How to Clear a Cartridge Jam in Handgun Target Shooting

When you use a handgun in the sport of target shooting, you may sometimes encounter a cartridge jam with a semiautomatic pistol. A cartridge jam disrupts practice but must be handled safely and properly. Think safety first, and always point your weapon in a safe position.

Instructions

    • 1

      Learn factors that cause a cartridge jam when you are target shooting. On a semiautomatic pistol, a spent round must be cleared out of the pistol before a live round can be entered. Sometimes, the spent round gets jammed as it is leaving the slide area.

    • 2

      Clear a spent round by dropping the magazine and pulling the slide all the way back. This releases pressure, and most of the time, the spent round can then come out. The spent round normally hangs up on the clip itself. This is why you need to drop the clip to clear this round.

    • 3

      Handle a live round that is jammed in a semiautomatic handgun when target shooting. Sometimes a live round hangs up as it goes into the chamber. This could be caused by a burr on the bullet or the wrong type of bullet being shot in the semiautomatic. Also, the round may not be sized correctly, thus preventing it from going all the way into the chamber.

    • 4

      Drop the magazine first when clearing a live round. With the gun pointed in a safe direction, pull the slide all the way back. The round should fall out of the gun. Replace the magazine. Release the lever so that the slide goes forward.