The USPSA range commands
A USPSA stage runs on eight commands, always in the same order, and the course of fire begins at the first one rather than at the beep. Here is each command in sequence, what the Range Officer is asking of you, and the rule it comes from. Every quotation below is from section 8.3 of the USPSA Competition Rules.
Two things catch most people at their first match. The clock is not what puts you under the rules: Make Ready does that, and everything from there until Range Is Clear is the course of fire. And silence is an answer: if the Range Officer asks whether you are ready and you say nothing, you have said yes.
Each command, the rule it comes from, and what you do when you hear it. The table scrolls sideways on a narrow screen to reach the what-you-do column.
| Command | Rule | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| Make Ready | 8.3.1 | Face downrange, fit eye and hearing protection, prepare the firearm as the written stage briefing says, take the start position, then be still. |
| Are You Ready? | 8.3.2 | Say nothing and you have said yes. If you are not ready, say so. |
| Standby | 8.3.3 | Wait. The start signal follows within 1 to 4 seconds. |
| Start signal | 8.3.4 | Shoot the stage. |
| Stop | 8.3.5 | Stop firing, stop moving, and wait for instructions. |
| If You Are Finished, Unload and Show Clear | 8.3.6 | Lower the firearm, muzzle downrange, magazine out, slide or bolt locked open, chamber empty, and present it for inspection. A revolver is presented with the cylinder swung out and empty. |
| If Clear, Hammer Down, Holster | 8.3.7 | Release the slide and pull the trigger without touching the hammer or decocker, then holster. From this command on you may not fire. |
| Range Is Clear | 8.3.8 | The course of fire is over. Scoring, patching and resetting begin. |
Make Ready starts the course of fire
Rule 8.3.1 opens with the sentence that matters most to a new competitor: This command signifies the start of “the Course of Fire”.
Under the Range Officer’s direct supervision you face downrange or in whatever safe direction the Range Officer specifies, fit eye and hearing protection, prepare the firearm as the written stage briefing requires, and take the start position. The Range Officer will not proceed with any further range commands until the competitor is still and is in the correct start position.
Two sub-rules live inside that moment and both are easy to trip over. Rule 8.3.1.1 says that once Make Ready has been given you must not move away from the make ready position prior to issuance of the “Start Signal” without the prior approval, and under the direct supervision, of the Range Officer.
Rule 8.3.1.2 permits sight pictures while you prepare, and then adds the cost of getting one wrong: Should the competitor experience an accidental discharge while taking a sight picture a disqualification under rule 10.4.3 shall be issued.
Saying nothing is saying yes
Rule 8.3.2: The lack of any negative response from the competitor indicates that he fully understands the requirements of the course of fire and is ready to proceed. If the competitor is not ready at the “Are You Ready?” command, he must indicate to the Range Officer that he is not ready.
There is no penalty for not being ready. There is a real cost to starting a stage you have not finished thinking about, so use the question.
Standby, then 1 to 4 seconds
Rule 8.3.3 is one sentence: This command should be followed by the start signal within 1 to 4 seconds.
It is a window, not a count, and it is deliberately uneven so nobody can time the beep.
Two things can go wrong at the signal, and the rulebook handles both. If you do not react to it, rule 8.3.4 has the Range Officer confirm you are ready and resume the range commands from “Are You Ready?”
. If you go early, rule 8.3.4.1 has the Range Officer stop and restart the competitor once the course of fire has been restored.
A false start costs you a wait, not a score.
Stop means stop, from any Range Officer
Rule 8.3.5: Any Range Officer assigned to a stage may issue this command at any time during the course of fire. The competitor must immediately cease firing, stop moving and wait for further instructions from the Range Officer.
Not only the officer running you, and not only for something you have done.
Unload and Show Clear, and what the Range Officer is looking at
Rule 8.3.6: If the competitor has finished shooting, he must lower his firearm and present it for inspection by the Range Officer with the muzzle pointed downrange, magazine removed, slide/bolt locked or held open, and chamber empty. Revolvers must be presented with the cylinder swung out and empty.
The same rule notes that a competitor who has been stopped is given the shorter form, Unload and show clear
, without the opening clause.
Rule 8.3.6.1 covers the case where a stage is shot in more than one string: on Standard Exercises the Range Officer may give interim commands between strings, such as Reload if required
, and may do the same where two courses of fire share a bay.
Hammer Down is the command you cannot shoot after
Rule 8.3.7 carries three wordings, one per firearm type: If Clear, Hammer Down, Holster
for self-loaders, If Clear, Cylinder Closed, Holster
for revolvers, and If Clear, Hammer Down, Flag
for PCC. All three end the same way: After issuance of this command, the competitor is prohibited from firing.
Firing after it is a disqualification under rule 10.4.3.
The final safety check itself is spelled out. Self-loaders and PCC release the slide/bolt and pull the trigger (without touching the hammer or decocker, if any)
(8.3.7.1). Revolvers close the empty cylinder (without touching the hammer, if any)
(8.3.7.2). If the firearm proves clear you holster or flag it, and rule 8.3.7.3 adds a step that only applies to a carbine: it must then be transported with the muzzle reasonably vertically up or down, while scoring is done, and then off the stage to a rack or case.
When casing a PCC the muzzle must point at a side berm, a backstop, or up or down, and failing to do so is a disqualification under rule 10.5.18.
If the firearm does not prove clear, rule 8.3.7.4 has the Range Officer issue the stop command, order unload and show clear, complete the remaining commands, and then disqualify the competitor under rule 10.4.3.
Range Is Clear ends it
Rule 8.3.8: This declaration signifies the end of the Course of fire. Once the declaration is made, officials and competitors may move forward to score, patch, reset targets etc.
Until you hear it, stay where you are.
Sources
Every quotation on this page is from the USPSA Competition Rules, read at the online edition:
- All eight commands and their sequence, and every sub-rule quoted above: section 8.3, Range Communication.
- Firing after Hammer Down, and an accidental discharge during a sight picture: rule 10.4.3.
- Muzzle direction when casing a PCC: rule 10.5.18.
Checked against the USPSA Competition Rules, edition 2026-03, on 6 August 2026. Rules change; if something here no longer matches the rulebook you are holding, the box below comes to me.
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