07/16/2026
"unload show clear"
"range is cold"
The gun community is a weird one. It's come to my attention that many people judge the quality of firearm training based upon the ability to carry loaded guns.
Let's talk about that.
Some people seem to think that the quality of firearm training will be basic or lackluster if the range is "cold" or the command to "unload and show clear" is given.
Some of the comments made that I've read have said:
"Cold ranges mean the class is designed for beginners who can't be trusted to handle guns safely. As such, the training is going to be super basic."
"Any Training advice given by an organization that runs a cold range is immediately suspect."
"Cold ranges are for irresponsible gun owners."
These comments are false. Absolutely false.
What's a cold range?
Every firearm has been cleared by a person of authority such as an instructor or range officer. The guns have been checked to be clear, AKA unloaded.
I don't understand what the problem with this is. It's an absolute in firearm competition. It's a norm in nearly every firearm training course I've attended.
Let's address some of these comments.
Are cold ranges designed for beginners? Well, as a firearm instructor, a person who has had dozens, if not hundreds, of fi****ms pointed at him, trust is earned. I don't know you. We just met. Are you a beginner? Unconscious incompetence is a thing. Some people suck and have no idea.
The quality of the training has absolutely nothing to do with the status of your gun when you are off line. You're on the line; your gun should be loaded. But when you're off the line... I've seen irresponsible gun handling going on behind my back. This is why in our level 0, 1, and level 2 firearm training courses we require fi****ms to be unloaded and shown clear when off the line.
What you're doing on the line of fire is absolutely irrelevant to what is being done when off the line. Having an unloaded firearm while on break has nothing to do with the quality of training when off break.
Trust is earned.
We don't know each other. In many cases, we've just met. Now you want ego to dictate our futures?
I have to ask, what is the problem with having an unloaded gun in a firearm training class when not involved in actual training? It's got to be ego. What else is it?
We don't know each other. Am I supposed to trust you with my life while my back is turned and you're playing show and tell? My other students, who also have never met you, are also supposed to trust you with their lives?
You are supposed to trust a perfect stranger with your life??! A person you've never met? A person who you have no idea of their level of responsibility?
Maybe a cold range is for so-called "irresponsible" gun owners. But you've never met this person. You don't know their level of responsibility. Do you want to risk it?
Trust me, it's a huge hassle to have to clear every firearm. We instructors have to walk down the line and check each shooter's gun. It'd be much easier for us to "trust" every shooter. And I wish we could.
But complacency kills. And the idea that a hot range, where all shooters and non-shooters have loaded guns, equals superior training is nothing short of laziness and complacency.
Every single shooter, every single range officer, every single instructor needs to trust the other shooters, RO's and instructors with their lives. Do you REALLY trust someone you've never met with your life?
What you learn while on the firing line has absolutely nothing to do with what you learn while on break.
