Gun Digest's Revolver Malfunction Clearing Concealed Carry eShort. Grant Cunningham

thrown clear and the high primer will have been ejected. The gun should function again, but if after the reload is completed the trigger is still locked up, it’s time to drop the non-functioning gun and go to some sort of backup plan.

      What if you attempt to reload, and the cylinder won’t swing out? You need to ‘kick it open.’ While your shooting hand operates the release button, rotate the gun so that the right side is pointing up. Using the heel of your hand, give the cylinder a good strike. This will usually dislodge the cylinder and allow you to complete your reload.

      Kicking the cylinder open gets past those cases where the cylinder is firmly wedged. This happens when there is sufficient debris under the extractor, or when a primer is sufficiently high to cause the aforementioned jam. When the cylinder is strongly wedged shut it may take a bit of force to get the cylinder open, but once you’ve done so, completing the reload will probably get rid of the cause.

      Sometimes no amount of force is sufficient to get the cylinder open. Sometimes a squib load will leave a bullet jammed in the gap between the barrel and cylinder, making a positive block and keeping the cylinder firmly shut. Another common case is a S&W ejector rod that has become unscrewed, keeping the front lock quite firmly engaged. In either case, it’s not something you can fix under fire, and you need to have some sort of Plan B.

      What if you managed to get the cylinder open, inserted new ammunition, but the cylinder won’t close? It might be because of that unscrewed ejector rod, or it could be something else. This is the terminal failure, and you need to be doing something else instead of messing with the gun. (I suppose that one might have the presence of mind to try screwing the rod back in, but it’s doubtful that an assailant is going to give someone the time to do so.)