Building on the previous article regarding clearing malfunctions, this month’s article has more to do with the safe progression of drilling these types of stoppages. To set up these malfunctions in order to practice requires a little know-how and some additional items, namely a set of dummy rounds and a timer. Let’s look at an easy progression from dry fire to live fire, practicing malfunction clearances.
The first progression begins with embedding the stimulus, then the response. The goal is to program the shooter to recognize the stoppage, in this case the “click,” which is the stimulus, and then take immediate action, the response. Start with an unloaded firearm, no live ammunition in the area. Double-check that the firearm is unloaded, then close the action. With the firearm pointed in a safe direction, confirm the sights and squeeze the trigger. When you recognize the click, move the finger straight, then slap the base of the magazine, rack the action, and return to the target. First, confirm the sights and repeat the process. Five repetitions is a good beginning. The emphasis should be slow and correct. Speed is not the goal; the goal is flawless technique.
Complete this block in several different dry fire sessions, then transition to the range for some live fire. Take a standard capacity magazine of 15 rounds and load every other round with a dummy. Aim in on a target at 5 yards and fire the entire magazine clearing the stoppage and resume firing. Again, this is not for speed. It is all about the precision of movement. Repeat this with 2-3 magazines. On the next range session, randomly load the magazine with 10 live rounds and 5 dummy rounds. Again, fire the entire magazine, clearing the stoppages. This time, they should be somewhat surprising and provide an excellent opportunity to observe trigger control.
The final stage is to complete a timed version of the malfunction clearance. For this drill, start with a live round in the chamber then a dummy round as the first round in a loaded magazine. Set a timer for 5 seconds and on the signal fire two rounds total. This will require firing the first round and attempting to fire the second before performing the immediate action drill and firing the final round. Repeat this drill, reducing the par time by a half second until a failure point is reached. Use that par time in future practice sessions. The last drill to perform gets closer and closer to an unplanned event. Everything up to this point has been a planned event, meaning knowing the stoppage it is coming. Have a friend randomly load the magazine with 6 live rounds and 1 dummy round. Without looking at the magazine, load and on the signal, fire all 6 rounds within the 5-second par time.
Following a logical progression not only allows for correct technique, but gradually ramps up the performance standards without compromising technique. Set aside time to practice the immediate action drill about every other range session. Using a modern firearm with quality ammunition in good condition greatly reduces the chances of a stoppage, but if one happens there is a plan in place to immediately remedy and get back into the fight.