A firearm malfunction is a state in which the weapon cannot fire the round as intended. Most malfunctions can be group into a) Mechanical, or b) ammunition related.
There are various causes to a firearm malfunction, and for the most part, these malfunctions are not necessarily dangerous; however, some malfunctions can even cause death or great bodily injury, to the shooter or other people, so let’s examine the most common causes, how to prevent them, and how to tactically recover from this malfunctions.
Mechanical malfunctions vary by firearm platform -a fancy way to say different types of guns-. Due to the mechanical differences, a revolver malfunction for the most part is different than a pistol, or semi-auto rifle.
Ammunition related malfunctions are -mostly- the same for all platforms.
Types of Firearm Malfunctions
Failure to Load or Failure to Feed
A failure to load only happens to semi-auto and full-auto firearms (pistols, semi-auto rifles, full auto firearms). This malfunction occurs when the round (mistakenly called bullet) does not enter the chamber portion of the barrel. This malfunction is commonly caused by a “bad” magazine, but could also be caused by a poorly seated (inserted) magazine in the magazine well.
The Failure to Load is in essence a round that does not fully and/or properly enter the chamber of the barrel -see the picture labeled “chamber of the barrel”-.
There are less common failure to load incidents such as when someone accidentally loads a 9mm round as the first round in a 380 magazine. Given that the 380 is shorter than the 9mm, the barrel will accept it, but the slide will not go into battery -fancy way of saying the barrel and the slide will not completely close-. This issue is an operator’s fault.
What is a malfunction?
Causes of malfunction
Avoiding malfunctions
Clearing malfunctions
| Type of Malfunction | Common | Less Common | Mechanical | Ammunition Related |
| Failure to Load or Failure to Feed | X | X | ||
| Failure to Extract | X | X | ||
| Failure to Eject | X | X | ||
| Double Feed | X | X | ||
| Stovepipe | X | X | ||
| Rim Lock | X | |||
| Hammer Follow | X | |||
| Out of Battery Ignition | X | |||
| Slamfire | X | X | ||
| Dud | X | X | ||
| Squib Load | X | X | ||
| Hang Fire | X | X | ||
| Case Head Separation | X | X |
Recent Posts
Can I shoot somebody from my moving vehicle in self-defense?
As the saying goes, there I was minding my own business... driving down the interstate, and as you got off the next exit, you noticed a white pickup truck behind you, to close for comfort, but being...
How a professional shooter cleans a gun in 15 minutes or less.
100's of gun cleaning sessions, and thousands of hours pulling the trigger at the range, and in competitions have convinced me that regularly cleaned guns are easier to maintain, and it saves you...