Which term describes a weapon malfunction that occurs when a spent casing remains in the chamber while a new cartridge enters the chamber?

• A. Failure to eject / Stovepipe
• B. Failure to feed
• C. Failure to extract
• D. Follow through

Answer: (C)

Extraction failure is when the spent cartridge does not get pulled out of the chamber during the cycling of the action. When this happens, the case stays seated in the chamber even as the mechanism tries to chamber the next round. That occupied chamber prevents a new cartridge from properly seating, so you end up with a jam where the next round attempts to enter while the spent case remains stuck. This is exactly the scenario described: a spent casing remains in the chamber while a new cartridge enters.

Stovepipe describes a related but different symptom where the case is ejected but caught at the ejection port rather than staying in the chamber. Failure to feed means the firearm doesn’t pick up or chamber a round from the magazine, which is a feeding issue, not a case remaining in the chamber. Follow through isn’t a standard term for this malfunction.