Range Minded Podcast

Steve Zimmermann, Host of the Range Minded Podcast

A podcast dedicated to the 2nd amendment. We discuss current events, news from the firearms community and bring on guests to share their experiences within the world of firearms.

  1. 18h ago

    Episode 330, To Act or To Be Acted Upon: Have You Made the Decision?

    Armed Civilians Who Stopped Mass Shooters + Practical Situational Awareness You Can Use Today. In this episode, we examine real cases from the last decade in which armed civilians interrupted or stopped active shooters, then break down the situational-awareness habits that made those interventions possible. We start with the October 15, 2026 shooting at Silver Rail Elementary in Bend, Oregon, where a 16-year-old former student killed three children and a teacher before being stopped inside the building by a father of two students at the school. Police arrived roughly three minutes after the first 911 call and found the shooter already dead. We then cover other prominent cases—Sutherland Springs (2017), West Freeway Church of Christ (2019), Greenwood Park Mall (2022), and the Twin Falls In-N-Out shooting (2026)—along with the broader data from the Crime Prevention Research Center showing that armed citizens stop a far higher percentage of active-shooter incidents than FBI public reports reflect. From there, we move into practical training. Drawing on USCCA materials and Jeff Cooper’s Color Code of Awareness, we walk through Condition White, Yellow, Orange, and Red, the OODA Loop (Observe–Orient–Decide–Act), and specific habits you can start using immediately: reducing phone and headphone use in public, establishing baselines when you enter new environments, watching hands, improving your positioning, and running mental “what-if” scenarios. Crime Prevention Research Center analysis of armed-citizen stops: https://crimeresearch.org FBI Active Shooter reports (for comparison): https://www.fbi.gov Website: https://www.rangemindedpodcast.com Linktree: https://linktr.ee/range_minded_podcast eBay shop: https://www.ebay.com/usr/rmpshop

  2. Oct 12

    Episode 329, The Roadmap to Nowhere.

    Episode 329. The straight-line “roadmap to confiscation” is a story, not a legal path. This episode rebuilds it the way a 2026 lawyer has to: under Heller, McDonald, Bruen, Rahimi, and the June 2026 Hemani decision. Six phases, and it branches. A prospective rule is not a down payment on taking guns people already own. Each prohibited-person category has to win its own historical fight. Registration is not a skeleton key. If the endpoint is still unconstitutional, the mechanism is an amendment, not another bill.The back half is how disarmament actually happened where it happened. Weimar registration and the November 1938 Jewish weapons decree. The December 1918 Soviet surrender order. Armenian disarmament in 1915. Khmer Rouge confiscation in 1975. Then the contrast cases: Australia’s 1996 compensated buyback, and Venezuela’s 2012 sales ban that produced neither a monopoly nor a drop in homicide. Emergency, loyalty, a list, and a deadline.The roadmap here dies in court. The roadmap that worked elsewhere was a list, an enemy, and a deadline. District of Columbia v. Heller (2008): https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/07-290 McDonald v. Chicago (2010): https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/08-1521 New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n v. Bruen (2022): https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/20-843 United States v. Rahimi (2024): https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/22-915 United States v. Hemani (June 18, 2026), opinion: https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/24-1234 Hemani case page: https://www.scotusblog.com/cases/united-states-v-hemani/ Congress.gov essay on Hemani: https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/intro.9-4-8/ALDE_00000135/ Germany Disarmament of the German Jews, including the Weimar 1928 law and the November 1938 decree: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disarmament_of_the_German_Jews Text of the Regulation Against the Possession of Weapons by Jews, November 11, 1938: https://www.jugend1918-1945.de/ND/default.aspx?root=18383&id=31499 Soviet Russia Sovnarkom decree on surrender of weapons, December 10, 1918: http://istmat.info/node/31996 Cheka background and execution figures: https://www.worldhistory.org/Cheka/ Ottoman Empire Chronology of disarmament, labor battalions, and deportations, 1915: https://www.sciencespo.fr/mass-violence-war-massacre-resistance/en/document/extermination-ottoman-armenians-young-turk-regime-1915-1916.html Cambodia Small Arms Survey working paper on private ownership and 1975 confiscation: https://www.smallarmssurvey.org/sites/default/files/resources/SAS-WP4-Cambodia.pdf Australia and Venezuela RAND review of the 1996 National Firearms Agreement: https://www.rand.org/research/gun-policy/analysis/essays/1996-national-firearms-agreement.html InSight Crime, first year of the Venezuelan disarmament law: https://insightcrime.org/news/brief/less-than-1-of-guns-off-venezuela-streets-in-a-year-of-disarmament-law/ Homicide trend after the 2012 sales ban: https://crimeresearch.org/2016/04/venezuela-homicide-rate-rose-after-2012-ban-on-private-ownership-of-guns/ #2A #SecondAmendment #GunRights #SCOTUS #Bruen #Heller #Hemani #Rahimi #FirearmsPolicy #GunControl #RangeMinded #Podcast #Constitution #HistoricalDisarmamentWebsite: https://www.rangemindedpodcast.comLinktree: https://linktr.ee/range_minded_podcastebay shop: https://www.ebay.com/usr/rmpshop

  3. Oct 6

    Ep. 328, The Fog of Information: Is Too Much Info Making Decisions Harder, or Just Killing the Vibe?

    Episode 328: The Fog of Information. Is Too Much Info Making Decisions Harder, or Just Killing the Vibe?More gun content does not always make you a better shooter, a smarter buyer, or a freer citizen. Past a point, it does the opposite. This episode is about analysis paralysis, the jam study, and why a firehose of 2A videos can freeze the decision to buy, train, and actually enjoy the Second Amendment.In 2000, researchers Sheena Iyengar and Mark Lepper set out 6 jars of jam and 24. The big display drew more shoppers. The small one sold more jars. People who stopped at 6 flavors were about six times more likely to buy. The gun counter, the optic rabbit hole, and the “best first handgun” search work the same way. Variety gets the click. Too much variety kills the decision.We also get into who is worth your time, what to skip, and how to cap the research so the range trip still happens. New shooters, longtime owners, and anyone watching from outside: the fog is normal. The right is simple. The catalog is not.Mentioned Sheena Iyengar and Mark Lepper, the jam study (2000) Barry Schwartz, The Paradox of Choice John Caile, “Research: Keep It Simple,” USCCA (2017) Darryl Worley, “Too Many Pockets” Lipsey’s Bulletin, “If You Want to Sell More, Show Less”Creators I come back to Four Boxes Diner, Guns and Gadgets, Christian Warrior Training, John Crump News, Mr. Guns N Gear, Garand Thumb, Kentucky BallisticsThe Range Minded Podcast. Firearms, liberty, and the stuff worth keeping.Episode 328: The Fog of Information. Is Too Much Info Making Decisions Harder, or Just Killing the Vibe?More gun content does not always make you a better shooter, a smarter buyer, or a freer citizen. Past a point, it does the opposite. This episode is about analysis paralysis, the jam study, and why a firehose of 2A videos can freeze the decision to buy, train, and actually enjoy the Second Amendment.In 2000, researchers Sheena Iyengar and Mark Lepper set out 6 jars of jam and 24. The big display drew more shoppers. The small one sold more jars. People who stopped at 6 flavors were about six times more likely to buy. The gun counter, the optic rabbit hole, and the “best first handgun” search work the same way. Variety gets the click. Too much variety kills the decision.We also get into who is worth your time, what to skip, and how to cap the research so the range trip still happens. New shooters, longtime owners, and anyone watching from outside: the fog is normal. The right is simple. The catalog is not.Mentioned Sheena Iyengar and Mark Lepper, the jam study (2000) Barry Schwartz, The Paradox of Choice John Caile, “Research: Keep It Simple,” USCCA (2017) Darryl Worley, “Too Many Pockets” Lipsey’s Bulletin, “If You Want to Sell More, Show Less”Creators I come back to Four Boxes Diner, Guns and Gadgets, Christian Warrior Training, John Crump News, Mr. Guns N Gear, Garand Thumb, Kentucky BallisticsThe Range Minded Podcast. Firearms, liberty, and the stuff worth keeping.Website: https://www.rangemindedpodcast.comLinktree: https://linktr.ee/range_minded_podcastebay shop: https://www.ebay.com/usr/rmpshop

  4. Aug 29

    Episode 324: Jealousy, Retaliation, and Deceit; How the Government Sees Our Liberties!

    NFA window is open. ATF revenge talk is circulating. CDC put defensive gun use numbers back on the site. Tonight we walk the actual court order, Tom Grieve’s warning, the rumors, and what CDC’s own pages say — not the meme version. The August 5, 2026, Hendrix ruling in Silencer Shop Foundation v. ATF (with Jensen) enjoined NFA registration and transfer requirements for suppressors, SBRs, SBSs, and most AOWs for covered plaintiffs, members, and customers after Congress zeroed those taxes. The 7-day stay expired August 13. The injunction is live. It is not a repeal of the NFA. Machine guns and destructive devices were not in this holding. State law still applies. An appeal window to the Fifth Circuit is still open. We also cover Grieve’s August videos on a possible future “revenge tour” against 4473 transfers done in this window, separate ATF cases so you don’t mix them up, CDCs restored 60,000–2.5 million DGU range, and the prevention page list: outreach, hospital programs, economic supports, and secure storage. Not legal advice. If you transfer under this injunction, document that you are in a covered class, keep the paperwork, and talk to counsel who does this work. About Firearm Injury and Death | Firearm Injury and Death Prevention | CDCTrump CDC Props Up Inflated ‘Good Guy With a Gun’ DataWebsite: https://www.rangemindedpodcast.comLinktree: https://linktr.ee/range_minded_podcastebay shop: https://www.ebay.com/usr/rmpshop

  5. Aug 16

    Ep. 323, Cans and Shorties: Can You Have One Yet?

    NFA Ruling Update – What’s Actually Covered (Suppressors, SBRs, SBSs, AOWs) | August 2026 StatusThere’s a lot of confusion and overclaiming flying around about the recent Texas district court ruling on NFA registration requirements. In this segment, we cut through the noise and lay out exactly what the court decided, who it covers, what it does not cover, and where things stand with the DOJ, ATF, and the administration as of mid-August 2026.We cover:• The August 5, 2026 final judgment in Silencer Shop Foundation v. ATF (consolidated with Jensen v. ATF)• What “untaxed firearms” means after the One Big Beautiful Bill zeroed the tax on suppressors, short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, and AOWs• Exact scope of the permanent injunction — party-specific relief for plaintiffs, members, and customers (not a blanket nationwide free-for-all)• Important nuances (including AOW standing differences between the plaintiff groups)• Status of the 7-day stay (expired) and the remaining appeal window• What the administration, DOJ, and ATF have (and have not) said so far about guidance for FFLs and consumers• What this ruling does not do — it does not repeal the NFA, override state law, or remove GCA requirementsThis is the clean, sourced version. No hype, no conflation. Just the facts so you can make informed decisions.https://www.gunowners.orgWebsite: https://www.rangemindedpodcast.comLinktree: https://linktr.ee/range_minded_podcastebay shop: https://www.ebay.com/usr/rmpshop

Ratings & Reviews

4.7
out of 5
18 Ratings

About

A podcast dedicated to the 2nd amendment. We discuss current events, news from the firearms community and bring on guests to share their experiences within the world of firearms.

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