AR15 malfunction drills

[higgens]

i would like to gain some practice setting up and resolving the common ar15 malfunctions. what are some good youtube videos on this topic? i need a detailed guide, for instance if the malfunction would have a mushy trigger or a click. good sites with pics are appreciated as well.

tons of material pops up on youtube and google but i dont know what is good or what is crap (or even dangerous).

i took a class but the instructor went really fast through the malfunction material. i dont remember much but i do remember he advised not to lock the bolt back for a doublefeed and instead just rip the mag out. he did not cover the "bolt over" malfunction - i think this is the one where brass is stuck backwards in the chamber.

[rob_s]

Get Kyle Lamb's "Green Eyes Black Rifles" book, and check out his Viking Tactics channel on youstube.

[NCPatrolAR]

i do remember he advised not to lock the bolt back for a doublefeed and instead just rip the mag out.

How did he teach you to clear the double feed?

[higgens]

How did he teach you to clear the double feed?

i am hazy on the exact details of the malfunction setup and clearance which is why i am on here looking for good leads. "rip the mag out" (dont need to lock the bolt back) stuck with me because i thought it was odd. however, it did work.

[NCPatrolAR]

i am hazy on the exact details of the malfunction setup and clearance which is why i am on here looking for good leads. "rip the mag out" (dont need to lock the bolt back) stuck with me because i thought it was odd. however, it did work.

Do you not remember how you cleared it?


The most commonly taught method is:

Lock bolt to rear
Remove mag
Sweep chamber with fingers
Cycle action
Insert fresh mag
Cycle action
Fire (if needed)

Not locking the bolt the rear can work on some range/student induced double feeds because the rounds aren't wedged in the upper receiver the same as during a "true" type 3 malfunction

[arptsprt]

Buy Mike Pannone's book. Better yet, take his class.

http://www.ctt-solutions.com/buythebook.html

[sboza]

i would like to gain some practice setting up and resolving the common ar15 malfunctions. what are some good youtube videos on this topic? i need a detailed guide, for instance if the malfunction would have a mushy trigger or a click. good sites with pics are appreciated as well.

tons of material pops up on youtube and google but i dont know what is good or what is crap (or even dangerous).

i took a class but the instructor went really fast through the malfunction material. i dont remember much but i do remember he advised not to lock the bolt back for a doublefeed and instead just rip the mag out. he did not cover the "bolt over" malfunction - i think this is the one where brass is stuck backwards in the chamber.

Sounds like a sketchy instructor. In advanced classes, malfunction are sometimes given a quick treatment since the assumption is that the students are proficient with the topic. However, in beginner classes, there is no reason to gloss over the topic. If time is lacking, a instructor is better off leaving the topic for a future class or possibly just dealing with soft malfunctions given the time constraint. Any lesson should be a complete block and what you have experienced sounds far from it.

Also, the fact that he went through the topic quickly with an odd method of malfunction clearence may be an indicator of his own lacking understanding and knowledge.

He may have learned the rip mag technique on the glock platform. Some people actually use this method and it is mostly effective (although I prefer being able to visually or physically inspect the chamber to check clearence of the malfunction). The thinking behind this technique is that speed is more important than a 100% guarantee when you are down to your secondary. This technique does NOT translate well to carbines. First of all, double feeds typically look different in m4's (>= rather than --=, crude but hopefully makes sense) and given the extra space above the bolt (around gas key and ch), there is a lot of room to induce another or worse malfunction using the rip technique. Not to mention that you may chamber a badly damaged round since, unlike the linear pistol double feed, a df in the carbine is generally trying to force two rounds into the chamber at once causing varying levels of damage to each cartridge.

I'm going to try ripping just to see what happens but I don't see how it saves much time. The double feed is still probably going to be there after the magazine is removed (particularily under real, not simulated circumstances). You would then pul the ch to clear the stuck rounds. If this works, great, but if it doesn't, you now have to lock the ch back to manually clear the cartridges. Just seems like a mess.

Sometimes something works fine on the square range with simulated malfunctions but in the real world, malfunctions tend to be a lot uglier and there are a lot more forces at play (in addition to actual forces and pressures, heat/cool, dirty or dry weapon, etc... also play into it).

Other than the recommendations from other members, getting into a well reviewed class is my suggestion.

For a double feed in flat range conditions with ample lighting, here is my procedure:

Gun does not shoot
Tilt look (bolt position)
If df:
Lock bolt to the rear
Remove magazine and stow if necessary or hold onto if your hands, skill level, and kit allow you to
Tilt look (chamber clear? If you are very lucky, sometimes the rounds will just fall out)
If chamber not clear, use fingers to clear obstructions and rack ch a couple times (never more than 3 tines) if necessary
Reinsert magazine (some folks prefer to insert a different magazine)
Rack ch
Reacquire target


This is a simplified process and depending on circumstances, every step may not be necessary or even possible. For example you are not going to tilt look in darkness and feel for an obstruction with gloves on so blindly clearing with fingers through the mag well or even just racking the ch 2-3 times will have to suffice. You may not even realize you have a df u til you try to drop the mag fr a reload and there is a lot of spring tension. In other cases, you may be able to skip the tilt look. For example, you can skip tilt look if you know your magazine is almost empty and so when the bolt is back, chance are an empty gun or if on a perfect day, you pull the trigger and hear the that the round did not fire, can feel that the trigger is squishy, and you feel that forward thud of the bolt moving forward a bit and stopping short.

As you can see there is a lot more to malfunction clearing than meets the eye. And we are only discussing one out of a few carbine hard malfunctions. We haven't even taken into consideration what your need is. For example, do you wear a secondary for your job or is this training particularily for home defense. This affects some of the considerations and tactics involved. Get into a good class.

[sboza]

And puttin a round in backwards is just another way to induce a double feed for training. It's usually a very weak df but allows for spontaneity as they can be placed anywhere in the mag as opposed to the traditional double feed simulation where the shooter starts knowing he has a df gun.

[duece71]

I don't know if you have seen or heard of the Magpul "The art of the Tactical Carbine" series of DVDs, but malfs are covered really well in the first DVD. Chris Costa and Travis Haley advise on locking back the bolt during a double feed due to a "locking bar" affect that the bolt can have on the cartridge that is jammed. Then the mag is ripped out of the rifle and the drill continues from there. Check out the DVDs, the first one I found to be a good first look.

[duece71]

And puttin a round in backwards is just another way to induce a double feed for training. It's usually a very weak df but allows for spontaneity as they can be placed anywhere in the mag as opposed to the traditional double feed simulation where the shooter starts knowing he has a df gun.

You can use some of those Magpul plastic rounds to good use for FTF and possibly double feeds as well.