Assignment Instructions:

Read the hypothetical scenario below where a customer describes a malfunction in their hammer-fired handgun. After reading the scenario, address the 9 major components outlined below to complete your comprehensive essay.

Scenario:

Customer: "Hi. I'm having an issue with my semi-automatic hammer-fired handgun. After I fire a shot, the trigger doesn't reset. I have to manually move the trigger forward before I can take another shot. What could be causing this problem?"

9 Components to Address in Essay:

1. Identify the Failure Type: Determine the type of failure described (e.g. failure-cock, failure-to-fire, etc.).
2. Post Follow-Up Questions: Ask any additional follow-up questions you feel may be helpful and explain why these questions are important.
3. List Potential Causes of Mechanical Malfunctions: List all the components or assemblies that could potentially cause the identified malfunction.
4. Analyze and Isolate: Analyze the list of potential faulty components and isolate the one you believe is the most likely culprit, providing your reasoning.
5. User Error or Ammunition-Induced Malfunctions: Can any of these malfunctions be caused by the user or ammunition? If so, how?
6. Identify Root Causes: List any root causes that may be leading to the malfunction (e.g., maintenance issues, wear and tear, or environmental factors).
7. Source the Replacement Component or Assembly: After identifying the most likely culprit, find a replacement component or assembly and provide your instructor with the source and price of the component/assembly.
8. Difficulty of Component Sourcing: After finding a source for the component/assembly you identified by using the guidance below, respond to the following questions:

• Were you able to locate a usable schematic using the websites linked below? Can you find the component in the owner's manual?
• Was it fairly easy to find the component/assembly you were looking for, or was it more difficult than you anticipated? What difficulties did you encounter in your search?
• If the component/assembly was more difficult to locate than anticipated, please explain why.
• Were the component/assembly you found of a quality and price that you would be comfortable putting in a customer's firearm? If not, what other ideas do you have for where you could locate better-quality components?
• After conducting some research on finding the replacement component/assembly, what are your thoughts on having a handful of go-to suppliers, and what criteria would you use in choosing them?

9. Reflective Summary: Write a short reflective summary discussing what you learned from the assignment, how this exercise has prepared you for practical gunsmithing tasks, and your thoughts on the importance of having reliable suppliers.

Guidance in Sourcing Replacement Parts:

A critical skill to have when gunsmithing is the ability to locate/source replacement components from vendors quickly. To do this efficiently, it is often necessary to find an accurate schematic, locate the component on that schematic, determine if the component is in stock, and order the component. In this assignment, we will put these skills to use.

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