A nice video of Clint Smith of Thunder Ranch on the 3 types of semi-automatic handgun malfunctions and how to clear them.

Just remember:

1. Tap
2. Rack
3. Bang (if necessary)

If that fails:

1. Drop the magazine
2. Rack, Rack, Rack
3. Reload (tap)
4. Rack
5. Bang (if necessary)

So really, it’s all about “TRB”, but if that fails, drop mag, rack rack rack, then TRB.

Some might suggest that if you have to drop the magazine, you should totally drop the magazine: don’t put it back in (to retain the magazine or not is up to you, dependent upon circumstance). Reason is, double-feeds are often caused by magazine problems, so if you’re having a double-feed problem you should assume magazine is at fault and go for a fresh magazine. It all depends upon your circumstance, but certainly once you are able you should test out that magazine to see if it keeps having problems. If so, mark it as problematic and either take it out of use or relegate it to a practice/range-only magazine.

Finally, practice these malfunction drills. Clint was showing them live on the range, but until you know your drills I wouldn’t recommend this. Get snap caps or other types of dummy rounds and practice like any sort of dry-fire practice. The nice thing about the drill is Clint shows how to set up the malfunctions so you can practice them.