tap-rack-bang drill..can someone explain it for me?

[glassman]

I've seen this drill mentioned from time to time but have never seen it explained. On my last range trip, I had two failure to feed situations. I had no problem clearing the pistol but it brought home the idea of "what would I have done if this was a more lethal situation".

 

[Browning]

Here's the technique with pictures.

http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/edu2.htm

Malfunction (Double Feed)

'Tap' (To make sure the mag is seated).

'Rack'

'Bang'

Sometimes it's so jammed up though that the 'Tap, Rack, Bang' Drill doesn't work and then you have to do a....

'Drop the mag, Rack, Rack, Rack, Slap the mag back in, Rack, Bang' Drill.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

In video format I think that this is it (I can't watch videos on the computer I'm using right now).

'Tap, Rack Bang' Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NOBisBFUro

 

[Pat-inCO]

An excellent example is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfyULpEhmug

 

[RickW]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Uqtq_MPOBk&feature=related

 

[shadowalker]

I was taught a modified form of, tap, rack, look, bang. The idea being that you should verify additional shooting still needs to occur

The idea is that tapping and racking will solve a good portion of malfunctions in a semi auto. If it doesn't solve the problem you can go to a new magazine or backup gun. Little more information here.

 

[glassman]

Thanks for the explanation guys. It answers my question and helps a lot. Now I have to practice the drill and practice it some more til I can do it in the dark.

 

[The Bushmaster]

Browning...That's almost a must on a "double feed". I have yet been able to Slap, rack and bang with a "double feed". The magazine must be removed then run the drill. I have an auto that even jams up the magazine and requires that you lock the slide back and RIP, with force, the magazine out. I have sense repaired this particular weapon.

The second photo is deceptive as the slide will not go to battery until you have cleared that spent round from the chamber. The slide, fresh round and the spent case will be jammed in one big mess.

For most of the other malfunctions the slap, rack and bang will work well.

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

I like to add a "flip" after the "rack," and an "assess" before the "bang."

Just racking in the event of a failure to eject is not enough to get the cartridge case clear of the action; the sharp "flip" - rolling the gun to one side - helps the case to fall out. And firing the gun should always be a conscious, controlled action, not reflexive or subconscious.

Also, this drill does not work for a "double feed" (wherein the fired case completely fails to extract and the next round in the magazine feeds and butts up against it). For that, you need to do a "lock/rip/rack/reload."

 

[Browning]

[Browning...That's almost a must on a "double feed". I have yet been able to Slap, rack and bang with a "double feed". The magazine must be removed then run the drill. I have an auto that even jams up the magazine and requires that you lock the slide back and RIP, with force, the magazine out. I have sense repaired this particular weapon.

Sometimes if you tilt the weapon to the side the 'Tap, Rack, Bang technique will work on a double feed.

That's kind of why I threw in the 'Drop the mag, Rack, Rack, Rack, Slap the mag back in, Rack, Bang' Drill as you're right, sometimes it isn't enough.

 

[.38 Special]

Tap on the dealer's door. Look through his gun rack for a good revolver. Bang!

HTH!

 

[Shear_stress]

Tap on the dealer's door. Look through his gun rack for a good revolver. Bang!

HTH!

You forgot the "drill" you'll get from your significant other when they find out you bought another gun. Not that I've been there.

 

[.38 Special]

LOL!

 

[Shawn Dodson]

It's not a "drill." "Drill" implies a training only technique.

You press the trigger and the gun misfires. You immediately tap, roll & rack in attempt to get the gun running. It's a nondiagnostic immediate action to clear a stoppage. IMO there's no need to add "bang," "assess," "fight" or whatever. It's not part of the process to clear a stoppage. It's an immediate action that can be performed very quickly and it does not require taking eyes off danger.

The OODA Loop does not require linear progression from Observe to Orient to Decide to Act. Intuition (Boyd calls it "Implicit Guidance and Control") allows one to jump directly from Observe to Act. In essence one simply reads the situation and reacts. Misfire: tap, roll, rack; drive on.

The OODA Loop also comes to play against those who don't train. One might Observe but not understand the meaning of what is being seen and act incorrectly. One might cycle between Observe and Orient in a loop of indecision caused by ambiguity. One might have too many Decision branches and hesitate to Act. An immediate action eliminates these pitfalls: when the gun misfires, tap, roll & rack, and drive on.

If tap, roll & rack fails, the shooter simply progresses to the next immediate action - combat reload (assuming no BUG) - as situation permits. If the fresh magazine cannot be inserted into the magazine well place it between the ring and little finger of the firing hand, lock the slide open, strip the "spent" magazine from the gun, cycle the slide three times to clear the action, and complete the combat reload. This immediate action can also be performed without taking eyes off danger (and in total darkness).

What are some of the things that can cause a misfire and how do we train to clear them?

Unseated magazine (the dreaded one shot wonder: the magazine release was inadvertently activated by contact with some object, commonly caused while seated and holstered, moving in tight quarters while holstered or some other reason). At the range with round in the chamber and a loaded magazine installed, simply press the magazine release to unseat the magazine. Draw and fire multiple rounds. The first round will fire, the slide will cycle but not pick up and feed a cartridge into the chamber. When you press the trigger to fire the second round you’ll experience a misfire. Tap, roll & rack to clear.

Dead man’s gun – at the range seat a loaded magazine but "forget" to chamber a cartridge. Draw and fire. The gun will misfire. Tap, roll, & rack to clear.

Depleted magazine - at the range seat a partially filled magazine. Fire until a misfire is encountered. Tap, roll & rack. If the misfire persists, perform a combat reload.

Faulty cartridge – at the range, randomly load a dummy cartridge into a magazine. When a misfire is encountered, tap, roll & rack to clear.

Failure to eject – at the range, carefully insert a spent case between the slide breechface and barrel breech, either in-line with barrel or in classic “stovepipe” position, and ease the slide forward to “jam” the action. Seat a loaded magazine. Pretend the first round fired and the second round “misfired.” Tap, roll & rack to clear.

Failure to eject II – at the range, with the slide locked open seat a loaded magazine. Carefully insert a spent case between the slide breechface and barrel breach and manually disengage the slide lock. Depending on the pistol the extractor may or may not engage the extractor groove of the cartridge in the magazine, and the cartridge may or may not be partially loaded in the chamber. Attempt tap, roll & rack to clear. Sometimes it will clear, sometimes it’ll create a doublefeed stoppage. If the misfire persists, attempt a combat reload. If the “spent” magazine doesn’t eject when the magazine release pushbutton is operated, stow the fresh magazine between the ring & pinky fingers of the firing hand, lock the slide open, forcibly remove the “spent” magazine from the pistol, cycle the slide three times to clear the action, and complete the combat reload.

Doublefeed – at the range, with the slide locked open insert a spent case into the chamber, then seat a loaded magazine and ease the slide forward. Pretend the first round fired and the second round “misfired.” Tap, roll & rack to clear. If the misfire persists, attempt a combat reload. If the “spent” magazine doesn’t eject when the magazine release pushbutton is operated, stow the fresh magazine between the ring & pinky fingers of the firing hand, lock the slide open, forcibly remove the “spent” magazine from the pistol, cycle the slide three times to clear the action, and complete the combat reload.

Then try clearing these stoppages one handed only, both strong & weak. (When operating the magazine release pushbutton with your left hand (index finger) make sure your thumb doesn't obstruct protusion of the magazine release on the opposite side of the grip - otherwise you'll be fighting against yourself and wonder what the fudge is going on.)

IMO, train to tap, roll & rack until it's a quick, subconscious action anytime you press the trigger and the gun doesn't fire. In terms of the OODA loop, you intuitively go directly from Observe (sense) to Act, allowing you to skip diagnosis (Orient) and resolution (Decide).

Cheers!

 

[3KillerBs]

Valuable training with misfeeds and double-feeds can be achieved by loading a Ruger Mark III with Remington bulk pack and attempting to shoot a couple hundred rounds.

:lol:

 

[mec]

Tap on the dealer's door. Look through his gun rack for a good revolver. Bang!

No. No, that makes to much sense

Tap,Wrack, Bang is a fairly old expression and I'm surprised it's still in the lexicon. Cool.

For a while somebody tried to simplify matters with something he called "Rip/Wrack/Reload." Rip the magazine out, wrack the slide one or more times, insert a new magazine and complete the reload.
This was supposed to cure all problems-except for the ones that it didn't. I don't know if it ever caught on or not.

 

[Sistema1927]

That Clint Smith video from post #3 is excellent!

 

[RyanM]

For a while somebody tried to simplify matters with something he called "Rip/Wrack/Reload." Rip the magazine out, wrack the slide one or more times, insert a new magazine and complete the reload.
This was supposed to cure all problems-except for the ones that it didn't. I don't know if it ever caught on or not.

That was me! It hasn't really caught on, but only because I've invested 0 dollars and 0 hours in advertizing, and I don't own a fancy, prestigious school.

For those that missed it, the logic is basically this:

If your gun doesn't go bang, 9 times out of 10 (to be very pessimistic! ), it's because the gun is empty.

If your gun actually does jam, 9 times out of 10 (when it wasn't limp-wristing), the magazine is at fault.

So, if you experience a stoppage (whether it's empty or jammed), rip the magazine out, rack the slide, reload with a new magazine, and rack the slide again.

Main reason is because tap-rack-bang won't load up an empty magazine for you, no matter how many times you do it. And if it was a jam, keeping the same mag in is probably just going to make it jam more.

Having a single response to the gun not going bang also simplifies things mentally, as you don't have to try and distinguish between an empty gun and a jammed one. When your brain is in "aaaah! Saber-tooth tiger!" mode, simple is good. It's just "gun no go bang, so I do this," instead of "gun no go bang, now I need to try and figure out if it's empty or jammed before I do something to it." I have occasionally seen people treat a jam as an empty gun, and vice versa (though more commonly, they just sort of stupidly stare at the gun for a few seconds before fixing it; I've certainly done that a few times myself). It's usually not pretty.

One alternative, if you're not worried about double feeds at all, is to skip the middle rack. Then it's just a normal reload, except you really should rip the magazine out, since they can get stuck in there pretty good if the gun is jammed. Should definitely use magazines with extended base plates or whatever, if necessary, if you're doing this.

That middle rack is basically only there to make it a "universal" drill that will usually fix a double feed (as long as the gun itself isn't busted).