What in the hell is a "stovepipe"!?

Empty case stuck usually vertical between the slide hood and the barrel on a semi-auto.

Could be one of these

Or


JK. . .

A stovepipe is when the round fires, but fails to fully eject from the action of the pistol, and gets caught inbetween the breechface and barrel, causing the pistol to fail to return to battery, and resulting in a "stovepipe" coming out of the your gun.

I believe most malfunctions like this result from reduced power loads, or the ejector not doing its job.

it can happen in any semi auto pistol (except the mateba) or rifle. Its named because it looks like a stovepipe coming out of the top of your pistol when there wasnt one there before.

That was great I think my fire place has one of those

A stovepipe is usually caused by a weak round that causes your gun to short stroke. Certain aspects of the ejection are affected by how vigorously the action is driven to the rear (angle, case spin, how forcefully it ejects on some designs, etc.). Most importantly, it affects the timing: how long the case has to clear the action before it slams closed again, where on the case the extractor impacts, and what the bolt is doing when it reaches the ejection point (whether it's still moving quickly to the rear or whether it's slowing down to a near stop). If it short strokes, some important aspect of the ejection is going to get thrown off, and the proper spin may not be imparted, the ejector may not hit it forcefully, or something. One way or another, the case does not clear the action.

Beyond stovepipe, there are a few main malfunctions:

Failure to Feed: the bullet did not properly extract from the mag and got jammed while feeding.

Failure to Eject: Stovepipe is but one kind of failure to eject. This is typically caused by weak loads or an underpowered ejector spring.

Failure to Extract: The extractor pulled off the rim, leaving the case sitting in the chamber. This typically happens with a split case. Sometimes it will extract, but absorbs so much of the recoil that you instead get a simple Failure to Eject.

Failure to Fire: Either the ammo has a bad primer, or your firing pin needs a stronger spring.

Note that I've seen the abbreviation FTF apply both to "failure to feed" and "failure to fire". Or, more generally, "failure to function". Typically it means "failure to function" which means some unspecified problem occurred.

YouTube can be your friend!

...or worst enemy! Choose your videos wisely! (and check out multiple videos during your research).

and while were at it through in what some other semi auto pistol malfunctions are called

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Visit YouTube and do a search for "Clearing Stovepipes"-also check out these videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdpBknK85xk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfyULpEhmug

Sorry, couldn’t help myself

Dont forget the "double feed" malfunction, which would probly happen with the "failure to extract." When the spent case is not extracted and left in the chamber the gun will still cycle, and will attempt to load the next round, which wont have anywhere to go and cause to gun to jamb as it tries to return to battery. Then a "rip drill" has to be performed.
Take a tactical class if you get a chance, they are fun and very informative and will teach all of this crap that you hope you will never need to know. But its good to have a clue just in case. Unlike one of the recent church shooting where the shooters gun jammed and he didnt know how to clear it, so he pulled a knife.......DOH!

malfunctions

While all the above posts place the reason for a "stovepipe" or Type II malfunction (FTE)on weak ammunition, improper extraction, weak recoil springs, dirty chamber, etc....the greatest precentage of Type II's are caused by "operator error" or the total lack of an aggressive and firm grip on the weapon. Many call it "limp wristing", I choose not to. A limp wrist may only be a small part of the problem. The weapon system that is most susceptible to this condition is the Glock family of guns. Because the weapon needs to cycle in a perfect circle or oval, it can end up literally catching an ejected casing as it exits the ejection port, if allowed to wobble in space during the ejection and reloading phase of this operation. A firm strong, aggressive two handed grip on the weapon is the prescripted remedy for this type of malfunction.

There's that. I'm not even going to get started on Glocks, though. Most pistols eject the rounds forcefully enough to prevent this problem. I am firmly of the opinion that a good design should never be so sensitive as to have its functioning affected by shooter movement. The ejector should have enough clearance for the slide to keep moving rearward a ways afterwards, and should be forceful enough to ensure the casing clears the breech in almost all circumstances. Fact is, most 1911's and derivatives are fast enough and forceful enough that shooter movement is not a problem. It's only a very small subset of designs with "innovative" new ejection techniques that typically have problems.

Atlantic Fire, you left out Abe Lincoln's hat. That makes three choices.

it was also a style of blue jeans
those super baggy ones kids wore in the 90's

I am not intending to start any type of flame war, only sharing MY experience, which is different than another member's!

There's that. I'm not even going to get started on Glocks, though.... Fact is, most 1911's and derivatives are fast enough and forceful enough that shooter movement is not a problem. It's only a very small subset of designs with "innovative" new ejection techniques that typically have problems.

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Odd, I've had numerous stovepipes on my Colt 1991A1, but never one (or any other type of malfunction) on my Glock or XD. That Colt sure did take a break-in period, too. I trust it now, but at first...no way. I wonder if I got a lemon?

The tendency for certain handgun designs to have "limp-wrist" malfunctions is primarily a function of physics. There must be enough slide velocity and movement (ie, full movement) for the pistol to operate properly. This velocity is relative to the frame. A pistol with more mass in the frame does not require that the shooter "hold" it as firmly in order for the slide to move enough relative to the frame. Similarly, increased recoil spring strength works to increase the likelihood of problems while decreased recoil spring strength works to decrease the "limp-wrist" condition.

those super baggy ones kids wore in the 90's

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You mean the Junco twin cannons. . . geezh why do I remember those. . .
abe lincoln is the name of my 500S&W 700gr loads.

limpwrist will most likely do that especially to Glocks. Gonna test it out on my G27 sometime