Newbie question please opinions comments appreciated.

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rkwm1971

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Hi everyone, just completed my and passed my CFSC/CRFSC Courses.

I am a total newbie, fired a 9mm semi auto pistol 50 rounds, and a .38 special revolver 50 rounds at the gun range.

I wanted to know more about firearms and took the course and have sent in my PAL hopefully it wont take long.

I really enjoyed my experience. I have always been uneasy when the thought of shooting entered my mind obviously not as much now.

Question for those who have experience.

I started to do more research as I prepare to purchase a semi auto pistol and receive my PAL.

I came across misfires and the type of misfires. This was not mentioned ever to me either during the course or from anyone I knew who had firearms experience.

Squib, Hangfire, Jams.

How concerned should I be?

Comes with the territory?

Nervous newbie, saw some frightening stuff online in regards to this subject of misfires.

any feedback would be appreciated.

rkwm
 
First, welcome aboard, and congratulations on popping your gun cherry. That's fun ain't it :D

Squibs are when there's a primer but no powder. This happens VERY rarely in factory ammo, and if you get into reloading, and do it right, it won't happen. Don't worry about it. it's a pain in the balls, but not the end of the world.

Hangfires are a delay between the click and the boom. Again, nothing much to worry about, just hold steady for a slow 60 count, cycle the action and move on.

Mis-feeds are a gun issue, instead of the ammo issues above. there are lots of causes, lots of resolutions (mostly tap rack and target- tap the magazine, rack the action and put it back on target), and what kind of gun you shoot, what kind of ammo you have, etc etc etc will all affect that.

Those are annoying, but not the end of the world. My 1911 I find if I use brand x I get a misfeed in the second round of the magazine almost every time, whereas with brand y I get the occasional misfeed of the 9th round. I use brand y because I get fewer problems. I also have a really cheap gun so I don't put much faith in it.

Lots to learn here, just remember that most of what you read is A) opinion, and B) personal experience. Your experience may differ, and don't let that get you down. Guns are individual, as are shooters. What works for someone else might not be for you, and vice versa.

Hang on, it's going to be a FUN ride :D
 
Misfires in a perfectly functioning gun are extremely rare, if you maintain and clean your firearms regularly and properly it pretty much leaves only the ammunition to be at fault.

Yes, they are scary when not handled properly, in your course you should have been warned and told what to do!!

In the event of a misfire, you will pull the trigger, and there will be only a click, no boom.

Keep your muzzle pointed in a safe direction and keep a firm grip on your firearm. Wait about a minute. If no bang we we can now assume it is not going to bang.

Remove cartidges and magazines (leaving the action closed incase your round decides to go off very very late.) Then remove your misfire, at ranges they sometimes have somewhere safe to put this cartridge, out in the woods? Find a safe place, use your judgement, as far as you know this is a live round still. After some time, if you're brave inspect your cartridge, try to figure out why it didn't fire knowing what you do about how a cartridge works, if the problem continues, bring your firearm to a gunsmith. Tell them what you saw (they'll probably do their own tests on it).

It's a little more common with bulk rimfire ammo.

Goodluck
 
DougPeach said:
Misfires in a perfectly functioning gun are extremely rare, if you maintain and clean your firearms regularly and properly it pretty much leaves only the ammunition to be at fault.

Yes, they are scary when not handled properly, in your course you should have been warned and told what to do!!

In the event of a misfire, you will pull the trigger, and there will be only a click, no boom.

Keep your muzzle pointed in a safe direction and keep a firm grip on your firearm. Wait about a minute. If no bang we we can now assume it is not going to bang.

Remove cartidges and magazines (leaving the action closed incase your round decides to go off very very late.) Then remove your misfire, at ranges they sometimes have somewhere safe to put this cartridge, out in the woods? Find a safe place, use your judgement, as far as you know this is a live round still. After some time, if you're brave inspect your cartridge, try to figure out why it didn't fire knowing what you do about how a cartridge works, if the problem continues, bring your firearm to a gunsmith. Tell them what you saw (they'll probably do their own tests on it).

It's a little more common with bulk rimfire ammo.

Goodluck
Click to expand...

I should clarify that my 1911 is a .22 rimfire.

If you want to take it one step further, once you've got the misfired round removed, you can pull the bullet- if it should somehow manage to go off at a later time, all you'll get is a little burn, instead of a projectile. I do this with the .22's that don't fire properly, just to make it that 'extra' level of safe.
 
Welcome to the club.

I've actually never seen a hangfire. I have however seen my share of light strikes, all using 22lr bulk ammo. From what I've heard hangfires used to be more common.

Squibs only seem to happen with reloading, usually when you've forgotten the powder entirely or if you're using a volume measuring device sometimes it might clog up and only dispense a small amount of powder. Most of the ammunition manufacturers have been doing it for a long time, they can generally be trusted.

That said, if anything ever seems strange don't dismiss it carelessly. Screws back out, connections loosen, springs wear out, a cleaning patch might find it's way into somewhere it's not supposed to be.

Be extra careful any time you disassemble a firearm. Some are easier than others, but even with my Mini 14 which is pretty simple I've put it together and then wondered where that pin came from. It helps to have a parts tray, or even a towel or something to keep things from rolling away on you.

Most things can be corrected with a bit of patience, focus on doing it right before trying to do it fast.
 
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