Gun Digest – August 2019

(^24) | GunDigest the magazine AUGUST 2019 gundigest.com
AR ESSENTIALS // TIGER MCKEE
The Five Types of AR Malfunctions
Stoppages occur. Learn to fi x them safely and effi ciently.
T
he AR platform is ideal for
almost any application. No
matter how your AR is con-
fi gured—or your target—
one thing common to every
application: the skills used
to manipulate the AR. And, the most
important of the manipulations is the
ability to clear a malfunction or stop-
page and get the gun running again.
Administrative Actions
There are two categories of manipu-
lations. “Administrative” actions are
used to load and unload. During these
actions, you have all the time you
need; there’s no reason to rush. “Func-
tional” manipulations—empty reloads
and clearing stoppages—keep the AR
running. In addition, you usually need
to get it up and gunning as effi ciently
as possible.
Empty reloads are simple. After fi ring
for a while, you know the mag is about
to run dry. When the bolt locks to the
rear, it’s not a surprise. Old mag out,
new mag in, and use the bolt catch as a
release to chamber a round. Carry on.
Malfunctions are different, because
a stoppage is always unexpected. Dur-
ing a fi ght (a self-defense confronta-
tion, law enforcement or combative
operation), shooters are stressed, and
they make mistakes. The probabil-
ity of having a stoppage in a fi ght is
much higher than it is on the range.
And when your AR stops working, you
need to fi x it.
Common Stoppages
There are three common stoppages
with the AR, as well as two others that
appear occasionally. The techniques
to clear these are based on the skills
used to load and unload.
However, sometimes unloading re-
quires a couple of extra steps, depend-
ing on what type of stoppage you
have. If you know how to “speak” AR,
it will tell you what’s required to get it
running again.
The Type I stoppageis caused by
noroundofammointhechamber;a
badroundofammo,suchasa faulty
primer; orthebolt isout ofbattery.
Nomatterthereason,whenyoupress
thetrigger,theARdoesn’tfire.
Yourimmediateactionis to“load.”
Comeoffthetrigger,tapandtugon
themagtoensureit’slockedin,and
cyclethecharginghandletoloadthe
chamber.
A Type II stoppage is a failure to
eject an empty piece of brass (also
calleda “stovepipe”or“smokestack”).
Youpress,butnobang!Yourimmedi-
ate action is to load. It’sa different
typeofmalfunction,butyour initial
responseis thesame: Offthetrigger,
tap and tug on the mag, and cycle to
chamber a round.
Type III is the “double feed.” Two
things, either brass and/or live rounds,
are trying to occupy one space—the
chamber. You press, and when the AR
fails to fi re, roll into the loading se-
quence. You cycle the charging handle,
On the top is a Type II malfunction—failure to eject an empty piece of brass. Below is the
Type III, or double feed. Using high-quality parts minimizes the likelihood of these problems.
But, even then, “Murphy’s Law” kicks in. Be ready to clear a stoppage.
The Type V stoppage is a bolt override. A
round or piece of brass gets on top of the bolt
and is wedged into the channel where the
charging handle rides. You don’t see these
stoppages very often. It looks complicated,
but it’s actually fairly easy to clear.