ND at Hot Range: Training Scar?

[RJ]

I believe I had a ND recently. I wanted to talk about the circumstances and see what suggestions I could get so this NEVER happens to me again.

I attended TacCon '16 in Memphis recently. The range, during the conference, is "hot", meaning you are expected to be at the line chambered and cocked. This was the first time for me in such an environment.

On Friday, I took Paul Sharp's Recoil Control session (it was excellent, by the way). After my first mag, I needed to reload. Under the direction of my shooting partner, "reload", I heard the statement, but, my brain heard "unload and show clear."

So, I reloaded with a fresh 15 round mag. Then, like dozens of times before, as I had been training as a USPSA-style shooter, I reflexively raised the pistol up and pulled the trigger, as I normally do prior to holstering an empty gun.

Problem was, it was not empty. It went 'bang'.

Shit.

At the time, I was caught up in the moment, but it registered vaguely in my lizard brain: something was 'not right'. I didn't process it at the time, being caught up in the class.

Later, it occurred to me that this was an ND. And, for me, a training scar. I had not intended to pull the trigger. I was not 'sure of my target and what was beyond it.' Meaning I broke one of the four rules. I decided this counted as a ND, and I needed to ask about it, hence this thread.

After ruminating on this for a couple weeks, I came up with a few things I'm going to do different, when I am next on a hot range.

First, I'm going to say "I'm on a hot range", out loud. Then I'm going to safely chamber a round and reholster. I am going to keep the gun in that state (hot) the entire time.

When I come off the range, and am completely done with shooting, I am going to a safe place and de-gun. Then I am going to say, out loud, I am no longer on a hot range."

I'm also going to completely take the gun and mag carriers off, so I am not carrying.

Now, I am sure that most of you (probably all) have much more time on "hot" ranges than I do. I'd also guess some of you participate in USPSA-style gun games, where the range is 'cold'.

How do you manage the mindset when going from one to the other? Do you think my approach is worth doing, or should I be doing something else? Are there any specific things you do when going onto a hot range?

Thanks in advance.

Rich

[Chuck Haggard]

Unload and show clear should never, ever be done on autopilot.

I've spent more time on the hot range, and the street with loaded guns, than anywhere else, but I do shoot quite a bit of USPSA and IDPA matches. When I unload for any reason it's mindfully. I also aim at a target when I do the dry press after the RO tells me to drop the hammer. No sense wasting a free dry fire rep, and I am mindfully aiming the gun into an area I know to be safe for Rule 4 purposes.

[Wondering Beard]

My mindset is "I'm on a hot range constantly unless I'm at a place or event that specifies it's a cold range".

Administrative handling is always done deliberately, carefully and thoughtfully no matter where or when but when the place or event has its own rules, I slow down even further.

[Mr_White]

The problem you experienced is one associated with having two sets of gunhandling procedures, one for loaded guns, and one for unloaded guns. The issue is that the margin of error can be taken down to one layer (correctly discerning the status of the gun), instead of the multiple and redundant layers of safety encompassed in the four firearms safety principles. Hot ranges give the four firearms safety principles gravity. Without the possibility that the gun is loaded, principles 2, 3, and 4 are implicitly undermined. Many violations of principles 2, 3, and 4 are enabled and/or justified by a belief that the gun is not loaded.

There should also be a specific procedure for handling or dry firing a real gun in a setting where it is ok to handle a gun, but not ok to fire it (like at home.)

I love USPSA and GSSF...but I despise cold ranges. I have accepted that USPSA and GSSF aren't going to change, and have the rules that they do for reasons, even though they do not particularly resonate with me. I participate in spite of this because I think they have other enormous value. But in order to participate, they are going to make you unload, show clear, then if clear, pull the trigger. However, that is a tiny number of repetitions compared to what you will get in your own practice or organized training. Not much of a training scar there unless you do it on your own too. Unless you are in a USPSA match and directed to do so by an RO, you should not pull the trigger as the last step of unloading, and even then, pulling the trigger should be a consciously separate act from unloading. Get rid of this habit. All it does is ensure that if you have made a mistake about the status of the gun, you will now ND.

How I manage switching between hot and cold ranges:

I only have one set of gunhandling procedures, and they are formed for use in a hot range environment. I am also capable of following directions given by an RO. When I am shooting GSSF and USPSA, and the RO directs me to "unload, show clear, if clear, hammer down, holster", I very deliberately and consciously unload and then visually and physically inspect the gun, then aim the gun at a specific spot on the berm downrange, do one dry trigger press, and holster. In effect, I go through a brief version of a dry fire safety ritual upon the ULSC command.

Pulling the trigger should absolutely not be a part of one's unloading procedure. Make your default (and only) procedure to be one suitable for a hot range.

[SecondsCount]

ToddG mentioned once that he had an ND at the range in a similar fashion.

I would say something similar to what others have said. Whenever you are loading or unloading your gun, pause for a second and think ahead. Why are you doing this? What do you want the end result to be? What condition do you want the gun to be in? Question yourself before you even start going through the motions.

Funny thing- shooting a LEM in competition always throws the RO's off. They can't figure out why the hammer stays down all the time

[StraitR]

Rich, were you comfortable with the pace of the class? Hearing the wrong range command makes me think that the mind might have been wondering, not confused. Playing back your performance from the prior drill or trying to get a head start on mentally preparing for the next drill are two common causes.

[Josh Runkle]

#1: weapon status should be a known factor at all times. The reverse is just as bad: when you need a round in the chamber and you go to fire and hear "click". I see this a lot in classes too, though, obviously, this is far less dangerous.

#2: if you can't get out of doing a skill on autopilot, then make your "autopilot" skills good ones. For example, if you always unload and show clear and then pull the trigger: unload, show clear, then take aim down range and carefully pull the trigger (dry fire) at an actual target. You might still have an ND, from the autopilot skill, but the better autopilot skill will just put a round in a safe place.

[Jared]

I'm actually the opposite, in that the "unload/show clear" sequence is very foreign to me. When I do my handgun work, I regularly replace magazine, decock, holster hot gun. That's just the process I've always done. So when I'm at a match, I absolutely have to switch my brain to a different "mode" because this is not normal. I never have practiced the whole "drop mag, pull slide back really fast, catch cartridge midair, quick dryfire in direction of berm, holster" bit that I see some upper echelon competitors do. This is in spite of being a pretty hard core gamer at one time. So the Unload and Show Clear sequence is quite foreign to me.

Just for an example, here's how I train Bill Drills:

Load mag with ammo. Shoot drill once. Decock and holster (there's a bit to this, but for brevity, I'm leaving it out). Note time and hits, paste if necessary. Shoot drill again. Either decock and holster or replace mag if there's not enough ammo left to do the drill again. Note time and hits, paste if necessary. Rinse and repeat.

Every drill I do, every time I hit the range, that's how I run it. So, I'm ingraining a couple habits (maybe more) but two of them are to decock (since I like my crunchenticker) and safely holstering a hot gun.


ETA: And cudos to you for having the balls to say in public that you had an ND. There's a lot of people that'd never own that, ever.

[Tom Givens]

"Pulling the trigger should absolutely not be a part of one's unloading procedure. Make your default (and only) procedure to be one suitable for a hot range."-- Mr. White

Bingo! This has been a major source of heartburn for me for years. Programming people to make pulling the trigger part of the unloading process is beyond stupid. This amounts to verifying that the gun is unloaded by seeing if it will shoot. Do that enough on the range, and you may well do it at home, with much worse results.


"When I come off the range, and am completely done with shooting, I am going to a safe place and de-gun. Then I am going to say, out loud, I am no longer on a hot range." -- Rich.

Why would you want to "de-gun" as soon as you are finished shooting? Do you not wear a gun when not actively shooting on a range? That's another issue- range rules versus life rules.

[Tamara]

The problem you experienced is one associated with having two sets of gunhandling procedures, one for loaded guns, and one for unloaded guns.

This needs to be written in letters of fire a thousand feet high across the sky.

As Legendary Lawman Marshal Chuck Haggard told me, if you have two sets of gunhandling procedures, for "loaded" and "unloaded" guns, you will default to the wrong one under moments of inattention or stress as sure as God made little green apples.