Which of the following lists the three common gun malfunctions?

• A. Failure to fire, Stove pipe, and misfeed
• B. Failure to fire, Stove pipe, and double feed or feed away stoppage
• C. Failure to fire, stove pipe, and jam
• D. Stove pipe, double feed, and misfire

Answer: (B)

Understanding firearm malfunctions starts with recognizing the three most common stoppages: failure to fire, a stove pipe, and a double feed (also called a feed away stoppage). Failure to fire means the trigger is pulled but the round doesn’t ignite, often due to a dud cartridge or an ignition issue. A stove pipe is a type of jam where the cartridge case fails to eject cleanly and gets stuck in the ejection port, resembling a stove pipe. A double feed occurs when two cartridges try to enter the chamber at once or the next round isn’t fed properly, causing a jam that blocks cycling. This trio is the most representative set of problems you’re likely to encounter in semi-automatic firearms because it covers ignition, extraction/ejection, and feeding—the key stages of the firing cycle. Other options mix in broader terms like “jam” or swap in synonymous phrases, but they don’t consistently name the three common stoppages together as precisely.