round during its travel forward. Most failures to extract require a magazine drop and a rack of the slide to clear the jam, but if the situation results in a stovepipe (the spent case is “almost” ejected and is trapped in an upright position in the ejection port) the operator can simply aggressively swipe the spent case out of the top of the gun and the return spring should have enough force to strip a new round into the chamber. A competent firearms instructor will demonstrate this, and will also show how to utilize an appropriate grip to help eliminate failures to extract.
FAILURE TO EJECT
In this case, the spent case is somehow trapped within the gun and hasn’t been ejected. Most shooters find that as they better manage their grip on the gun, they tend to see far fewer failures to eject. Most semi-automatic firearms are quite reliable these days, so user error tends to drive the majority of ejection issues. As always, a clean andwell-maintained gunis crucial to overall reliability. If the gun fails to eject in a defensive situation, rack the slide aggressively to clear the round and let it ride forward to strip a new round into battery. Barring a broken or faulty ejector, these instances should be treated as a symptom of the user’s grip on the gun.
Clearing a jam is something that is rarely necessary given today’s highly-reliable firearms, but the inherent dangers associated with a jammed gun makes it a crucial skill to obtain. A qualified instructor will help you learn to clear a jam in a quick and safe manner.
Gas system firearms generate a lot of carbon which clogs up gas ports, gas pistons and springs. Pistols however, get gummed up from powder and can keep the firing pin from striking the primer hard enough. Extractors can also fail when the firearm isn't cleaned like it should be.
You are right to be concerned about such things -- the 1911 is notorious for jamming frequently. Specifically the ejector mechanism; if the gun is not held steady after firing, the spent cartridge tends to get jammed between the barrel and the slide.
A failure to eject, also known as a stovepipe, happens when the old casing gets hung up inside the ejection port before fully ejecting. The slide closes on the empty case, unable to return to battery with the new round in the chamber.
One of the above, jamming is usually caused by a defective magazine, cartridge or rifle, or crud build up. In any case the cause and likelihood is not associated with any particular ammo. However poor made or degraded ammo and poorly made or degraded firearms will jam as will poorly maintained and dirty firearms.
Mechanical malfunctions of a firearm (commonly called jams) include failures to feed, extract, or eject a cartridge; failure to fully cycle after firing; and failure of a recoil- or gas-operated firearm to lock back when empty (largely a procedural hazard, as "slide lock" is a visual cue that the firearm is empty).
Yes, a poor grip could cause a malfunction, but it could be a combination of things. It could be your gun may not like the ammunition you are using, especially the JHP. It could also be a magazine issue.
Revolvers don't “jam” since the old shell is not ejected until done separately from the firing sequence. They can malfunction. Derringers will not “jam” either, since the seating of the cartridge in the chamber, and the shell ejection, are done manually.
Although Glock pistols are famously reliable, they can still jam. If this happens, there are several steps you can take to clear the jam and get your pistol back up and running. First, try to clear the jam by rapping the bottom of the magazine sharply on a hard surface a few times.
The answer is “it depends”. A well-maintained gun from a reliable manufacturer using quality (not nessessarily expensive) ammunition with manufacturer or heavily-tested 3rd party magazines (where applicable) in ideal circ*mstances will almost never jam… I've gone thousands of rounds in various guns without a jam.
‚ You have consistency with firing a gun that has been used versus one that has been freshly cleaned, but if going too long without a thorough cleaning, your gun will get too dry, or fouled up, and begin to have trouble firing.
Yes, you can probably clear a simple jam and continue shooting your handgun, but in the long run, if there are either mechanical issues or underlying problems with the gun, you might be putting yourself or others at risk by doing so. A trip to a qualified gunsmith might be money well spent.
Jamming should be a result of inadequate maintenance not just a constant inevitability. Check the condition of your mags. A pristine gun will jam if you have a damaged mag in it.
Are hollow point bullets more prone to jamming and feeding problems versus full metal jacket bullets? Note: I own and use both revolvers and auto-loaders. Short answer: Yes. Many auto-loading pistols exhibit feeding problems with hollow points as well as truncated (flat nose) bullets.
Some people prefer grease as a lubricant, which is fine if it is applied properly. Much like oil, too much is of no value and can actually be a detriment.
According to Aimingexpert.com, it's generally fine to keep magazines loaded without ruining them. This is the consensus among notable gun experts who've voiced opinions on this topic.
Overall, there are several factors that can cause a Glock to jam, including a dirty or poorly maintained gun, bad ammunition, a weak recoil spring, improper grip or stance, and overly tight magazines.
When this particular type of jam occurs, the casing from the round that was just fired is caught in the ejection port, obstructing the chamber, and causing the AR-15 to have a failure to feed. This means the brass was extracted properly but did not eject and is pinned in the ejection port by the bolt face.
If the spring isn't strong enough to hold the ammunition against the feed lips at the top of the magazine during recoil, the ammunition is free to bounce around momentarily, inadvertently coming in contact with the slide stop causing it to engage the arresting notch and locking the slide to the rear.
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