Weapon Malfunction Clearing - Quick or deliberate ?
The moment when you hear that "click" sound, while you still have couple of rounds in the mag.
Two options to handle : 1. Rack the slide and carry on (fastest malfunction fix, but you may get penalized for dropping a fresh round on the ground in some IPSC competition events), 2. Perform a 4-steps procedure and taking your time to make sure that every thorough quick fix on your weapon is check listed. While finger off the trigger !!! The 4-steps are : 1-Clear the magazine, 2.Rack the slide couple of times like you mean it while assessing the ejection port/ feeder barrel on doing it, 3.Put the Magazine back, 4.Rack the slide again (or send the bolt home) to put a round in the chamber. (Safety "on" or "off" depending on the nature of your opportunity to engage)
I choose the second step. Which one is better? It depends on the objective and opportunity.
In classical sport shooting competition, many people would recommend Option 1, and perhaps adding a "tap-rack-bang" and or "swiping" method just to reassure . Simply, it is faster, and you want as quickly as possible to get back in the game. It's a "race mode" objective.
In self defense / combat situation however, it's a different ball game. I am most comfortable with Option 2. Yes, every second counts... but you need to reaffirm that the malfunction is 100% cleared. You need a series guideline checklist and follow through them in a very efficient manner. This can be done only by tons of practice repeatedly. Time still matters in a gun fight, but what matters most is to get back that gun working properly in action. Tap-rack-bang delivers 50% quick fix, you don't want to give that another 50% chance to your threat would you? So don't gamble on that method on self defense / combat scenario.
In a chaos situation, even a very trained professionals can messed up their dexterity, forgetting the steps of such procedure, and worst, loose focus to cover (not concealment) themselves while doing the quick fix and scanning the threat. The battle ground gets worst during a low light engagement. In short, it's a multitasking fiasco, and it is a "who gets who first" mode. To overcome the setbacks, it is best to practice "force on force" scenario with trained certified professional.
Option 1 could solve a malfunction very quickly, but many times there are unknown variables that would still jamming the weapon. In a stress situation it would be impossible to asses whether your weapon is experiencing a stovepipe, failure to feed, or double feed. You have to take into considerations the visibility (night / low light), the sound of gun blazing, people screaming, coms yelling at each other, civilian panicking/ got shot etc. There will be higher chances that you are glued to a framed situation where your mind is in the state of confusion, and not be able to focus on a simple tasks. When it does, most likely you will repeat the process again, or even adding Option 2 to your mindset, while the clock is not in your favor.
In short, it all depends on your objective. IPSC guys would go for option 1, while Defensive Shooting guys, law enforcers and military would rather go for option 2. But in any options, you must be able to perform a mechanical 4-steps quick fix in a very efficient manner. So malfunction fix training is not something that you can take it lightly. Train today, and see how it will change how you shoot.
j.suselo
-Pax Militari-
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