Type 1, 2 & 3 Clearance Drills

[mpthole]

This came up in another thread, but was never fully explained. I know that I've done clearance drills before - I just don't remember the exact name for the type of malfunction: failure to feed, failure to eject, stove-pipe, double-feed (AR's), etc.

My recollection is that the general remedy is: Tap - Rack - Bang or in some cases Tug - Tap - Rack - Bang

There is one malfunction in particular on AR's when an empty piece of brass gets caught up on the top of the bolt. You have to manually push the bolt back using the blunt edge of a knife or some other tool.

When the bolt (again on an AR) gets stuck completely, you release the charging handle and while doing so, slam the buttstock on the ground. This usually forces the jammed round to eject.

Any other methods or definitions of exactly what is a Type 1, 2 or 3 malfunction?

 

[Badger Arms]

Yes, "TAP, RACK, BANG" is the proper procedure for Marines, Air force and even the Navy. The Army, insisting on having the forward assist, uses a different method. Their method is known as the "WHACK, BANG" method or "WHACK-WHACK-WHACK-WHACK-WHACK, BANG" method. If you have a malfunction (in the Army) the primary clearing method is to whack the living hell out of the forward assist. Why? Because it's there, silly, and because the Army insisted it had to be there. Then pull the trigger again. If this doesn't work, take a buddy's gun -- he probably doesn't need it since the Marines and Air Force already killed everybody -- and use the butt of the rifle to whack the living hell out of the forward assist. If this works, yell "HOOAH" at the top of your lungs and spray bullets in the general direction of Bagdad.

For everybody else, it's really up to what you feel comfortable with. On the battlefield or when you need the gun fast, take an immediate action. One good action to start with is to verify that the selector is in the correct position. For a stovepipe and a failure of the bolt to go all the way forward you would then want to smack the bottom of the magazine and perhaps tug it to make sure it's locked properly. The second step is to turn the gun 90 degrees to the right and completely pull the charging handle back and release. You then reverify that the safety is off and shoot. You don't necessarily know what is causing the malfunction and the battlefield is NOT the place to sit there and check. You need to work fast and use a procedure that will remedy MOST malfunctions. Practice it with dummy rounds loaded at random in a magazine so you get it down. If you ever have to clear a malfunction, you can do it fast and without thinking.

Stove-pipe -- works
Failure to feed -- Works
Failure to Eject -- Works, but doesn't solve the problem as to why it failed. If you get another malf., you need to break the gun-down like they did in Vietnam.
Double-feed -- Works to verify that you did have a double feed. You'll notice that the charging handle will travel a longer distance. This will be your que to put the weapon on safe and think about how you need to safely clear the jam.