Malfunctions: Fix It & Fight
Dry-Fire · At Home
Verified clear. Set up dummy stoppages (a partner or random dummy rounds): 15 reps of tap-rack-reassess on a Type 1/2, eyes staying on the world. Then 5 lock-back clears. The fix ends with the gun back on a card.
Live-Fire · At the Range
Load mags salted with dummy rounds. 5 strings at 7 yd: shoot card A until the gun stops, clear it, finish on card B. You won't know when it'll happen — that's the point.
Service Pistol
Train the clear with gloves on if you ever wear them on duty. Dexterity changes everything.
Concealed Carry
A one-handed stoppage on your retention side is the nightmare rep. Try five of them, slow.
Carbine
Bolt-override and lock-back clears from the shoulder; sort the malfunction without dropping the muzzle far.
AUX (when ready): tap-rack to the next hit under 2.5s.
A stoppage is information, not a crisis. Diagnose, don't panic — your hands know this.
Your Daily Callout — By Archetype
The instinct to freeze when the gun clicks is the enemy. Move to the fix instantly.
Feel and look — what KIND of stoppage is it? The right read picks the right fix.
Your gun WILL fail at the worst moment. Owing people a fix means rehearsing it now.
Same diagnostic flow every time: tap-rack-assess, then lock-back. One repeatable tree.
Malfunction layer onto the reload work — same eyes-out, workspace-high principles.
- Treat every firearm as if it is loaded — always, no matter what you think you know.
- Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy.
- Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on target and you have decided to fire.
- Be sure of your target — and everything beyond it.
Dry-fire: no ammunition in the room. Verify the firearm is clear — twice. Use a safe backstop. When you finish, say it out loud: “Dry fire is over.”
The Four Universal Safety Rules
Non-negotiable. Every drill, every rep, every time. This applies to live fire and dry fire.
- Treat every firearm as if it is loaded — always, no matter what you think you know.
- Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy.
- Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on target and you have decided to fire.
- Be sure of your target — and everything beyond it.