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Customers have questions, you have answers. Display the most frequently asked questions, so everybody benefits.

What is the difference between Type 1, Type 2, and Type 3 malfunction? 

The Type 1 malfunction is commonly referred to as a failure to feed or a failure to fire. A key symptom is the dreaded click you hear after pressing the trigger. On the range, your immediate response would probably be to stop and wonder what went wrong.  

Common causes for a Type 1 malfunction are a failure to fully seat a magazine, which prevents a round from being stripped into the chamber; a bad round; or the operator’s failure to load the chamber. There are numerous other reasons why you would get a Type 1 malfunction, but these are by far the most common for a properly operating handgun. 

The Type 2 malfunction is often referred to as a stovepipe or a failure to eject. The key symptom of this malfunction is a dead trigger, meaning when you press the trigger, nothing happens. No click. No bang. Just mush. This malfunction gained the nickname “stovepipe” because, when a fired case fails to properly eject and becomes trapped in the pistol’s ejection port, it looks like a stove’s exhaust pipe. 

Common causes for a Type 2 malfunction are limp-wristing, or not providing solid enough resistance for the handgun during recoil; impeding the slide during recoil; underpowered ammunition; a broken or malfunctioning extractor or ejector; a malfunctioning magazine; or an overpowered recoil spring. By far the first two examples are the most common causes for a Type 2 malfunction, and they are basically due to operator error. This is a good thing because operator errors are easier to prevent and fix than mechanical failures.

The Type 3 malfunction (commonly called a double feed) is the mother of all malfunctions, short of a stuck case or a catastrophic part failure that renders the handgun inoperable. In the latter two malfunctions, you need to start thinking Plan B. There is no drill to fix them without tools.

The key symptom of a Type 3 malfunction is identical to that of a Type 2: a dead trigger. In a handgun, a Type 3 is the result of a live round heading into the chamber when another live round is already there. This is fairly uncommon in handguns,  Common causes of a Type 3 malfunction essentially involve either an extractor failure, a magazine failure or a stuck case. The Type 3 is difficult to deal with, so you definitely want to have a game plan to deal with it

 The difference between cover and concealment ?

This is a great question to ask so here goes.  If it doesn't stop a bullet, then it is considered to be concealment because that is all it is really doing – concealing your location. Cover is something that will not only conceal your location but stop a bullet as well.