Sounds strange to me, but drop the magazine, rack the slide fully back with authority, look for an extracted round, then check and double check the chamber to be sure it's empty. If still loaded, take it to the local shop as there is a problem with his extractor or possilby a weak recoil spring not allowing it to fully engage the loaded cartrige when recovering from recoil. Don't think that's the problem if he can still shoot the bullet launcher though.