Unload and Show Clear

[Handgun World]

"Unload and show clear." A mandatory action that all IDPA, IPSC and other competition shooters have to do, after shooting each stage. Why? Because competition shooting attracts all types of shooters. I'm a big proponent of it. But I'm not a proponent of some of the things they make you do and I think this is a bad habit to learn. I won't say "unload and show clear" will get you killed, but there are some real problems with it. Competition clubs say they do it, because they operate a "cold range" and say it's because of safety. Look, I've trained a LOT of new shooters. Very new shooters. A competent instructor can create a training class full of new shooters that will be very safe with loaded weapons in their holster. Even when they are not shooting. The simple rules of gun safety and someone policing the shooters behind the firing line, will create a very safe environment. In fact, irresponsible people, not well taught, can probably be just as dangerous with an "unloaded" gun, as they would be with loaded gun inside the holster and kept there. How tempting is it for them to pull out their "unloaded gun" and show it to a friend, even though they were told not to do that? We all know of plenty of shootings that have occurred with "unloaded guns" haven't we?

Also, if gun owners get into the habit of unloading their gun whenever they are not carrying it, they can create problems with magazines and ammo.

Consider this from an excellent article, Why you should almost NEVER un-load your self-defense handgun | Prepared Gun Owners

Many notable firearms trainers, such as Tom Givens, have pointed out that (once you get past a beginner’s FIRST class where they don’t know a single thing) a “hot range” where all guns are kept loaded (but in the holster) the entire time are often safer than “cold ranges” where the students are told to “unload and show clear” their guns often throughout the day.

This is because almost all people treat their guns with more respect when they know they are loaded and because of this extra care and safety minded attitude, negligent discharges happen less frequently on these “hot ranges”.

Read the rest of the article and take note of how you can ruin your self defense ammo by constantly loading and reloading it.

This has given me the thought of doing a podcast episode about "bad habits" including this one and many others. Not just from competition shooting, but other bad habits taught to gun carriers. However I do like this post on Caleb Lee's Prepared Gun Owners Blog.

Thoughts?
Bob Mayne
HandgunWorld Podcast

 

[jrbfishn]

Good point to think about.
Anyone that has a reason to be in my home or near any of my guns know that they are loaded. Only those that are put away are unloaded, but should be treated as if they are. Self defense or target ammo, niether are chambered more than a couple times before being fired. Everyone I teach anything too about firearms gets the same thing. No matyer who has already checked clear, even displays in a store, if it touches your hand you will check it yourself. People do make mistakes. Sometimes the eye sees what it expects to see, not what is.

sent from an idgit coffeeholic

 

[dermunkee]

Mandating a cold range for competition is a great idea. Competition gets your adrenaline up and many newer shooters or even those new to competition may lose their focus on safety in the heat of things. I've seen people forget about basic safety rules in bullseye competitions because they were thinking about their last grouping, not what needs to happen now, more "action" oriented competitions would probably increase the likelihood of it. Unload and show clear seems to be appropriate for these.

To the point of the article, however, I never would have thought about the effects of cycling your ammo without firing it, and is definitely something to keep in mind.

 

[TheDan]

There's different rules on a racetrack than there are on the street as well. If you can't keep all the safety rules sorted then you shouldn't be playing with dangerous things.

 

[zincwarrior]

I think it is a shooting competition, not defensive training. if you think this will somehow get you killed you're doing it wrong. Its a brilliant idea to keep the yahoos from firing off a round.

Stupidity is a disease that can only be stopped by clear procedures.

 

[Mexican_Hippie]

On the mags thing, my practice is to keep fully loaded mags for SD separate from other mags. Just buy more mags. That way I'm not loading/unloading all the time.

A couple times a year I shoot the SD ammo and reload the mags to make sure everything's working fine.

ETA: just read the article and didn't think about that first round that always gets recycled. I'll just bring it along now and shoot it. Just cycle in a new SD round after every range visit so it's on top.

 

[zincwarrior]

Thats a good point MH.

 

[Handgun World]

On the mags thing, my practice is to keep fully loaded mags for SD separate from other mags. Just buy more mags. That way I'm not loading/unloading all the time.

A couple times a year I shoot the SD ammo and reload the mags to make sure everything's working fine.

ETA: just read the article and didn't think about that first round that always gets recycled. I'll just bring it along now and shoot it. Just cycle in a new SD round after every range visit so it's on top.

People new to the shooting world tend to mimic what they see or do in whatever training class or competition match they participate in. Often they don't know that they are getting poor instruction. Or being taught bad habits. A few matches or a beginners class and they "call it good." Have you ever noticed when a range officer tells you to unload and show clear, sometimes he bends over and picks up your round that you ejected, after you put your gun back in the holster, and hands the round back to you. Trying to be nice of course. What do you think a lot of people do with that round? Yes, recycle it. That might be OK, once or twice, but they might go home and think it's perfectly acceptable to do, each time they unload their gun. Then they cause the bullet setback problem.

 

[Renegade]

Loaded Guns Are No More Dangerous Than Unloaded Guns

Pure stupid, right there.

Gun owners are about the only enthusiasts I know of who can take the most singularly random story and try to spin it into something as certain as gravity.

 

[Recoil45]

USPSA has a very good safety record. Part of that is because of the gun handling rules. I've been shooting it for years and don't feel the ULSC routine follows over in any way to my CCW practices.

 

[zincwarrior]

USPSA has a very good safety record. Part of that is because of the gun handling rules. I've been shooting it for years and don't feel the ULSC routine follows over in any way to my CCW practices.

Wait, are you saying that because you run and gun you don't walk around in cleats with an offset skeleton holster and six mags at all times?

 

[Mreed911]

Wait, are you saying that because you run and gun you don't walk around in cleats with an offset skeleton holster and six mags at all times?

You've seen me grocery shopping!

 

[SIG_Fiend]

The real core issue is people are often not educated on this simple principle:

Don't confuse the drill for the application.

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The gun is always unloaded. No, wait, the gun is always loaded.... The solution isn't to take something perceived as indiscriminate, and to then "solve" it by offering a solution that is equally as indiscriminate.

The problem is, much of what people do, advocate, and reinforce often seems to rely on people being subconsciously incompetent. According to the breadth of science around the subject of achieving superior levels of human performance, one recurring truth is that setting competitive and lofty goals can assist a person in achieving a greater level of performance than setting "reasonable" goals. In essence, you need to strive for a bit more than you think can achieve, otherwise you will never get there.

So where am I going with all of that? I think a, possibly, more productive way to approach this subject is in helping students understand how to decipher and switch gears between the drill and the application. Everyone has hit on a number of important subjects, such as:

• Difference between training gear and "work" gear
  • Having separate sets
  • How do you keep them separate?
  • How do you maintain each set?
  • How closely do sets need to match, and what percentage of the time
  • EX: NO, you don't always have to "train like you fight". Sometimes use gear to eliminate variables and focus on certain aspects of training. For example, sometimes train with an identical set of carry/duty gear. Sometimes train with a standard set of range gear (Conventional OWB holster, minimal clothing obstruction, etc.)
• Difference between training methods and work methods
  • When and why they differ
  • Difference between the goals and focus of the application and training
• Developing successful behaviors vs. behaviors that lead to failure
  • Training to win vs. training to the lowest common denominator
    • aka: "DAP", Draw And Pray (I just made that up LOL). Because you're gonna turn into a ham-fisted neanderthal the very second things get mental.... Maybe subconsciously incompetent people will, especially if they've only ever placed a high degree of focus on LCD-style training. But are you? I think leaders in basically every sport and endeavor of human performance would probably disagree that LCD is the rule.

 

[BCGlocker]

I have been competing in USPSA and IDPA for 30 years and participated in nearly one thousand matches. I have witnessed a couple dozen Ads (accidental discharge or NDs) both during actual competitions and non-competition situations and fortunately no one was hurt. Without a doubt, USPSA and IDPA "cold ranges" helped with the safety record. Competition teaches one to shoot fast and accurate under pressure but they are not tactical trainings.

In my Defensive Pistol classes I teach, once the students have completed the 101 and 102 courses, we run a "hot range" in the advanced 103 class.

BTW, Bob, I enjoy your podcasts every week. Keep up the good work.

 

[zincwarrior]

You've seen me grocery shopping!

"We need a mop on Aisle Three."

 

[StevenC.]

"Many notable firearms trainers, such as Tom Givens, have pointed out that (once you get past a beginner’s FIRST class where they don’t know a single thing) a 'hot range' where all guns are kept loaded (but in the holster) the entire time are often safer than 'cold ranges' where the students are told to 'unload and show clear' their guns often throughout the day.

This is because almost all people treat their guns with more respect when they know they are loaded and because of this extra care and safety minded attitude, negligent discharges happen less frequently on these 'hot ranges'."

My thoughts...

Do these notable firearm trainers have some valid research to back up their argument for why they are right? Rounds fired to injuries outside the shooting time, maybe?

I am uninterested in appeals to authority and the shooting world is simply rife with logical fallacy and a lack of science.

My logical fallacy: I am 100% unaware of a single gun-shot injury outside the start signal and the range is clear. This is certainly due to the mandate the gun remain in the holster except at the safe table or at the make ready command and a cold range. Unloaded guns in a holster can't go bang. My personal experience is that the tough, tactical, defensive crowds are more cavalier about safety and that leads to injury. News stories of Sonny Pa-something or another shooting someone come to mind. I don't see USPSA shooters pointing guns at their hands to test their lasers. I don't see sport shooters desperately trying to re-write the safety rules allowing for guns to be pointed at other students. I don't see Steel Challenge guys firing live ammo into the ground next to students heads or running confidence drills. But, it's a logical fallacy because my single man experience and arguments aren't a fact either.

Knowing you will be disqualified for even drawing the gun has this odd mitigating effect on injury which results from a drawn gun.

Ultimately, it's a sport, not the street. A sport with first-time shooters and the world's best. A sport with a brand to protect. It's intended to give people a chance to shoot, test their skill objectively and safely. I'm ok with efforts to guarantee I can't be shot with rules that mandate an unloaded gun which remains in the holster. Seems prudent.

Just my thoughts.

 

[easy rider]

This still doesn't answer the the age old question: "Is the gun half empty or half loaded?"

 

[zincwarrior]

My thoughts...

Do these notable firearm trainers have some valid research to back up their argument for why they are right? Rounds fired to injuries outside the shooting time, maybe?

I am uninterested in appeals to authority and the shooting world is simply rife with logical fallacy and a lack of science.

My logical fallacy: I am 100% unaware of a single gun-shot injury outside the start signal and the range is clear. This is certainly due to the mandate the gun remain in the holster except at the safe table or at the make ready command and a cold range. Unloaded guns in a holster can't go bang. My personal experience is that the tough, tactical, defensive crowds are more cavalier about safety and that leads to injury. News stories of Sonny Pa-something or another shooting someone come to mind. I don't see USPSA shooters pointing guns at their hands to test their lasers. I don't see sport shooters desperately trying to re-write the safety rules allowing for guns to be pointed at other students. I don't see Steel Challenge guys firing live ammo into the ground next to students heads or running confidence drills. But, it's a logical fallacy because my single man experience and arguments aren't a fact either.

Knowing you will be disqualified for even drawing the gun has this odd mitigating effect on injury which results from a drawn gun.

Ultimately, it's a sport, with brand new shooters and the world's best. It's intended to give people a chance to shoot, test their skill subjectively and safely. I'm ok with putting a physical guarantee I can't be shot with rules that mandate an unloaded gun and that it remains in the holster. Seems prudent.

Just my thoughts.

Here here!

We did have someone put one into their car engine at ARC when they were trying to disarm from CHL-against the cold range rules-which I guess supports your statement even more. I believe this person was asked to not come back.

 

[StevenC.]

We did have someone put one into their car engine at ARC when they were trying to disarm from CHL-against the cold range rules-which I guess supports your statement even more. I believe this person was asked to not come back.

I am glad he was uninjured.

 

[StevenC.]

Pure stupid, right there.

Gun owners are about the only enthusiasts I know of who can take the most singularly random story and try to spin it into something as certain as gravity.

I thought the same thing.

While the article was genuinely pretty well constructed, that was silly.

Of course loaded guns are more dangerous that unloaded guns. Only loaded guns go bang. It's a physical impossibility for a unloaded gun to go bang. But, we don't treat all guns as if they are loaded because unloaded guns are just as dangerous as the loaded ones.

We treat them as if they are loaded when unloaded because we are human and prone to error. Sure as shit, one day we will be wrong, the gun will be loaded and someone will get hurt or dead.