Second Strike Capability

[Billy]

I've seen a cover from a past issue of American Handgunner magazine about the new FN Forty-Nine 9mm pistol. What does second strike capable mean ?

[Joe 543]

it means you can pull the trigger a second time (double action mode) to strike the primer again

[NC-VT]

Or you could cock the hammer and do it single-action. Contrast this to a striker-fired Glock or Kahr or whatnot, where the slide must be racked(thus, ejecting the unfired cartridge) to reset the trigger.

[C.R.Sam]

Side bar.
Catchin the round that failed to fire in your hand can get interesting if it was a hang fire. Can go off in your hand.

Sam

[Navy joe]

I think that in today's pistols it's an overrated capability. With good ammo and a reliable pistol which should both be mandatory there is no need to pull the trigger again only to hear a second click. Seat the mag, rack the slide and keep on shooting. If you are using some russian crap with unreliable priming, stop. I've never had a pistol malfunction where this capability would help. Even if I did that round would already be ejected and I'd be shooting again.

[Mike Irwin]

Bingo, Navy Joe.

If it doesn't go off the first time, I'm getting it the hell out of my gun for a round that will.

[dsk]

I consider "second-strike capability" to mean hitting the perp over the head if need be with your pistol. :p

Seriously, if the round doesn't go off don't waste time with it. Rack the slide and do it again. Just make sure you're using quality ammo in the first place. The last time I had a round fail to fire, it turns out it was a cheap squib reload and the bullet lodged in the barrel. Had I immediately gone into a "tap-rack-bang" drill without checking my day would've gotten worse in a hurry.

[GSB]

I've had rare use for second strike on Sellier and Bellot ammo, which is good ammo but has hard primers. It went off on the second strike. As for the soundness of trying a second strike in a tactical situation, that's for others to argue over.

I would caution anyone who advocates an immediate tap-rack-ready on a misfire to NEVER do this with a real misfire except in dire circumstances. An immediate clearance of a chambered round that has failed to fire is a violation of a core safety rule regarding hangfires.

[JSalcedo]

I got a hold of a box of spanish military .45acp
dated 1955 a while back. Since I have shot ammo
over 90 years old before with no problem, I thought what the heck.....

The first round went click and 5 seconds later
blam! Luckily I had learned the first rule of hangfires.(keep it pointed downrange for at least 30 seconds) I tried a few more and each had a hangfire of 1 to 5 seconds. Scary stuff.

[M1911]

I'll go a little further than Navy Joe to say that not only is second strike over-rated, but I actually think it is BAD. If you pull the trigger and nothing happens, the proper reaction is to do a TRB. It's highly unlikely that pulling the trigger again will do anything other than waste precious time which you do not have. If your gun physically will not allow you to pull the trigger again, it's another indicator that something went wrong and you need to do a TRB.

M1911

[JSalcedo]

Pardon my ignorance, but what is a TRB?

Thanks

[Shake]

T=Tap (as in tap the magazine to make sure it is fully seated)

R=Rack (as in rack the slide to clear any stovepipe, FTF, FTE, etc.)

B=Bang (as in continue firing)

Tap Rack Bang! is a commonly taught malfunction drill.

Shake

[Shake]

It may be a bad habit, and maybe I'm the only one who does it, BUT. . .

When I shoot gun games or do combat type shooting where speed is essential, I find myself pulling the trigger twice on misfires (induced by the instructor with a dummy round/snap cap).

When the adrenaline gets going and I'm in the thick of things, I can't stop my finger from pulling the trigger a second time before my brain registers that I had a malfunction. I believe it may be easier with a stovepipe (but then, stovepipes are pretty hard to come by when using good firearms). My routine ends up being click, click, tap-rackbang!

Anyone else have this problem (is it a problem?)?

I remember reading in a gun rag (take it for what its worth) that a certain percentage of cartridges that misfire on the first primer strike will fire on the second primer strike. The percentage was fairly high IIRC. Now, I'll agree that it would be best if after a misfire a tap-rack-bang! were performed, but in real life it may not happen that way for me.

Makes me wonder, should I switch to a firearm that DOESN'T have second strike capabilities to cure myself?

Hmmm. . .

Shake