I can recall bumping the operating rod on a M1 Garand or M1a to close the bolt. Don't remember what every problem was. However, since a Long Range Champion showed me his palm, I have been thinking, maybe bumping the operating rod is a bad thing.
This Long Range Champ is an actual shooting legend, and still alive running matches. And he is the last living individual on Gen Curtis LeMay's source selection test team, the USAF team that developed test criteria to find an alternative to the M1 Carbine as a USAF base security weapon. LR Champ told me various shooting tests, the one I remember is holding the weapon with one hand on full auto. As I recall the USAF tested the M14, the M1 carbine, the AR15, and the AK47. Might have been more that I don't remember. The AK47's were all battlefield capture weapons, things that had been through the wringer, so to say. The best overall weapon was the AK47 but, as LR Champ said, adoption of the AK was politically unfeasible!
Anyway LR Champ was shooting 600 yard prone slow with a USAF NM M14 when he had a LC NM round misfeed. Apparently it stopped short of bolt closure on the feed ramp. So LR Champ hit the operating rod with his palm. That's when he had his out of battery slamfire experience! The round ignited and the lugs were not in battery. The operating rod sliced through his palm, I think he said 31 stitches. I have a picture of his palm, won't release it as long as he is on this earth, to spare him the accusations that come from slam fire deniers. Deniers will be deniers. LR Champ also said
"don't tell me M14's won't slamfire out of battery!" I am sure he has heard that many times.
Maybe it is best practice to extract a round that won't feed, that should eliminate slamfires as a potential issue.
Practicing slow fire prone with my Garand, I did have a failure to go into battery, and I reached up and hit the operating rod. Several times, and then I figured out it was just not going to close. There was a good reason the bolt was not going to close.
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If I had been able to close the bolt, with something wrapped around the case neck, have to wonder if something wonderful would have happened after I pulled the trigger!