Assume you are 75yds away from “danger”…
Do you perform a non-diagnostic immediate action upon a failure to fire?
Or is one of the steps in your preferred immediate action drill analysis/observation?
Please explain your immediate action drill and where it was derived.
I’d probably transition if I had my sidearm. I regularly practice 50 plus yard pistol shooting so it’s nothing that would cause me panic. The handful of failures that I’ve had with good ammo over the years would fall in the Type Clusterfuck catagory, and would not be cleared without dropping the mag and/or taking my firing hand off of the grip.
I’m assuming I get a “click!” of the trigger and no “Bang!,” right?
SMACK!
R-r-r-r-r-r-rack! (and perhaps “roll” at the same time)
BACK!
Kinda mis-voted here, I keep reminding myself to read the post before pushing buttons. . .
It depends on the situation.
Did I just transition to another threat, or was the threat the first one since my last Ejection Port check?
If I know that I do not have an obstruction (I perform a check of the weapon after making ready and after any engagement finishes), I perform cant-tap-rack-bang immediately. I know that I can perform more effectively and efficiently in a more timely manner by getting my kill-stick back into action than trying to use a pistol.
If I had just engaged one threat and needed to engage another, and then experienced a failure to fire, my diagnosis would be off of feel. I know what my carbine feels like when it is out of die-pills, I know what my trigger feels like when something impeded the forward travel of the bolt, and I know that if I heard the loudest “click” in the world I either have a bad primer or an empty chamber (provided there was no mechanical issue).
My corrective action is based off of a diagnosis, though the diagnosis may not be visual.
if i was actively exchanging rounds with the bag guy i would transition to my sidearm . if i had a couple of seconds i would find some cover and try my problem solving ,all the while keeping an eye on the threat .
I’m about as “tactical as a lawn chair” so my opinions don’t mean crap.
That said I guess it would depend on the details. If near cover, how bad the failure of the primary (empty or jammed?) etc.
i.e. If very near cover, would probably move to cover and get the primary working again if possible.
If not near cover, probably would transition to secondary and move to cover if it’s far away or retreat from the threat.
I think there is too much being read in to this…
Maybe I should change distance to 150yds, no cover, “danger” is on a slightly elevated position, you are ready to fire, you pull the trigger and you get a “click”.
What is your immediate action???
There is never no cover. It just may not be close by. 150 yd? Start finding some cover and/or just hauling ass. If you can fix it on the way fine, reassess the situation, assume whatever firing position you need to make a successful shot, preferably with cover and go to work.
There are too many variables for one right answer. You never really know how long it will take to unfuck your rifle until it is unfucked.
Have a buddy covering you with a rifle.
Good luck.
Very broad question…Depends on if your a civillian or professional I would think.
As a civilian myself,I would shag ass if at all possible using cover between myself and the threat,unless the threat also put someone else in danger…
Well after soiling myself I am going to try to get my weapon back up and running…hopefully while I am running too.
it sounds like a lot of folks will do some sort of analysis/diagnosis/observation which I thought of as remedial action. Kinda the info I was trying to get…
Maybe I took mental notes improperly…:eek:
Some other big ?'s: Am I alone or are there other friendly guns in the fight? Single or multiple badguys, do they have pistols only, do they have anything really heavy (eg. PKM)? You could ask a hundred questions about a situation like this.
At 150 m, alone, single threat with an AK, in a slightly elevated position: I’d get small (knee), immediate non-diagnostic, then see if I’m up. No workie, transition - maybe pop some rounds his way to keep him worried, maybe pop smoke, look to get to cover or unass the area or call the cavalry, praying all the while. Concealment may be enough to make me feel good about a diagnostic course.
I didn’t vote but if the situation doesn’t warrant immediate transition then I would first do a non-diagnostic.
I have tried to ingrain “tap, rack” into my repertoire to the point where the actions are automatic, but it’s hard to prevent (at the very least) some sort of disbelieving look at the gun for having choked on me. It’s that moment of realization (usually) where tap rack kicks in.
So if you’re asking what I think you’re asking, no, diagnosis isn’t intentionally part of my immediate action.
What I’ve been taught is that tap rack is ALWAYS my immediate action, regardless of the weapon if I’m outside of “oh shit” territory. Inside that region, transition and get to business.
If in the open or with non-substatial cover, I am always thinking …
distance…movement…cover.
My venue of operations is non-military so confrontations are ussually “kissing close”. It could call for a transition to knife!:eek:
At the prescribed 75 yard marker, I feel pretty comfy in the thought that if I had to transition to a pistol, I could throw them down range somewhat close to the target. Even if the trasition was covering fire while making it to that cement truck…always what I am imagining when I think of cover for some reason.
Last time I was at Pat Goodale’s place I had the opportunity to shoot my Glock 23 at the 175 yard 12" gong on the hill. I was hearing a clang about every 4 rounds. Quite a few folks in the class had the same results.
Easy… MOUNT BAYONET and CHARGE! 
Actually, I got lost in the terminology somewhere… but I wanted to participate. :rolleyes:
Seriously though… I’d transition and get to cover… Then diag Carbine…
But that is ASSUMING I have TIME to put all my fighting gear in place (what are the odds of that?)…
More likely result (night danger): I grab the flashlight and the Glock in the fanny pack by the bed, strap it on and clear my way to the safe to get my Carbine that is loaded and ready to go. My wife secures my daughter and calls 911. I holster Glock and put on chest rig if I have time or deem it necessary (zombies)… Then go and try to DIFFUSE the situation before blood is spilled in a justifiable shooting on my property… Then call my lawyer when threat removed…
Less TEOTWAWKI, I don’t ever see a military/LE type of confrontation as a feasible possibility FOR ME where all my battle rattle is loaded and mounted… I just don’t see it… but it is READY, LOADED and PREPARED if ever needed. So it is hard for me to answer your question in a way you seek it…
Rmpl
Fortunately, have not had to find out for real.
The trained plan - Push/Pull, Rack/Roll, get back it the fight. Communicating is in there too (I actually think talking to those I’m with is a good thing).
If that doesn’t clear it, then it is time to go to diagnostic clearence - look at it, see what’s wrong, go from there.
Cover is a good thing and seeking / making use of it is an implied task.
In an active engagement beyond pistol range:
Use cover if you have it.
Strip the mag from the gun.
Cycle the bolt.
Insert new mag.
Cycle the bolt.
Get back into the fight.
This will clear more failures than Tap and Rack.
This is my drill for Kalashnikov rifles, minus step 3, AKA a “reload”, as that is the most common bolt-forward stoppage with AK type weapons.
This will clear more failures than Tap and Rack.
Yes, but irrelevant. A field-strip and bore-punch might solve every stoppage, but the time required is excessive. An extreme example, of course, but just illustrating my point. Standard “immediate action” solves most of the issues with an AR, in a timely and efficient manner, as long as it is sufficiently practiced.
To take another angle on this subject, for most of the people that are using the AR in it’s intended role, a side-arm is not an option, as most troops are not issued a pistol for a secondary weapon.
Gunfighter-
I can see where that may clear a few more malfunctions (but not that many).
Why dump a good mag if all that happened was you failed to seat it correctly?
I am still a little curious why so many would do what amounts to remedial action, for a single failure to fire??
In my thinking, at 75-150yds, I would prefer to have my carbine up and running. So I’d push/pull rack and roll…
Fails again, get a blaster in my hand and communicate to others, or seek cover whereever it was away from danger.
Just me though…