Clearing a pistol jam one handed

[Byrd666]

Sounds okay, just one minor problem, I am completely and totally paralyzed on my "weak" side.
Not being rude, but this is kinda what it's like.
Tie one hand with the palm facing the shoulder in such a manner as it is totally immovable from the shoulder down. Tie a hanging weight from the elbow that is immobilized weighing about ten to twelve pounds in the approximate angle and form of a forearm and hand that swings and locks up at it's own convenience. Numb your leg and hip from mid-chest/kidney height down to the toes in a such a manner that you can move it, yet not know where it is, or where it's going to land. Nor will you know how your knee is going to react, or if it will react. Add to this the minor problem of not being able to totally compensate with the strong side for the imbalance, along with the loss of muscle on the weak side and I think you might have a little more insight into what I'm speaking/asking of.

 

[bratch]

One handed reload, clearing a jam.
1) Seek cover.
2) Hold the muzzle downrange and the magazine toward your thigh.
3) Begin to squat and hold the magazine 1/2 inch from your thigh and eject it.
4) Capture the magazine against your thigh then place the extended magazine behind your knee and finish the squat with your toes pointed forward.
5) The Magazine should now be secured behind your knee and held in place by the pressure of your leg by the calf and the back of your thigh.
6) Remove the magazine, turn the pistol over and inspect for a jam.
7) Place the pistols rear sight against your boot heel and vigourously manipulate the slide several times.
8) Lock the slide to the rear, inspect the pistol, Clear the pistol.
9) Pull the magazine from behind you knee and inspect the magazine. Replace a magazine behind your knee.
10) Insert magazine in the pistol and work the slide by running the rear sight against your boot heel to load the pistol.

Unless your only mag is the one in the gun there are alot of steps there that you don't need. PLus if it was the mag that caused the malfunction your putting a defective mag back in the gun.

Malfunction:

1. Tap mag on thigh/hip
2. Rack on slide belt/holster/something hard
3. Assess

Reload:
1. Drop empty mag out of gun
2. Secure gun between knees or in the holster
3. Insert fresh mag
4. Rack slide on belt/holster/something hard

Double feed:
1. Remove bad mag (inertia or ripping out on posket or something)
2. Run slide 3 times on belt/holster/something hard
3. Complete reload

 

[Averageman]

9) Pull the magazine from behind you knee and inspect the magazine. Replace a magazine behind your knee.
Inspect the magazine to insure it wasn't a bad magazine.
Replace "A" magazine, not necassarily the one that came out of the pistol. Do not discard that magazine even a bad magazine with ammo in it is useful.
I did leave out access your wound.
I'm quite sure no two gunshot wounds will be the same, nor will the reaction of two different people to the same type wound so you need to remain relatively flexible to the situation. You may need first aide before fixing your pistol after seeling cover.
I do however feel very confidnet that this procedure works in most cases.
It is relatively easy to adapt this to even a prone positons.
It is as safe as it can be given the situation.
It isnt set in stone and is adaptable to most full sized automatic pistols.

 

[AOK]

9)
Inspect the magazine to insure it wasn't a bad magazine.

I don't know if I agree this. If I have a new magazine easily accessible and fresh I'm reaching for that immediately (during the process of a double feed). Of course there may be a few exceptions (maybe you are pinned somehow and can't access you spare mag(s)) but for the most part when you need to get your gun up and running ASAP I will not be inspecting my mag. To each his own I guess.

 

[Al Thompson]

Looking specifically at Mr. Byrds needs, all this moving around won't work. My nephew on the other paw, can tie himself in a knot. Helps to be 14...

Mr. Byrd, with your description of your situation, I'm leaning hard towards basing reloads and TRB drills off that holster. As to which holster, I'm unclear. I'm going to look for a thick sturdy Kydex holster.

In any event, one of the best things you can do (IMHO) is work the drills dry until you find the combination that works for you.

 

[bratch]

bratch - I will be reading and studying this article, as well as putting it into practice, and practicing what I've learned here.

Not sure when but Mike is supposed to have a one handed DVD coming out that he put together with Rob Pincus. It might help since you'd be able to see it as well as read about it.

Found link to DVD:

http://www.shooting-performance.com/Books_and_DVDs.html

He also did an episode of SWAT TV on one handed manipulations that you might be able to find on the internet somewhere.

A little of the show

http://www.outdoorchannel.com/Shows/SWAT.aspx?tpid=1574526488&pid=f43v2cLoRbeCR0w9TENrCnJgituYPVIk

 

[Byrd666]

Got the links and both are now saved as favs. Thanx

Got a local - Tyler - gun show coming up in about three weeks as well as one in Fort Worth the same weekend. Hoping I might possibly see either Mike's books or his dvd out there. Ya' never know. As well as a Kydex holster I can be comfortable with and maybe a mag pouch or two. Thinking on it, a "heavy" gauge plastic/Kydex or a metal reinforced leather holster IS my best, and probably most prudent option. Tried a few dry runs today and found out for sure the basic leather just ain't gonna cut it. Now granted it was only a Yaqui style holster that really is a wee bit too large for my belt, but...

I'll be going to the range early next week, with a buddy of mine, just in case, to see how it goes. I'll let ya'll know how it went and the outcome of any troubles. Hopefully none but, it'll be a lot less pressure on me to have someone there just in case.

 

[smince]

Personally I made a modification to my Glock 23 recently that makes racking the slide INCREDIBLY easy without having to use the sights or ejection port. I had serrations put on the top of my slide that allow me to simply rack the slide off of my pants. While I got pretty good using my sights on my belt loop I still couldn't rack the slide or handle failures as fast as I do now.

While not as pretty as the serrations, a strip of 3M tread/stair tape between the ejection port and rear sight works just as well. 3ft is just a few bucks at the local hardware store.

 

[AOK]

While not as pretty as the serrations, a strip of 3M tread/stair tape between the ejection port and rear sight works just as well. 3ft is just a few bucks at the local hardware store.

I can appreciate that. I'm just not big on replacing tape every couple of weeks. I like things that are simple and consistent (K.I.S.S.). That's why I also stippled my grip instead of puting tape on it. To each his own.

 

[smince]

I'm just not big on replacing tape every couple of weeks

I've had the same strip on top of my slide for years.

It doesn't come off or wear very easily, even practicing manipulating the slide weekly with it.

I wouldn't put the tape strips on my grip either.

 

[JN01]

How about extra tall (suppressor type) sights? They would give a little larger "shelf" to manipulate against an object to rack the slide.

 

[twisterx44]

I know you already have a semi-auto, but have you considered maybe a backup jframe revolver? That way if you experience a malfunction you at least have the option of going to a weapon that doesn't really jam. If you experience a FTF just pull the trigger again.

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned this. Revolvers are still popular because of this no-jam reputation they've earned. And while they do sometimes experience malfunctions, they are usually not ones that can be remidied during a firefight and require actual gunsmithing to solve. However I think it can be agreed upon that a *well maintained* revolver is far less likely to experience a malfunction than even the most babied semi-auto.

If you're partial to your semi, you'll have to make it work somehow, but in terms of practicality, I'd almost suggest a wheelgun as your primary. If that isn't going to work for your specific requirements, I'd highly recommend one as a backup gun. It's the New York reload, and it's a lot faster than clearing a semi-auto malfunction one-handed.

 

[Al Thompson]

Twister, I've considered a wheelgun for my nephew, but reloading a revolver with one hand is even more of a chore than reloading a pistol.

I also don't like the lower capacity of a revolver for my nephew as he lives in a crime ridden cesspool of a city. But as you so correctly noted, it's a great back up.

 

[WaltonS]

Averageman is pretty much right. I did a lot of one handed shooting when mine was broken!

 

[IcemanUnlimited]

Excellent topic and information. It never came to mind that I may need to clear a jam one handed, not just aim and fire with one hand.

 

[Byrd666]

Twister - I do have two revolvers, a S&W 686 2 1/2" .357 6 rnd and a Taurus 66 4" .357 7rnd and I see no reason to part company with either. They are both perfect home defense weapons, and as such, the Taurus will stay that way, the Smith will probably be my primary backup. Unless I win the lotto and can afford to buy a Sig P238. But as mentioned before, loading a wheel gun is a Major pain in the butt. Years ago me and a friend tried a semi stress drill for me and if I remember right, I got 2 or 3 rounds loaded before I was "dead". I would much rather have those rounds pre loaded in a high stress situation. And if I've all ready got 13 rnds in a mag., even with a jam, that's twice as many as my revolver to begin with.

 

[Ryanxia]

I didn't read all the responses but on some operations I have held the gun with my thumb on the rear of the grip and use my other four fingers to cock the slide, with a Bersa 9mm I would think it would be even easier than when I do it on my .45 but that is speculation.

 

[Byrd666]

Update - Went to range yesterday, Jun 07 and the Bersa ran perfectly with 115 gr. ball Magtech, UMC and 124 gr. Winchester NATO - ball rounds. The Stoeger 8000 F, a Beretta made in Turkey with Beretta dies and equipment, that I purchased last week on a close friends recommendations on the other hand repeatedly failed and jammed. I tried almost everything that had been suggested, short of a big ffing hammer that is. The first jam was an UNejected casing with the round below lodged in a vertical fashion. Took three hands and a plier to dislodge it. Next was another FTE that got caught in the ejection port with the new round helping to lodge it in place. The last was another FTE with the new round lodging the spent casing in the barrel.
Weapon was cleaned and oiled prior to firing with rounds sitting in magazines to loosen 'em up. There just happened to be a CCL instructor there and he said that doing the things ya'll had informed me of was "correct" procedure and in a "real life" situation my next option was to "grab one o' those wheel guns and run, or in your case hobble in an extreme fashion the hell outta here." It's was sent back the factory early this afternoon

I hate say it but, I'm almost glad those jams and malfunctions occurred. I feel much more confident in my abilities to deal with a failure now. Thank you all ever so much for the input.

Byrd