A primary advantage of pistols is that shooters can clear many malfunctions themselves, while a malfunctioning revolver normally will head straight to the gunsmith. Are revolvers more reliable than pistols? There's some truth to this, but it's outside the scope of this article. What I want to discuss here is how to clear common malfunctions occurring in semi-automatic pistols.
Clearing a malfunction is a primary fundamental of combative pistolcraft. Many will say a second gun is the proper way to deal with a jammed semi-auto, and I agree in some cases, but it still makes sense to know how to clear the auto. To rely on a snub .38 when a full-size pistol is available but in need of some attention isn t always the best course of action. Thus, practicing to quickly clear a pistol is an essential skill. Some will say such procedures have already been established, but which are the easiest to perform?
I've read a lot about industrial motion studies of the 1950s and 1960s over the years and attempted to apply those findings to the shooting techniques I teach. While competition is fun and worthwhile, it's not my personal focus. I want to know how to best use a handgun in a fight. After 30 years in law enforcement and thousands of hours of training, this remains my quest. I believe the ergonomic engineers of the Industrial Age have something to teach us about the most efficient way to run a gun.
All things become more complex in a gunfight, so it s important to find the easiest way to accomplish any task. Along these lines, I believe some popular methods to clear malfunctions aren t necessarily the best. What I am about to say will irritate some, and that's fine. At times, shaking the status quo is a good thing.
Make it Simple
In my experience, all pistol malfunctions, except the hated double-feed, can be cleared via one technique. I call it the tap, rack, target. Tap the bottom of the magazine to make sure it's seated and rack the slide to clear the garbage from the chamber. Then, point the gun back at the target to assess the threat.
This may sound logical, but I grab a slide differently now. For many years, I used what I call the saddle grip to work the slide. In this common technique, the support hand travels up and over a slide with the palm down and fingers bent. To me, this looks like a saddle being placed on a horse, and I haven t found this method to be the most efficient or ergonomic method to aggressively work a slide.
Over the years, I've seen a sizeable number of shooters actually induce a pistol malfunction without knowing it by using the saddle grip. While attempting to get all their fingers on the slide (for increased gripping strength), they cover the ejection port and actually block the empty case from ejecting. This creates a double-feed, which is the worst pistol malfunction. The shooter then tries to compensate by sliding their hand away from the ejection port and actually ends up gripping the slide with the middle, ring and pink fingers.
Anyone who has ever taken piano lessons knows the ring and pink fingers are considered the weak ones. In addition, keeping a pistol upright doesn't make the best use of gravity to help eject garbage from the chamber. To accomplish this while using the saddle grip, the gun is turned sideways away from the center of our body, further weakening the grip. This technique also adds extra movement, which we don't need. Remember: You want simplicity in a fight.
Sweeping Saves
The technique I suggest requires less movement and will clear everything short of a double-feed, including a stovepipe malfunction. Using the most common stovepipe clearance method, you simply take the edge of your hand and sweep off the jammed upright brass case, which clears the offending round without losing the round next in the chamber. To practice this, pick up a spent cartridge from the range floor, pull back the slide slightly and insert the empty cartridge.
However, is an empty cartridge taken from the range the same as a spent cartridge trapped in a gun's slide after firing? If you ve ever had a recently fired round travel down your shirt or become caught behind your shooting glasses, you'll probably say no. A real spent cartridge case is hot and can affect your ability to swipe it away with your bare hand.
Some will say that during a fight you won't notice the heat, but can this be guaranteed? If not, do you think burning the edge of your hand could be a bit distracting in a situation when fighting for your life? Consider this stuff when building a defensive toolbox. You'll fight as you train, so make sure you train the way you want to fight!
My Recommendation
I think you should release the grip with your support hand and turn the gun sideways into it. This allows you to grasp the gun s slide with your thumb, index, middle and ring fingers without covering the ejection port. Consider this: Will you have a stronger grip with these fingers, or with the middle, ring and pinky? Additionally, by turning the gun sideways into the support hand, you allow gravity to remove unwanted debris from the chamber, including a hot stove-piped case.
Sure, you'll eject the round next in line to load the chamber, but isn't this a reasonable trade for being able to clear all but one malfunction with a single action? Also, if the gun's slide is stuck, you need additional force. Your shooting hand can release the grip and strike the gun's back strap to apply more force. Try this when holding onto a gun with just the middle, ring and pinky fingers.
Double-Feed Duty
Clearing a double-feed isn't as hard as many believe, though it does take longer. Think about this for a moment: How many times have you loaded and unloaded a pistol during your career? Hundreds, maybe thousands, of times depending on how old you are, how long you have been on the job or how often you shoot. You're probably pretty good at it and can manage without much thought.
Unloading is nothing more than removing a magazine with ammo inside and working the slide to eject the round in the chamber. To load, you insert a fresh magazine and work the slide to chamber a new round. How about applying these skills to clearing the double-feed? Think about what happens when a double-feed occurs: A round is trying to enter the chamber while another round is already in place. It could be a spent or a live round based on what has occurred, but in the end, you have a locked slide.
The feel of this is unmistakable, and even though you may have practiced extensively to clear it, you won t be able to help yourself you will look at the gun! That's no big deal because it confirms what you already know, but don t waste more time clear it! Unload and then reload the gun.
With most modern semi-autos, you can rip the magazine from the gun by depressing the release button first and vigorously pulling the magazine from the grip. With Glock and HK pistols, this may solve the problem, but don't count on it. Work the slide to ensure the chamber empties. Many instructors recommend working the slide multiple times to make sure it s clear, but I often just look to save time. Then, reload the gun the same way you would any speed-load. This doesn't take a lot of thought or practice because you ve been performing the action for years. It's just a matter of thinking about it in the right context.
The trick to performing this is ensuring there s something to grab the magazine s bottom in order to rip it free. Heckler and Koch was the first to place indents at the bottom of their grip frame on the original USP in order to perform this action. My carry guns have similar cuts in the frame or grip so I can rip the magazine free if a double-feed occurs. Try this ahead of time using dummy rounds and see if your carry gun allows you to rip the magazine. If not, you must lock the slide to the rear first to take pressure off of the magazine, and then you can remove it.
In the end, decide what will or won t work for you. But remember, speed is a result of eliminating unnecessary motion, and sometimes you'll need speed to prevail. It would also be wise to consider how good your grip will be if your hands are covered with a slick substance like blood. In a situation like this, do you think using as many fingers as you can on a slide is a good idea? In my experience over the last three decades, slow is smooth, and smooth is fast. At the same time, simple is good, and simple is usually smooth.
