It Happened At The Range & I am Happy It Was Not During A Confrontation

[gp911]

When I got my new Glock 21SF there wasn't any info about the ambi safety issues yet. I go to the range and swap mags a couple times, Suddenly one mag keeps wanting to fall out. I've since learned that one needs to slap the mags home movie-style to ensure a positive connection, otherwise they may not catch. This being my carry gun, I was not amused. I've developed "the touch" now, so it's not a problem, but still disappointing. I also learned that shooting one-handed with my weak hand irritates my carpal tunnel. Now I know to grit my teeth after switching hands...

I had a similar issue with a 1911. I found that a 1911 with the thin wood grips (mil-spec style) jolted a nerve in my wrist really bad, no matter how I shot it. If I had just handled the gun in a store I'd have bought it because it felt great until I put a few rounds thru it. Wider grips solve the problem, even though the gun feels subjectively "worse" when handled. Interesting, to say the least...

gp911

 

[Girodin]

Not me but my friend was firing his Saiga 12 and the latch on the APG 10 rounder broke after the first shot and the mag fell to the ground. I remember thinking that would suck to have happen at the wrong time.

I was shooting a friends AK and the dust cover flew off and hit me in the face (it may have been the same S12 I'm not positive) and the dust cover flew off and hit me in the face. The weapon could still shoot but it scared the crap out of me and took me a moment to realize the gun had not blown up in my face.

 

[LiquidTension]

Pulled my P3AT from my pocket...*click* Tap, rack, bang, *poof* - cloud of pocket lint. That's when I learned the value of a pocket holster. Haven't had any problems since.

Frame cracked on my first Witness Match 10mm. Gun still ran, but I don't know how much longer it would have lasted before a catastrophic failure.

Various FTE/FTF with my Kimber. It's been back to the factory 3 times now and seems to be working better.

P7 slide seized up. Granted, it was after about 100 rounds so I probably would have been fine on the street. Still not comforting.

 

[blackcash88]

I drew my Glock 19, aimed in at the target at about 50 feet, squeezed the trigger, the gun went bang and jammed. I tapped, and went to rack, and immediately saw a stove-piped spent casing.

How many rounds through that G19? After many, many thousands of rounds through my 1994 G19, I started having those exact same failures. All with the original 15 rounder that came with it. New recoil and magazine spring and no more stovepipes. Not sure I really needed the recoil spring, but I replaced it anyway for good measure and they're inexpensive anyway.

 

[blackcash88]

Pulled my P3AT from my pocket...*click* Tap, rack, bang, *poof* - cloud of pocket lint. That's when I learned the value of a pocket holster.

Lint is one of the lesser worries for pocket carrying in a holster. First and foremost, it covers the trigger so nothing can get in the trigger guard and cause it to fire when you sit down or something and blow your nards off.

It also orients the gun for a proper draw and most are designed to reduce printing.

Even with a pocket holster, you'd be surprised how much crud does still get in there. You need to clean the gun regularly whether it's been fired or not. Same as any other carry gun in IWB, OWB, etc.

 

[blackcash88]

double tap

 

[whyipackmy45]

I was shooting my AR-15 at the range and all of a sudden the trigger wouldn't release the hammer. I couldn't figure it out until I noticed that the last casing had an empty hole where the primer used to be. It had fallen down and jammed itself inside of the trigger mechanism.

I removed the lower and knocked it out by poking at it.

 

[Elmer Fudd]

During an IDPA scenario I drew and pulled the trigger on my Glock 19, click. Tap, rack, click. Tap, rack, click. Just about that time the SO and I noticed I had no mag in the pistol. The SO had not had me load one, but that was beside the point, as I was not PAYING ATTENTION and did not open my pie hole to object.

Had a friend at another IDPA match shoot a .40 round out of his .45. A couple of us noticed it sounded funny and yelled to cease fire, thinking it was a squib.

 

[ChrisVV]

- Found out that my Para warthog .45 had become a jammomatic overnight.

- The screw that holds the piston to the bolt carrier on my yugo underfolder backed its way out because of poor quality control at century arms. Leaving the AK down for the count.

- Taurus model 85 smashed the firing pin spring and wouldnt allow the pin to come back, pretty much taking a the revolver out of commission, for the second and last time.

Great thread!

 

[Nobody's_Hero]

I agree this is a good thread.

I've never had any problems, though. Ever. [/crossed fingers]

 

[evan price]

Shooting a FAL rifle, as I was finishing up, I hit the lever to separate the upper and lower to pull the B/C out- and suddenly had two halves of my FAL. The receiver pivot pin had come out somehow, and until you break it open, it's usually OK.

Had a bad 9mm case I'd reloaded 1X allow the primer to fall out into the mag and jam a XD9 up solid. I've since seen TWO MORE of the exact same headstamp do the same thing- you tap the case head on the table and the primer just drops out.
(Headstamp is 9x19 L-Y 1992 = Chinese Norinco BTW)

Discovered that my .45 ACP reloads work great in my Sig P220 with Sig magazines, but the ProMag mags were shaped differently enough that the bullet ogive would jam into the mag-retainer notches on the front wall of the mag, and cause a solid stoppage that usually required hammering the baseplate on a solid surface to overcome. I no longer use ProMags...

 

[Dave in PA]

I rushed home a bit early from work one day in order to go to the range. I grabbed my range box (ear muffs, staple gun, tape, targets. etc) grabbed 2 plastic boxes of my reloaded ammo off the shelf, included my .45 auto and headed out the door. I set up my targets, walked back to the line, and realized I grabbed 2 boxes of 357 magnum ammo.... I shot the 8 rounds of carry ammo I had in the gun, packed up and went home.

 

[Flyboy]

it is amazing all you can take in over just a split second

You're not kidding.

I was in a training class one day (would that all mistakes happen in class), and had a malfunction. We had been practicing tap-rack-bang drills, and I had just cleared a dummy round when my gun stopped. I actually saw that the magazine was unseated about an eighth of an inch (1911). The instructor standing behind me, an old friend, commented that it was the smoothest practice malfunction clear he'd ever seen me do; I had to tell him that the practice had been in the previous round, and this was my own error.

 

[CountGlockula]

Yup. Getting trained is valuable.

 

[silentpoet]

Failure to return to battery on my Sig 229. Just hit the rear of the slide and it goes forward. I am going to get a new recoil spring and do some more testing. For now I am carrying my HK USP 45F for now.

I had issues with remington 230 grain hollowpoints in my wilson 47D magazines. The OAL is just a bit too long. They were just the generic hp, not the premium stuff.

I have also made the mistake of not enough testing before carrying.

 

[Joe Cool]

When my Ruger SR-9 was new, it would eject casings right back at you! This makes it somewhat difficult to make follow up shots. This casing eject at operator stopped after the first hundred rounds or so. Also, I would get the occasional stove-pipe jam. Once I learned to better grip the pistol higher up and more firmly these stovepipe jams went away and have not returned after several hundred rounds more. I see it occasionally when someone new comes with me to the range and they do not hold the pistol as firmly. Now I am waiting for Ruger to send me a return box to fix the recalled malfunctioning safety I suppose... Not a great first impression of Ruger or my first pistol from them

I do not see any of these type of problems from our 1911 or our Glock 26.

 

[CrimeDog]

Elmer Fudd wrote:

Had a friend at another IDPA match shoot a .40 round out of his .45. A couple of us noticed it sounded funny and yelled to cease fire, thinking it was a squib.

Yeah, I was the guy who shot a .40 S&W out my 1911. At least it hit where I aimed, but if I had to follow up with another shot I would have to throw the thing at the bad guy. I also had a Serbian .45 round squib on me during an IDPA fast approach scenario. With a bullet stuck in the tube, I'd only be able to use the gun as a hammer...

 

[coyotehitman]

Glock slide rusted closed to barrel/chamber

I would love to see a picture of this.

 

[XDKingslayer]

So what has happened to you while at the range that made you happy you were not in the middle of something bad in the real world?

Front site falling off a gun. Another gun's screws coming loose.

I've had a couple of jams but not with any of my go-to carry guns.

Murphy always shows up somewhere...

 

[rondog]

My last trip out, I was shooting handloads with my 1911's. I had TWO squib loads in TWO pistols, and didn't realize it with either one, all I noticed was the cases stovepiped on ejection.

In both cases, I fired another round into the stuck bullet, and ruined both barrels. On both guns, the barrel bushing hit the swelled area of the barrel on recoil, and locked up tight. I had to use a mallet to knock the slides loose.

I had no idea what had happened until I got them apart and consulted with 1911Tuner. I'm just lucky they were very light, minimum power target loads, and only the barrels were damaged.

You can bet that I'll be modifying my reloading procedures from now on! And until all those target loads are all shot up, I'll be shooting very slowly and watching for ANY signs of a goofy shot.

FWIW - I did NOT whine to the manufacturers about warranty service, this was MY failure, not the gun's. IMO, the quality of the barrels absorbed the mistake, and prevented further damage to the guns or myself. Armscor already has a barrel on the way to me for $50, but Colt said I had to send them the pistol so they could check it out and install the barrel, they wouldn't just sell me a new one. This happened to a RIA GI model and a Colt WWII M1911A1 repro.

Photo was shot at an angle, that's why the barrels look to be different sizes.

 

[blackcash88]

Why won't Colt sell you a new barrel? I'd just go ahead and get a quality after market barrel. Probably won't cost any more than buying Colt's barrel AND having to pay overnight shipping.

 

[FLA2760]

I bought a Rossi SS .357 new back in 1997. First trip to the range I fired two cylinders of .357 and tried to fire the first round of third cylinder and the trigger would not budge. The cylinder locked up tight. I took it back to the dealer and a month later I got it back. So far no problems but it will never be a carry gun. It was this incident that sold me on carrying a BUG. I bought a Glock27 in 2001 that is my main CCW. It started to have failures to feed. I was not limpwristing. I got new Glock magazines and replaced the recoil spring assembly and it still choked. I sent it to Glock and I am waiting for it to come back.

 

[Hardware]

I had a freshly cleaned Garand fail to fire with light hits on the primer after only 17 rounds of some old Taiwan ammo a friend gave me. Grumbling and thinking dire thoughts about busted firing pins I packed it up and headed home. Once I broke it down for cleaning I found the blackest carbon deposits on the face of the bolt. A more thorough exam at the range and a couple of seconds with a brush would have had me back in action.

Forgot to loctite a scope on my target .22. Wondered why my pattern had started out great and now looked loose and wild. Went to adjust the scope and felt it go clunk under my hand.

S&W shotgun action bar jumped out of it's guide slot while shooting. Took a whole bucket of elbow grease to get it back in. S&W customer service was useless in providing documentation. That one went to the "must horsetrade" pile.

May all your failures be at the range.

 

[Defensory]

I'm in the same boat as Whole Hog and Springmom---all my malfunction problems have been with my revolvers, both full-sized and snubs.

Whereas I have four semi-autos that are all perfect after a combined total of almost 20,000 rounds. Of course, I use only quality factory ammo.

Barring manufacturing defects, which can adversely affect both semi-autos and revolvers, the most common causes of malfunctions in semi-autos are handloaded/reloaded/remanufactured/off-brand ammo and defective magazines.

Inspect and test-fire your pistol and all magazines thoroughly, immediately after you buy them, as well as use quality factory ammo---and you'll find that modern semi-autos are EXTREMELY reliable. That's why they're the clear choice of virtually every major military organization and law enforcement agency in the world.

 

[Lookn4Brass]

What I've learned

I've had several magazines fail at the range, -mags that I thought were good enough to use for carry. One even shot the follower and spring out while I was trying to load it! I threw it away promptly, right after I smashed the crap out of it with a hammer so no one would try to use it in their gun, trying to "save it' upon finding it in the trash can. What is it about us humans that we almost can't bring ourselves to throw it away? I used to struggle with that.
In the past I logged alot of time working on function tuning semi-auto handguns and shotguns, and I'll have to agree on the ammo thing. Also, magazines should always be taken seriously. Please don't use very cheap magazines for your gun without testing them awhile. If you don't know already, have a gunsmith show you how to inspect the feed lips and follower on your magazines so you will know what to look for occasionally. Just like the GI's do on their M-16 rifles, we should all tap the back of the magazine to properly seat the cartridges together too.
Yep, Something that helps also to do occasionally is this: in a safe place, while keeping your finger OFF the trigger, dry cycle a couple of magazines through your pistol until all the loaded rounds have hit the carpet, so to speak. Troublesome mags, ammo, or gun parts will sometimes manifest that way too.