Teaching new shooters to clear jams

[monotonous_iterancy]

When teaching new shooters, I hope that eventually they will be able to shoot independently. However, a big part of this includes not just safe handling, but also how to troubleshoot (no pun intended). How are they supposed to know how to handle a jam? I explain it in words and tell them things of the nature of "keep it pointed downrange, take the magazine out or dump the rounds, and cycle the action, if that doesn't work, more invasive effort might be needed.".

But do you do anything else besides an abstract telling? We try to keep our guns in good working order, so a jam has never come up except for an occasional short stroke with a pump action, which is easily remedied.

Do you ever get the opportunity to actually show problem clearing in action?

 

[Feanaro]

Get some snap caps, mix those into your magazines and you'll have instant malfunction clearing practice.

 

[Flopsweat]

You can recreate a stovepipe with an empty. Or just don't oil the gun if it's a semi-auto. I'm kidding - don't do that.

 

[GRIZ22]

You cam simulate a double feed with snap caps or dummy rounds. Takes away from the surprise but still presents the problem to the shooter.

As others have said snap caps or dummy rounds in the mag simulate failure to fire. You can also create an interesting malfunction by loading one or more empties in a magazine.

 

[monotonous_iterancy]

Snapcaps...that's actually a really good idea! Do you simulate a double feed by using two dummy rounds?

 

[Sam1911]

Snapcaps...that's actually a really good idea! Do you simulate a double feed by using two dummy rounds?

Not really. (You can but it isn't exactly right.) A true double-feed is extremely rare.

What most folks call a double-feed, in a handgun, is actually a failure to extract that leaves the spent case in the chamber and then tries to load a fresh round.

It's a pain to clear because even if you can "TRB" the new fresh round out of the ejection port, you just strip the next round out of the magazine and are back where you started -- with the nose of the next cartridge ramming into the head of the spent case still in the chamber.

To simulate, place a spent case into the chamber, insert a loaded mag (loaded with snap-caps for maximum safety) and then release the slide. There's your "double feed."

To rectify, have the shooter practice stripping the mag out (sometimes that takes some force depending on how jammed up things have gotten), then yank the slide back and let the free loaded round fall free of the action, then run the slide hard forward and back a few times until that stuck spent case is ejected. Insert a fresh mag and go!

 

[45_auto]

Skip going to the range a couple of times, save your ammo money, and get some decent training. It'll be the best money you ever spent on any shooting item.

Clint Smith goes over some basic malfunction drills here, but youtube sucks in relation to a real class.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfyULpEhmug

 

[MrCleanOK]

Others have said it, but I will chime in. With a combination of spent casings, dummy rounds, and an understanding of what causes malfunctions you can recreate any of them for training.

 

[Blackstone]

Just weighing in to say that locking the slide back for a double feed will save a lot more time than trying to strip the magazine straight away

 

[Sam1911]

Well, that's kind of debatable. It may make it easier to strip the mag. Or not. If you can strip the mag without locking the slide back, all that happens is the slide closes on the free round, usually "stovepiped" in the action. Then when you rack the slide that first time, it just falls free.

Locking the slide back is another step which ADDS time if you don't have to do it.

But we're talking about 0.5 sec. either way, so do it which ever way seems to make it easier for you.

 

[CountryUgly]

Just to keep me on toes when I load mags for a range trip I load 3 with "failure" rounds at various points in the mags. One is a dummy round without powder and a spent primer in it. The second is just an empty case and the third is a round that's loaded long with a beat up bullet and the empty case is beat to heck (it causes some interesting and PITA failures). but that's just me.

 

[taliv]

i second the training suggestion. learn to do something in an efficient way, then practice it.

do a youtube search for "immediate action drill" and "remedial action drill" to see a variety of methods for different guns.

if you're just trying to plink safely, that's one thing. (keep the gun pointed in a safe direction. remove the source of ammo. take your time and analyze the malfunction. remove the offending cartridges, clear, clean if necessary and reload.)

if you're training for a defensive weapon or a match where time is a factor, you want to instinctively execute the immediate action or remedial action based on feedback like whether the trigger went 'click' or felt 'mushy'. with practice you can tell if the bolt held open, or if the slide/bolt picked up a round or not. it just feels different.

so in this case, you do want to train with snap caps or dummy rounds. so that when you experience an actual double feed, you immediately react instead of scratching your head.

 

[Potatohead]

What most folks call a double-feed, in a handgun, is actually a failure to extract that leaves the spent case in the chamber and then tries to load a fresh round.

Noob Alert-When this happened to me last time, i couldnt even get the mag to eject (i didnt want to rip it out because i didnt know if that would hurt it)...i took it a few stalls over to some older gents and one wrestled with it for a bit and got it cleared. I couldnt tell how he did it, as i was busy talking with the other 2 fellas. what do you think he did, or what do you do to clear this? just jerk the mag?

 

[Sam1911]

Yeah. Basically you don't have a lot of choices. Pretty much you have to yank that magazine out in order to free up everything else. Some times it takes some effort.

There may be a few designs where you could disassemble the slide from the receiver without dropping the mag if you've got time to get "fiddly" with it, but I haven't been in that situation and tried to work it out that way.

 

[Dave P.]

Get a compact Kimber, you'll get plenty of practice.
Dave

 

[1KPerDay]

I have them watch this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfyULpEhmug

 

[raze]

Get some snap caps, mix those into your magazines and you'll have instant malfunction clearing practice.

Works well for new shooters to see if they have a flinch also

 

[Potatohead]

thx sam

 

[mf-dif]

Also make sure they understand the reason what caused the malfunction. The sooner they grasp the mechanical aspects of a gun the faster they'll be able to trouble shoot on their own.

 

[Al Thompson]

Just to echo Sam a bit, even if you lock the slide to the rear, the top round in the magazine will protrude a bit into the chamber, where it's stopped by the spent cartridge that's failed to extract.

Ripping the magazine out is required. If this specific malfunction occurs during something serious, you do not want to take time to stop and ponder about it.

 

[scaatylobo]

NYC reload

That is one of the biggest reasons to carry a BUG.

Lets just go a step further and say that "jam" is not able to be cleared and you get shot up lots while trying to perform that 'jam clearance drill'.

If your at the pearly gates and are asked why you didn't have a BUG & a back up plan,by the head man - whats in your pocket :banghead:.

Well you get my drift.

YES,I do practice clearance drills,and then I perform a "FAILURE TO GET IT RUNNING DRILL",aka a NYC reload = pulling a BUG and getting it into service ASAP as I am already late to that dance.

Just another 00.02 cents s'all.

 

[mope540]

...what jams???

 

[45_auto]

Strawberry and Grape.

 

[BullfrogKen]

Oh, I've seen revolver jams and they're usually worse and much more difficult to fix than one in a semi-auto. Have an ejector rod screw out a bit on you, or a magnum bullet work it's way out of the crimp and you'll understand what I mean.

 

[Kim]

OH That video helped me. I had a stove-pipe one time and did not know what to do but call for help!!!!