Reload a Pistol and Clear Malfunctions

Malfunctions (also, erroneously, known as "jams") are a way of life in semi-automatic handguns. Though most modern guns are relatively reliable, it is always a good idea to be prepared, because malfunctions seem to happen at the most inopportune times. This article also covers reloading, which is not a malfunction, but is yet another reason why your gun may not fire when you want it to. There are two types of reload situations. One, you've fired all your rounds, and the magazine is empty with the slide or bolt locked back. This is called an Emergency or Normal Reload. The second, is a "tactical reload", where rounds have been fired, but the weapon still has only about a round or two in it. You can use this opportunity to drop your nearly empty or empty magazine and load a new one.

Steps

Emergency Reload

  1. Identify the need. An emergency reload is needed when you have spent all the rounds from your magazine and your slide is locked back.
  2. Grab a fresh magazine (likely from a magazine pouch). This happens after the slide has locked back on an empty magazine.
  3. Move the fresh magazine toward the gun, as you do this...
  4. Eject the empty magazine. Be sure not to lose your old magazine, and bring your new magazine into place below the magazine well. (they should essentially pass each other during the drill).
  5. Insert the magazine. Place the rear of the magazine against the rear of the magazine well of the gun, align the two, and with some force (though there should be little resistance)...
  6. Seat the magazine using the heel of your palm. Give it a light tap, you should feel it click into place.
  7. Roll your hand over the top of the slide and pull it back toward your chest. Be sure not to put your fingers in the slide opening, or anywhere else they might get caught.
  8. Release the slide, so it can go forward with full force. This will seat the next round in the chamber, preparing it for discharge.

Tactical Reload

  1. Determine if it is safe to perform a tactical reload. Only execute this if you encounter a lull in the gunfight and are able to place yourself behind cover. You know you have spent some rounds from the current magazine and want to prepare for whatever may come next.
  2. Reach to your magazine pouch (or other magazine holder and a pocket maybe; make sure you have a full magazine).
  3. Move back to the gun and eject the partially depleted magazine into your hand.
  4. Put the magazine in your pocket (separate from fresh magazines).
  5. Grab the fresh magazine you touched earlier and insert it into the gun in the same fashion as the emergency reload, but this reload doesn't require manipulation of the slide.
  6. Practice at the range. You should be able to feel and react immediately when the gun does not fire. When you pull the trigger, if you feel a "click", execute a malfunction type-1 clearing. If there is no click, look at the malfunction and act accordingly (remember it may be an empty magazine too). After shooting for some time you should be able to feel when the magazine is depleted, allowing you to execute emergency reloads very quickly. Over time you will begin to notice that the weapon will feel and sound different after firing the last round.

Type-1 Malfunction

  1. Identify the malfunction. Often a type-1 malfunction is a misfeed, in which a round was not loaded into the chamber (e.g. you didn't rack the slide after you loaded a magazine, or the magazine wasn't seated enough to load a round).
  2. Make sure the malfunction is not a "squib load". This is a relatively dangerous malfunction where there is not enough force to propel the projectile out of the barrel. In semi-automatic pistols, a squib is often easily noticeable, as the slide will not cycle and a new round will not be chambered. If a squib load happens, remove the magazine and clear the obstruction immediately.
  3. Make sure the malfunction is not a "hang fire", in which the burning of the cartridge's propellant is delayed. Only attempt to immediately clear the malfunction during a live-fire, real confrontation. This is due to the risk of the round eventually firing. If you experience a hang fire, keep the firearm pointed down range for at least 10 seconds before attempting to clear.
  4. Correct the Malfunction. The quickest way to do this is through immediate action. With a semi-automatic pistol, pull the slide back, ejecting the last round. Observe the ejection and the round. If the lead is still on the bullet, you know that the round didn't fire. If the lead is gone, it may indicate a weapon malfunction. Observe the chamber. Check for double feeds, or things that don't belong. Release the slide, seating the next round. Deactivate the safety and attempt to fire the weapon. If it still fails to fire, remove the magazine and eject the current round, and turn the weapon over to a gun expert for repair.
  5. Practice:
    • Load a full magazine into the gun with an empty chamber.
    • Point at the target, pull the trigger, feel the "click".
    • With the heel of your palm hit the bottom of your magazine (with some fervor; this is the "tap").
    • Then twist your gun 90-degrees to the right (so the ejection port is down) and...
    • Rack the gun by pulling the slide straight back and letting go; do not ride the slide forward, let it slam (this the "flip" and "rack" part of the drill). This will drop a possibly dud round out of the chamber and load a new round into the chamber.
  • Tap 35.jpg

    1. Tap the bottom of the magazine firmly.

  • Rack-flip 738.jpg

    2. Rack the slide and flip the gun to the right.

Type-2 Malfunction

  1. Identify the malfunction. When you pull the trigger, there is no "click" (or "boom"). Sticking out the chamber is visible brass. This brass is what gives the type-2 malfunction the name "the stovepipe". It is also known as a failure to eject.
  2. Fix the malfunction. The solution is the same as a type-1 malfunction: tap, rack/flip.
  3. Practice:
    • Pull back the slide to expose an empty chamber, lock empty brass so it is sticking out of the chamber.
    • Load a full magazine into the gun.
    • Point at the target, pull the trigger, take note that there is no "click".
    • Visually see the brass sticking out of the chamber.
    • With the heel of your palm hit the bottom of your magazine (with some fervor — this is the "tap").
    • Then twist your gun 90-degrees to the right (so the ejection port is down) and...
    • Rack the gun by pulling the slide straight back and letting go; do not ride the slide forward, let it slam (this is the "flip" and "rack" part of the drill). This will drop the brass out of the chamber and load a new round into the chamber.
  • Mal type2 1 383.jpg

    0. Setup the stovepipe malfunction.
    1. Point the gun up to see the "high brass"

  • Tap 35.jpg

    2. Tap the bottom of the magazine firmly.

  • Mal type2 2 288.jpg

    3. Rack the slide and flip the gun to the right.

Type-3 Malfunction

  1. Identify the malfunction. The fired casing does not get pulled out of the chamber and a new round has now being loaded into the breech. This is known as a double-feed and a failure to extract.
  2. Fix the malfunction:
    • Grab the slide and Lock it back (optional)
    • Press the magazine release and (while your magazine may fall out on its own normally, a type-3 will prevent it from doing so now) strip the magazine from the gun.
    • You have an option here. Either you drop the magazine, or practice retention where you hold onto the magazine to continue to use it.
    • Grab the slide again and rack it hard three times.
    • Reach for a fresh magazine (or use the one in retention), put it in the gun (same as the tactical reload) #*Rack the slide one more time to load a round into the chamber.
  • Mal type3 1 581.jpg

    0. Setup the double feed malfunction.

  • Lock slide 555.jpg

    1. Point the gun up and see all the brass in the chamber.
    2. Lock the slide back.

  • Strip mag 517.jpg

    3. Strip the magazine from the gun (throw it to the ground or use retention and hold it in your hand).
    4. Rack the slide three times.

  • Load mag 84.jpg

    5. Load fresh magazine or the one you held.
    6. Rack the slide to chamber a round.



Tips

  • Police yourself (and any partner) for live ammunition before entering the SAFE ZONE. This must include the clearing the weapon, emptying all magazines and the emptying of all of your pockets to check for live ammo. *Store live ammunition and loaded magazines in a secure area nowhere near your SAFE ZONE practice area and remember to repeat the above process if you leave and return. (Many law enforcement officers have incurred a negligent discharge after leaving a SAFE ZONE, reloading their weapon and then returning and forgetting to clear their weapon or magazines of live ammunition.)
  • The more you practice, the better and quicker you will get.
  • Practicing reloading and clearing the malfunctions is a key part of tactically training with a handgun and should always be done on a firing range or in an otherwise safe location.
  • Ideally, whether on the range or not, you should purchase extra magazines devoted only to practice or shooting-skills development and mark them accordingly (a color-coded, yard-sale type sticker on the end of the practice magazine works great for this purpose). This will help you avoid any damage to the magazines that you carry for use for self-defense caused by "dumping" them on the ground, stepping on them, etc.
  • Ultimately, some of your practice sessions should include a partner to set up the various malfunction conditions for you using empty brass and dummy rounds. This will help add stress and sharpen your ability to quickly identify the type of malfunction and to execute the action required to clear it.
  • It can be argued that even when on the range there is no legitimate need to practice malfunction clearing with live ammunition; and for less experienced persons, setting up these conditions with live ammunition can be a recipe for a negligent discharge that has the potential to endanger others on the firing range.
  • For practice sessions off of the firing range when you intend to use only empty brass and dummy rounds, set up a SAFE ZONE for your practice sessions. LIVE AMMUNITION MUST NEVER BE ALLOWED TO ENTER THE SAFE ZONE!
  • Along with empty brass, to help alleviate the possibility of a negligent discharge, the use of inert training "ammunition" or "dummy rounds" is absolutely essential for reloading and malfunction-clearing practice when not on the firing range. Dummy rounds have a distinct appearance so as to make them harder to confuse with live ammunition.
  • Improper reloading or malfunction-clearing practice can result in a negligent discharge - that is, having the pistol fire a round when you did not intend for this to happen. If you are on a firing range a negligent discharge may result only in a scary learning experience; negligent discharges off the range and some on the range can result in property damage, injury or death and civil and criminal charges.

Warnings

  • Pistols are rarely the best weapon of choice for combat situations. Rifles and shotguns are more effective than pistols. Pistols are best for targets at {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}}, shotguns are best for targets at {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}}, and rifles are best for targets at {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}}.
  • This is written in a tactical perspective. If you have a type-1 malfunction the possibility for a "hang-fire", essentially a delayed ignition of a round exists. If you are not in a tactical situation, wait for at least a ten seconds before attempting to clear the malfunction.
  • Be sure to know what is down range. Bullets can travel for miles, or can bounce and ricochet into unintended directions.
  • All practicing should be done at the shooting range, obeying all safety rules, or in a legal and private location with an unloaded gun (or you can replace the rounds with snap-caps).
  • Any firearm should only be shot in a safe and legal location. Be aware of state and local laws on use and transportation of a firearm, and follow them carefully. Laws change drastically between states, and can change between counties or even cities.
  • A pistol can inflict serious injury or even death. Be sure to always point the pistol in a safe direction and never point it at something you do not intend to shoot.
  • Safety first! Firearms are dangerous. Only use a pistol or other firearm if you know the weapon or have an experienced shooter directly supervising you. Treat every weapon as though it were loaded.

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