T/R/R

08 Sept 07

Do we need to add another step to our Tap-Rack-Resume procedure?

At one time, I advocated, as part of our autoloading pistol stoppage-reduction procedure, that one should, as a first step, first release the trigger all the way and then press it again. Only when that failed to get the pistol running need one continue with the T/R/R.

However, we began eliminating that first step when most of our students started showing up with striker-fired pistols, like Glocks.

Striker-fired pistols lack a traditional, arching hammer. The ignition system is littler more than a spring-loaded firing pin. There are many advantages, but there is one disadvantage: striker-fired pistols cannot be made with a double-strike capability. That is, when the striker falls on a dud round, releasing the trigger and pressing it again accomplishes nothing! The entire slide must reciprocate normally in order for the trigger to reactivate, a procedure that will, of course, remove the bad round and replace it with afresh one.

By contrast, trigger-cocking, hammer-fired pistols, which feature an arching hammer and separate firing pin, can be designed so that, when the hammer falls on a dud, releasing the trigger and pressing it again will re-cock the hammer and cause it to fall a second time on the same round, without the slide having to reciprocate, or move at all. Most trigger-cocking, hammer-fired pistols, like SIGs, feature a double-strike capability. Some don't.

The dud round is often not "dead," but just recalcitrant, and a second strike will cause many to fire normally. Accordingly, some argue that a " double-strike" capability is a desirable, even critical, feature ona serious pistol.

In any event, we reasoned that pressing the trigger a second time should be part of the stoppage reduction procedure, only with hammer-fired pistols, and, of those, only the ones that have the double-strike feature.

However, it isn't just "duds" that cause pistols not to fire when the trigger is pressed. There are two other conditions that give rise to the same result: (1) The slide is out of battery far enough to activate the disconnector, and (2) the shooter short-stroked the trigger, failing to let it go forward far enough to "catch the like" (engage the reset). Both these conditions occur with striker-fired and hammer-fired autoloading pistols, and releasing the trigger and pressing it a second time will surely remedy the second and may well remedy the first also.

So, should we reinstate a second trigger press as the first step in our stoppage-reduction procedure, with all autoloading pistols?

I say yes! It is a quick step, consuming only a small fraction of a second, and many of our students are unconsciously doing it already! I've found it easy to teach, and students pick it up quickly and naturally. However, a single, second drop will suffice. When that is not efficacious, the student must go on to the T/R/R, rather than pressing the trigger again and again.

/John