The Firearm Guide: How to fix a Firearm Malfunction.

Regardless if you're a beginner or experienced shooter, there will be a point in time when you need to know how to fix a firearm malfunction.

Lets discuss the two actions you generally take to correct your malfunction - Immediate and Remedial action.

Immediate action is the action you take in the moment to quickly correct your malfunction. You immediately fix the issue - even if it keeps recurring. This should take about 2-3 seconds.

Remedial action is a more deliberate action of troubleshooting exactly what is wrong with your firearm, such as taking it apart and cleaning it, or removing a stuck cartridge. You attempt to remedy the problem with your firearm. This generally takes as long as you need to fix it.

As you can see, the primary difference between these is simply time. One is for when you need to correct your malfunction in the moment, and the other is for when you have the time to troubleshoot what might be causing your malfunction in order to to minimize or prevent them in the future.

Lets get into the steps you should take for both of them -

Immediate Action

A popular method in the military is to use "SPORTS" or "POTS".

1. SLAP your magazine and ensure it is seated properly.

2. PULL your slide / charging handle back and hold

3. OBSERVE that a cartridge ejected (if it fed) and that your chamber is unobstructed.

4. RELEASE the slide / charging handle back forward to chamber another round.

5. (If applicable) Tap the forward assist on the side of your rifle. This ensures the bolt is closed properly.

6. SQUEEZE the trigger and attempt to fire it again.

POTS is just SPORTS cut down. Some people find it easier to group the actions into 3-4 steps rather than 5-6 (I am people).

1. PULL your slide / charging handle back

2. OBSERVE that your firearm ejected the cartridge properly, then release your slide / charging handle.

3. (If applicable) TAP the forward assist.

4. SQUEEZE the trigger and attempt to fire it again.

It's important that you practice this drill often. This is the kind of skill that you want muscle memory to take over for in order to increase your efficiency at correcting malfunctions. I won't insult your intelligence - I'm sure you understand that seconds count in a situation where you would need to defend yourself, or in competition.

Remedial Action

Due to the vague nature of this category, any action you take that involves a lot of time diagnosing and solving your malfunction can technically qualify as a remedial action. Lets take a quick look at your two most common remedial actions.

• The first common remedial action might be removing an obstruction in your barrel. To do this, you would clear your firearm, then attempt to angle your barrel downwards to get the obstruction to slide out, or physically stick something down your barrel in order to push the obstruction out.

• The second common remedial action is disassembling your firearm, ensuring it's cleaned properly and that all mechanical hardware is in working condition, reassembling it and conducting a functions check.

  • If, say, you discovered a broken component, then you would obviously include replacing that component in those steps.
    

And that's about it for your actions!

Real quick, lets discuss some different types of malfunctions you might run into as well, and what specifically you should do.

Malfunctions come in all forms. If your firearm still doesn't work properly, it can usually be summed up as failing to feed, failing to extract, or failing to eject.

Within those categories, you have common malfunctions such as:

• A double feed, which occurs when your chambered cartridge fails to eject and you attempt to chamber another cartridge on top of that one. This is why the observe portion of conducting an immediate action is important. To fix this, simply clear your weapon and attempt to safely remove both the rounds. Remember, If you notice that your firearm didn't eject a cartridge properly, do not just release the slide / charge handle forward again. Lock the slide / bolt to the rear, remove the magazine or other source of ammunition to avoid accidentally chambering another round, and shake or grab the stuck cartridge out. If this continues to happen, you should move into remedial action and see if there's a mechanical reason why your cartridge is no longer ejecting.

• A cartridge gets stuck. Whether it's live or just brass, treat it the same. Clear your weapon, grab the Gerber or a set of pliers, and either pull it out from the back or attempt to push something down the barrel to push it out. Don't be nervous, but also don't beat the heck out of it as you might damage your barrel or chamber in the process.
  

Here's some general ideas of where to start in diagnosing your problem:

• Your striker / hammer isn't working properly. Clear your weapon and conduct a functions check to see if everything is working properly. If not, disassemble, evaluate all the parts, reassemble, then check again.
  

• You have a dud round. Go ahead and clear your weapon and evaluate the back of the round you just attempted to fire. If it has a dent in the primer, then it's more than likely a dud round. Put it in a safe spot, and continue firing.

• Your firearm is failing to feed. Notice that you have a magazine loaded but your firearm isn't chambering any rounds? Try pulling out your magazine without pressing the release. If you can do that, then it's not properly seated. If you're still having the issue, try a different magazine. Chances are you might have a magazine whose spring isn't in a good condition anymore, and it's not forcing the rounds upwards in order to get chambered. If you're still having this issue, then you might have a problem with the firearm itself, such as the bolt not grabbing the round properly. Experiment, but do it safely.

  • I actually have one magazine that, when packed fully, won't seat in my Tavor X95, so I have to remove one round in order to seat it. You might run into weird stuff like that.

• It's on safe! or You have no ammo! Hey you probably should start with these ones, but it happens.
  

Before we finish up, I want to discuss one more thing - hang-fires, slam-fires, or run-away-guns. These are all terms used for when your firearm unintentionally discharges, which can obviously be dangerous.

Mostly common with automatic weapons, this happens most often when the bolt unintentionally slams forward and begins the firing, or when the barrel is hot enough to discharge a round.

If you ever run into a malfunction like this, whether it continuously fires or not, don't freak out! Just do what makes sense:

1. Immediately regain control of the firearm and ensure it's pointed in a safe direction. Don't swing it around, don't let it go. Take control!

2. Pull the slide / charging handle back fully and hold it. This should keep the bolt from riding back forward. Remain in control of the slide / charging handle!

3. Place the firearm on safe if it isn't already. Keep holding the slide / charging handle.

4. Remove the source of ammunition.

5. Clear the chamber. If it isn't, either manually remove the cartridge, or if it is safe to do so, fire it.

Your job doesn't stop there though. You need to identify the cause, and always treat that firearm like it will do it again from there on until you can figure it out.

The most important part to take out of this is to not panic, and remain in control.

As always, I hope you found this information helpful. Most of the time malfunctions come down to two things: you haven't been cleaning and lubricating your firearm properly, or there's a mechanical issue.

Oh, and sometimes you might just get a dud round! It happens!

But please, always remember not to attempt any remedial actions with your firearm loaded.

Stay tuned for more discussions!