Troubleshooting

Firearms are mechanical devices. Just as with a vehicle they require maintenance, proper care and cleaning. They are subject to breakage and problems. Some problems are shooter induced and some are not. I do not envy the manufacturers of equipment. Imagine the scope manufacturer who receives the ‘out-of-whack’ scope that ‘would not hold a zero.’ Turns out it was not locked down or it was mounted on backwards. “Jeeze that’s far away.” Filthy guns which have not been cleaned will probably not work too well either. Reloaded ammunition does not really indicate the serviceability of a firearm. If the loads are light, double charged, not seated properly or simply of poor quality then the fault lies, in the ammunition not the firearm.

Limp ‘wristing’ a handgun will sometimes induce malfunctions, so don’t rush off to FedEx just yet. Try locking down and see if that doesn’t solve the problem. Here’s a great and somewhat novel concept… try oiling the weapon. Dry weapons heat up and metal expands and then things can seize up. Mark your sights so that you can readily observe if they have drifted for some silly reason. Lock down screws with lock-tite so that pieces don’t make rapid south bound departures when you don’t wish them to. Gear should be glued, rigger’s taped or para-corded down so that it remains where you want it to.

There are so many problems which can occur that volumes could be filled on the subject. What seems to work well for me is the following. Critically examine what could possibly go wrong (everything and then some) and then defeat the potential failure by simply anticipating it. I guess you could refer to this as a ‘pre-fix.’ The more classes you take with us then the more you experience what could go wrong and thus…you’ve fixed the problem well before it can occur when you least need it to. We’ve seen just about every equipment related issue out there and we can readily determine how your equipment failed, how you failed to operate it effectively, or both. Don’t make the mistake when everything is on the line.

All of this seems fairly simple at first glance and yet we have all shown up for an event and been sidelined when one simple item went south. Trouble shooting beforehand is worth its weight in gold.