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For many years I've heard that the proper procedure for a malfunction in a semi-auto is tap the magazine to make sure it is firmly seated, rack the slide to eject the round that is causing the problem, then pull the trigger. However, there are some cases where tapping the magazine, etc., won't help. So, rather than having to learn two different procedures, i.e., tap, rack, bang or drop, replace, rack, bang, how about just always doing the latter since that will take care of almost any failure. And, yes, I know that you're getting rid of a magazine that may still have perfectly good rounds in it, but that may be worth the risk of not clearing the failure with tap, rack, bang.

What say ye?

Crash

I say that "Tap, Rack, Bang" is the proper procedure on a two way range (i.e. firefight). The object of the procedure is to get you back into the fight ASAP. If the weapon does not fire at that point, it is time to take cover and clear the stoppage.

On a nice sunny afternoon at the local public range though, the proper procedure would be to remove the magazine, observe the stoppage to identify, and clear... no need to hurry in that case.

cyphertext wrote:I say that "Tap, Rack, Bang" is the proper procedure on a two way range (i.e. firefight). The object of the procedure is to get you back into the fight ASAP. If the weapon does not fire at that point, it is time to take cover and clear the stoppage.

On a nice sunny afternoon at the local public range though, the proper procedure would be to remove the magazine, observe the stoppage to identify, and clear... no need to hurry in that case.

Since my experience to this point (and may it always remain so) has been at a conventional range, I drop the magazine first.

Tap, rack, roll, back in action.
Or just carry a wheel gun

Crash wrote:For many years I've heard that the proper procedure for a malfunction in a semi-auto is tap the magazine to make sure it is firmly seated, rack the slide to eject the round that is causing the problem, then pull the trigger. However, there are some cases where tapping the magazine, etc., won't help. So, rather than having to learn two different procedures, i.e., tap, rack, bang or drop, replace, rack, bang, how about just always doing the latter since that will take care of almost any failure. And, yes, I know that you're getting rid of a magazine that may still have perfectly good rounds in it, but that may be worth the risk of not clearing the failure with tap, rack, bang.

What say ye?

Crash

For me the drop,replace, rack, bang would be one extra motion, and probably more time consuming. Secondly, there is no guarantee, that your method would solve the malfunction, either. JMHO

A lot of times (most) the FTF is because the magazine wasn't seated properly because the gun was not properly loaded and checked. Factory ammunition is rarely the cause. Tap Rack fixes the most common FTF.

If Tap Rack doesn't fix it, you're going to need cover. You're going to have to look at the gun.

It is not about 100% fixing the problem right frigging now, it is about addressing the top 3-4 most likely problems as to why you got a click instead of a bang, and getting you back to firing rounds quickly.

An unseated magazine, bad round, round that did not go into battery, and a hard primer are the most likely cases. Keep in mind that this is all going on while bullets are flying, so pulling a mag for a hard primer is unnecessary, and spends time that could get you killed.

If the problem is more detailed than those things, then you can go into secondary actions like dropping the mag, locking the slide or bolt back digging around and so on.

OlBill wrote:A lot of times (most) the FTF is because the magazine wasn't seated properly because the gun was not properly loaded and checked. Factory ammunition is rarely the cause. Tap Rack fixes the most common FTF.

If Tap Rack doesn't fix it, you're going to need cover. You're going to have to look at the gun.

OlBill,

I agree with you that Tap Rack fixes the most common FTF. However, I've owned 12 semi-autos and fired quite a few others and most of the FTF I've had were because my gun didn't "like" a particular type of ammo. Not that the ammo was bad, it just wasn't compatible with the gun I was using. Also, I had a number of failures with two different .380s because of faulty factory magazines. Not saying that it was never my fault, but I only remember two FTF where I either limp-wristed the gun or didn't seat the magazine properly. I guess my problem is that I never want to be in a life-or-death situation, have an FTF, and have to stop and decide which method to use to correct the problem.

Crash

KLB wrote:

cyphertext wrote:I say that "Tap, Rack, Bang" is the proper procedure on a two way range (i.e. firefight). The object of the procedure is to get you back into the fight ASAP. If the weapon does not fire at that point, it is time to take cover and clear the stoppage.

On a nice sunny afternoon at the local public range though, the proper procedure would be to remove the magazine, observe the stoppage to identify, and clear... no need to hurry in that case.

Since my experience to this point (and may it always remain so) has been at a conventional range, I drop the magazine first.

KLB,

If dropping the magazine first is the way you practice at a conventional range, isn't that the way you would automatically react in a firefight?

Crash

AndyC wrote:

OlBill wrote:Tap Rack fixes the most common FTF.

If Tap Rack doesn't fix it, you're going to need cover. You're going to have to look at the gun.

I learned that Tap rack thing, practiced it and it worked great until 1989. I had almost forgotten it because in 1989 I bought a Glock ... Now, Jam is what I put on toast.

Yeah if that doesn't work, "You're going to have to look at the gun" AND THE MAG, ... It probably doesn't say Glock

NotRPB wrote:

AndyC wrote:

OlBill wrote:Tap Rack fixes the most common FTF.

If Tap Rack doesn't fix it, you're going to need cover. You're going to have to look at the gun.

I learned that Tap rack thing, practiced it and it worked great until 1989. I had almost forgotten it because in 1989 I bought a Glock ... Now, Jam is what I put on toast.

Yeah if that doesn't work, "You're going to have to look at the gun" AND THE MAG, ... It probably doesn't say Glock

And if you don't get a second chance at firing without reracking it just might be a Glock.

This is a good subject. The way we teach is it is, "Tap - Rack - Assess." Why? Let's say you're in a gun fight and while clearing your hypothetical malfunction the 'bad guy' -- so overwhelmed by your guns skills -- surrenders? But you follow up with "Bang" because that's the way you always practiced it?

Something to think about.

Scott B. wrote:This is a good subject. The way we teach is it is, "Tap - Rack - Assess." Why? Let's say you're in a gun fight and while clearing your hypothetical malfunction the 'bad guy' -- so overwhelmed by your guns skills -- surrenders? But you follow up with "Bang" because that's the way you always practiced it?

Something to think about.

I'd hope that most people wouldn't run a malfunction drill and immediately open fire again without making the split-second determination to see if they still have a valid target in their sights. Adrenaline does really weird things to people though...

Out of curiosity how would you practice this on a range?