Do you drink alcohol at all? (yes, it's firearms-related)

[springmom]

I have this situation where orphan beers end up at my house, well being a responsible adult and the head of the household (don't tell my wife I said that) it is my obligation to properly dispose of these beers in an appropriate manner...

Now you, sir, are a gentleman. Caring for orphan beers. Brings a tear to my eye....

Springmom

 

[igpoobah]

I voted no, because 363 days of the year, it is true. I might be coerced into having a beer here or there, if the conditions are right. I have no problem with others drinking, so long as they can contain themselves.

I choose to live my life in control of my actions, therefore, I don't make a habit of drinking, because I get stupid when drinking. I know some do and some don't. I do, so I choose not to.

 

[Justin]

The Olympic officials believe that a six pack of beer ( or equivalent) will improve a bench rest shooter's scores.

Bench rest isn't an Olympic sport. All of the current Olympic shooting events are either with air guns or small bore.

IIRC, ISSF 300 Meter Rifle, which is 3-position, was done away as an Olympic sport in 1972.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Unless you count Listerine & I don't since it's not swallowed.

Trust me, don't try. Something I learned in college.

Ever since they started those commercials with that skuzball endlessly swishing it around in his mouth, I haven't been able to use Listerine.

 

[Justin]

The practice fell out of style when the level of competition was elevated beyond whatever dubious benefit being lit offered, and sober people held the decisive advantage.

Some of the old codgers I shoot with have talked about this. Some competitors in bullseye were shnockered. However, most of it was along the lines of having just enough alcohol in your system to lower your heart rate and steady your hand. This would be less than a full glass of wine.

 

[ArmedBear]

Jacques Anquetil, who won the Tour de France 5 times in the late '50s and '60s, claimed he had the following training regimen: "A few whiskies, blonde cigarettes and a woman."



He once drank champagne during the race to help kill a hangover from the night before.

And cigarettes were once commonly smoked by most racers before mountain stages, to "open up their lungs."

So the stories about drunk shooting competitions in the same era may seem bizarre, but they're hardly shocking in context. The pendulum has swung pretty far in the MADD direction. Carrie Nation would be proud.

 

[tydephan]

I am a social drinker.

I drink maybe 3 or 4 times a year, and then only in moderation.

Sometimes I am CCW when that happens. Sometimes I am not.

Moderation.

I typically do not drink at home, although the reasoning is not based around firearms or the likelihood of having to use force.

It is based around me being responsible for two children, and should a trip to the emergency room be needed to care for my children, I'd like to make it without being intoxicated.

One of my good friends drinks heavily every night. He has the same situation I do with kids and all. It's just his choice. To each his own. I do not judge him based on that knowledge.

I encourage you all to re-read Geek45's words from his previous post in this thread, in case you missed them the first time. IMO, he hits the nail on the head:

Yes, alcohol is destructive.

For some people.

But not for everyone, and not in all cases.

And them's the breaks, that's just how it is. It's not a judgement, moral or otherwise, nor is it an assertion of superiority/inferiority of one or the other.

It's just simple, unadorned fact, and our society has a hard time grappling with that.

Isn't the whole point of American Liberty live & let live? Isn't the whole point of self determination to determine, for oneself, what is and isn't prudent? Isn't it embedded in our founding the idea that one-size-fits-all simply doesn't work?

Isn't the whole idea of enforcing one's beliefs onto another entirely repugnant to our ethos?

 

[Brian Williams]

Not since I found my self looking out of the bottom of a bottle after waking up totally drunk and laying in my own puke.

 

[spankaveli]

I don't drink and it has absolutely nothing to do with my carrying.

 

[sm]

Personal Responsibilty

THR and Sister Sites are about Personal Responsibility.

Firearms and the use of Firearms are just one aspect of a person's life.
It does not matter if they are a member of THR, if said member is Pro gun, Sitting on Fence about Firearms, or a Anti.

Yes, We have members and non-members alike that read THR, from all over the world.

So remember when you post, you are an Ambassador Globally.
What ever you believe in, and you post, you are essentially a Global Ambassador.

Personal Responsibility.
This includes being brutally honest with yourself, about anything.

Drinking and guns, cars, taking care of kids, elderly persons under your charge, using power tools, being around the kitchen stove, outdoor BBQ Grill, campfire, flying an airplane, ...

I mean if the kids are playing out back, one falls down, and gets a nasty cut and needs to go to ER for stitches, are you too drunk, high, or both to see that kid gets medical attention?

Did you/ Do you take prudent steps such as you are going to drink, wife is not, so someone can drive to ER.

Just you, the kid, and are you going to be responsible and be honest to call someone else and ask them to drive you and the kid to ER?

Or will you get behind the wheel, with a scared to death kid, hurt, crying, and endanger not only the kid, others on the road, not to mention yourself getting to the ER?

Firearms are just tool in the toolbox.
Personal Responsibility applies to more than just Firearms as well.

So one needs to get down and brutally honest about alcohol, prescription medicines, Over the counter medicines (OTC) ,and illicit drugs and take personal responsibility for consequences.

I don't care if they are members of THR,or not.
I don't care if they are Pro-gun Fence Sitters, or Anti-Gun.
I don't care if they are in the USA, or any Country in the world.

If someone is questioning anything that can be defined as Addictive Behavior, be it Alcohol, Drugs (Rx, OTC, illegal), Gambling, Sex, Smoking, for example.

1. They need to look inside themselves for the answers, being brutally honest.

This applies to those that are seeking justifications of behaviors they do.

I don't care if it is someone From a Anti Gun Group that is skewing and manipulating statistics about firearms , firearm owners and any personal choices they make about anything - from having a glass of wine with dinner, to taking a Rx pain med due to Arthritis, Recovering from Surgery, to easing pain dying of cancer.

Personally,
Polls like this make me suspicious as to why they are posted.

-Does the person have a personal problem and is seeking answers and justification of behaviors.

-Someone else's behaviors makes their life unmanageable and again, seeking answers.

-Rabid Anti Group just looking to trip up folks and get more statistics to hurt Pro-Gun.

The answers are inside of folks, these answers come from within.

Not from any outside source, including a Internet Poll.

 

[glockman19]

I Drink socially. Never before or durring shooting only after a range day or hunt. I'm not and never have been a big drinker.

"There's nothing like an ice cold beer on a very hot day"

 

[kermit315]

i have never drank and never will. not because i think it is evil, but my father was a mean drunk and i dont want to take the chance that alcoholism is an inherited trait and do something i would regret, so i dont tempt the devil so to speak.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Carrie Nation would be proud.

Actually, Carrie Nation was one of those who think humans are totally depraved and must be ruled by the "better sort" -- such as herself. She would never subscribe to SM's point that "THR and Sister Sites are about Personal Responsibility."

 

[bsf]

I did not drink for ~5 years after becoming more interested in firearms and their practical use in regards to self-defense. Now, though, I occasionally have the equivalent of 1 beer. Once in a blue moon I will have two. Outside my home I may have maybe 2 beers over a year. I have no problem with responsible people handling guns after/while drinking as long as the drinking is minimal. I think laws are too restrictive in regards to mixing alcohol and firearms, as are most people’s expectations. As others have already mentioned, drinking a beer should not strip you of your right to effective self defense, and I do not believe drinking in moderation in and of itself precludes a person from affecting a successful self-defense.

 

[eric.cartman]

Sure I drink, almost every day actually
Yes, I like few cold beers after a hard day at work.
And no, I'm not going to worry if I shoot a home intruder, even if i'm drunk.

Now, that doesn't mean I go out packing straight into a bar. Although on vew ocasions, I did have a beer with my dinner or a glass of wine, and yes, I was packing at the same time. My rule: if i can't legally drive, i don't carry. One beer or glass of wine is not enough to disarm me

Flame away abstinents, flame away!

 

[MrDig]

The Average American consumes a certain amount of Alcohol during the course of a Lifetime. I already drank my share and helped a few others to meet their quota. I don't drink and haven't now for 18+ years.
Does that mean I think that others should not drink? No certainly not. I think that if you are not like me (an alcoholic) you should have the freedom of choice to drink or not drink.
I also think that alcohol and guns don't mix, as a point of fact there was a long period of time where I had no guns in the house due to my drinking. After I sobered up and it finally stuck I realized I liked hunting and shooting sports and I missed them. So I started hunting and shooting again. Today Hunting and shooting without Alcohol are more involved with my lifestyle choices than anything else. I just don't drink, and don't hunt or fish with anybody who does, since my hunting and fishing buddies are all from my AA Club.
I believe statistically you are more likely to have an accident hunting or shooting if Alcohol is in you system, but that is the same for any other activity you participate in if alcohol is in your system. The problem is that hunting or shooting with alcohol is more likely to be fatal than say Fly tying or Cribbage.

 

[ArmedBear]

Do you take prudent steps such as you are going to drink, wife is not, so someone can drive to ER.

According to this, I can drive to the ER after 3 beers.



I would NEVER actually do that. But I figure that having one drink with dinner is sufficiently prudent.

"A drink" is not the same as "dead drunk," and "dead drunk" is not the same as "a couple of drinks." People on both extremes of opinion seem to forget this.

 

[Prince Yamato]

Vodka and 7-up or Vodka and Orangina when with friends. Beer and Pizza. Not often, but when I really need to unwind, the drink relaxes me .

 

[Prince Yamato]

However, most of it was along the lines of having just enough alcohol in your system to lower your heart rate and steady your hand.

"Take a shot of whiskey, it'll calm your nerves". Same deal. I personally can't stand how prude people are when it comes to alcohol. It's not a magic potion. Europeans drink far more than we do and have no where NEAR the problems we do with it.

 

[fletcher]

^ Alcohol problems, like with crime/guns, are heavily dependent on culture.

 

[ArmedBear]

Alcohol problems, like with crime/guns, are heavily dependent on culture.

We create our culture, a little bit each moment.

 

[SteelyNirvana]

I wonder why this question keeps popping up here on THR. But here is my add on.

I did my share of drinking/dope smoking when I was a teen. Now that I'm in my mid-20's I only drink. I can't drink beer, I can have one and it gives me a severe hangover. I seldom ever get one with liquor. So I have a few Gin & Tonics just about every weekend or so. Sometimes there is 2 or more weekends I don't drink anything at all. Sometimes I get on a kick and drink a whole 1/5th of Gin in one night, but when I do that I usually don't drink anything else for about a month or so. I only drink on a Friday or Saturday night.

So yeah, I like to relax and have fun on the weekend's sometimes. I work all week and feel like I should be able to get get buzzed as much or as little as I want to. I don't handle my gun's if I have had even one drink, period and that is the most important thing IMO. If I ever had to be in a HD situation I think the adrenaline rush would kill whatever fun I was having. With that being said why does this question keep popping up on here?? As long as no one is being a dumb-ass and playing with there guns when they have been drinking I don't see why this question is important.

 

[inherentical]

I drink when I feel like it. On occasion I've been known to drink to excess.

I don't make a habit of it, and it's not my lifestyle.

Past that, anything I have to say wanders into opinion, and everyone has one.

 

[Justin]

Actually, Carrie Nation was one of those who think humans are totally depraved and must be ruled by the "better sort" -- such as herself.

Which is pretty funny, given she was an obese busybody with severe impulse control issues.

 

[geekWithA.45]

Europeans drink far more than we do and have no where NEAR the problems we do with it.

Yeah, they do.

They just consider it a private matter, rather than a topic of public policy, unless it's out of control rampant, as in Russia and some parts of Scandinavia.

I also note that the impairment chart ArmedBear shows us has some ideologically motivated additions since the charts they had when I was young. Back then, they weren't in such a hurry to assert Zero as the only safe condition, or that impairment was present at 1 drink.