Fixing Stoppages Without Looking
Dry-Fire · At Home
Verified clear, dummy rounds only. Fifteen reps of tap, roll, rack with your eyes up and off the gun. Set up the stoppage, look away, then fix it by feel and come back to the card.
Live-Fire · At the Range
Twenty-five rounds at 7 yards with dummy rounds mixed randomly into your magazines by someone else. Shoot two-round strings on the cards. When the gun stops, fix it and finish the string.
Service Pistol
Duty guns collect lint and carbon. Clear the stoppage the same way regardless of what caused it.
Concealed Carry
Your spare magazine lives where it actually rides on your body. Train from that spot, not from a range setup.
Carbine
Carbine version: bolt-over-base and failure to eject, cleared with the support hand while the stock stays in the shoulder.
AUX (when ready): tap, roll, rack and back on target in under two seconds.
A gun that stops is not an emergency. It is a problem with a known answer.
Your Daily Callout — By Archetype
Fix it and finish the string. Stopping to inspect the gun is the habit that costs you.
Keep your eyes on the target while your hands work. The gun does not need to be watched.
The gun stopping is exactly the moment the people behind you need you to keep working.
Learn one clearance sequence and apply it to every stoppage. Diagnosing takes longer than fixing.
Layer: clear one stoppage with the support hand only.
- 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.