What occurs in a double feed in a handgun?

In a double feed situation in a handgun, the condition arises when a live round is simultaneously fed from the magazine and another round is already chambered. This typically happens because the extraction of the first round did not occur correctly, often due to the extractor failing to pull the round out of the chamber. As a result, while the slide is moving forward during the cycling of the action, it attempts to strip another round from the magazine, leading to both rounds being in the chamber area at the same time. This condition causes a malfunction that prevents the gun from firing and requires intervention to resolve, typically through clearing the malfunction. Understanding this helps shooters recognize and resolve the problem quickly.