The most dreaded of malfunctions.

I am going to teach you how to Perform a Clearance Drill.

I learned these techniques while attending Thunder Ranch. It is an excellent school and I would recommend it to anyone interested.

First, let's review the basic clearance drill... Tap, Rack, and Bang.

When a pistol fails to fire, first you should…

Tap.

Hit the magazine with the palm of your support hand.

Rack.

Rack the slide with the support hand.

Do not use your thumb and first finger.

This is the weakest method.

Instead, use all four fingers and your palm.

This is a much stronger method.

Pull the slide fully to the rear and release sharply.

Bang.

Fire the pistol.

If done correctly, this should be a circular motion with the support hand.

Practice it until you can "feel" the circular motion.

A doublefeed is a different story.

When you try to fire the piece, you will get a "Click".

Anytime you get a "click", immediately do a Tap, Rack, Bang.

But, if you have a doublefeed, this will not clear the pistol.

If this happens, you must do a more through clearance drill.