Why is my gun not ejecting shells?

This could be due to switching to lower-pressure rounds, a bad batch of factory ammunition or a poor handload. Another common cause is the recoil spring. If you’re using a recoil spring with too much tension for the ammunition you’re using, the slide will cycle faster than the spent case is sent out the ejection port.

What do you do in case of misfire?

Always treat a “misfire” or “hang fire” as if the handgun is going to discharge at any second.

Keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction at all times.
Do not attempt to fire the gun again.
Leave the action closed, and retain your shooting position.

What causes stovepipes in pistols?

A stovepipe jam occurs when a fired casing isn’t full ejected (hence the more technical name: Failure to Eject) and the slide comes forward, trapping it. Any semiautomatic pistol can malfunction. As pistols are widely owned for self-defense purposes, you should drill to react quickly to malfunctions.

How long can a hang fire last?

The firearm should not be opened or unloaded, but should be kept pointing in a safe direction for 60 seconds with a modern cartridge—and two minutes for a muzzleloader. This is sufficient time for any hangfire to complete ignition.

What causes hang fires?

Hang fires happen when the firing pin has struck the primer and there is a delay before the gun fires. This can occur for several reasons, such as a faulty firing pin or spring, defective primer, or other cartridge-related problems. A misfire is when the primer fails to ignite the powder.

Can a spent case cause a failure to eject?

There are a few common firearm malfunctions, one of the chief among them is a failure to eject, where a spent case is not ejected from the pistol and keeps the slide from cycling. A failure to eject, otherwise known as a FTE, can take a few different forms and has several common causes.

What causes a gun to not eject a round?

If the extractor is worn down, or if it does not have sufficient tension, the round will not be pulled from the chamber and ejected with sufficient force. This holds it up in the ejection port and causes a stovepipe.

What causes a pistol to catch the spent casing?

Limp wristing the pistol absorbs too much recoil and can cause the slide to “short stroke,” and thus “catch” the spent casing before it is fully clear of the slide.