April 28, 2014, 04:58 PM | #1 |
Senior Member
Join Date: February 23, 2013
Location: Central Iowa
Posts: 720
|
Do you guys drink?
I was thinking about this the other day when I had a beer (at home) after work.
How many of you have a drink at home? If/when you do, have you just decided that you won't use your firearm for the next several hours? As I understand it, if you pull the trigger with alcohol in your system, you're done. So do you just run the risk of essentially being unarmed for a period of time or do you just never drink? I understand if people are hesitant to discuss this. |
April 28, 2014, 05:13 PM | #2 |
Senior Member
Join Date: February 13, 2014
Location: Grapevine TX
Posts: 378
|
Yep
I drink at home... And my Firestorm .40 is nearby. It's my home. If anything happens, I can't help that. Years ago I learned how not to drink too much. If I crossed that line, I would put it away or have someone in my house take over, or put it away. My one kid left at home is 19, and shoots with me.
|
April 28, 2014, 05:26 PM | #3 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: July 29, 2010
Location: The ATL (OTP)
Posts: 3,942
|
Quote:
I personally made a decision to stop drinking several years back for a number of reasons and have never really regretted it. It is nice to have one less issue to worry with when you consider self defense, driving, and really any number of issues. However, there is no reason a person cannot drink responsibly as long as they set proper boundaries.
__________________
A major source of objection to a free economy is precisely that it ... gives people what they want instead of what a particular group thinks they ought to want. Underlying most arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. - Milton Friedman |
|
April 28, 2014, 05:41 PM | #4 |
Senior Member
Join Date: April 2, 2014
Posts: 155
|
O, I quit when I started to cc and find I enjoy not drinking too. I indulged to much when a your man . I grew up when the legal age was lowered to 18 back in '72/73 . Still visit some restaurant that serve for a nice dinner and bars but for the something lighter or a game of pool. Fun to watch the drunks too instead of being one of them.
|
April 28, 2014, 05:58 PM | #5 |
Senior Member
Join Date: March 30, 2014
Location: It changes.....a lot.
Posts: 356
|
I drank some beer when I was much younger along with my friends.
Now, I don't drink at all.....unless it's a special occasion and there's others involved. Even then, only until I get a buzz on and that's it. Once in a great while, the wife and I will buy a pizza, and we'll have a beer with it. If you drink at home and you are somewhat intoxicated (or not), and someone breaks in or attacks you in your home, you're not necessarily done. It will be a matter of fact that will be considered, but it doesn't mean that you are going to jail. |
April 28, 2014, 05:59 PM | #6 |
Junior member
Join Date: July 29, 2013
Location: Gardnerville, NV
Posts: 569
|
Lol, I just opened a beer. But the firearms are all put away, except for the rifle in pieces on the dining room table (waiting on a new trigger).
That said, I don't carry so no worries there. But...as a general rule if I am planning on going out to shoot to compete with friends or for group or just to improve my skills--NO ALCOHOL, SUGAR OR CAFFINE at LEAST 24hrs before. |
April 28, 2014, 06:01 PM | #7 |
Senior Member
Join Date: September 21, 2010
Location: az
Posts: 1,332
|
Having a drink at home will not prevent me from defending myself or my family in the event of a home invasion, if that is what you're asking.
My fear or paranoia about break-ins is also not so great that it occupies my thoughts or controls my everyday life and behavior though either.
__________________
"When there’s lead in the air, there’s hope in the heart”- Hunter’s Proverb "Feed me, or feed me to something. I just want to be part of the food chain." -Al Bundy |
April 28, 2014, 07:04 PM | #8 |
Junior member
Join Date: June 30, 2010
Location: Alamo City
Posts: 356
|
I'm drinking right now and my loaded shotgun is 8 feet away. I wouldn't hesitate to use it it someone broke in intending me harm and I wouldn't worry one bit regarding legal issues. I live in Texas... other states differ in their laws and values.
|
April 28, 2014, 07:09 PM | #9 |
Member
Join Date: March 18, 2012
Location: Penna◇VIGILANT CURMUDGEON
Posts: 79
|
After work I can have a few.. If someone ( Vickie) drives Home.
After all,I am a Dean Martin sound -alike / Tribute Showman...... Gotta play the part accurately. If Tequilla & Gin wre the only liquors ; I would be Temperate!!
__________________
FNH Scar 17 s --Black ; cause it goes so well with my formal wear, for those special occasions. Customized Mini 14 ,& ATI stock and a 3.5 lb.-- Pittsburgh trigger. / SIG P227 / Colt Python 8 in.Nickel / Colt Gold Cup N.M. ; Voere * KDF in .270 ; N. frame S&W revolvers; and TC Contender in 41 Magnum . |
April 28, 2014, 07:12 PM | #10 | |
Staff
Join Date: July 28, 2010
Location: Arkansas
Posts: 8,815
|
It's not as cut-and-dried as this:
Quote:
__________________
I'm a lawyer, but I'm not your lawyer. If you need some honest-to-goodness legal advice, go buy some. |
|
April 28, 2014, 07:12 PM | #11 |
Senior Member
Join Date: February 16, 2006
Location: IOWA
Posts: 8,783
|
Cheers !!!
You are not talking about having a drink but doing some Liberty-Style drinking. I do have an occasional drink and don't worry much about it. Other times, I know when I've had too much and make adjustments. My wife also keeps count. .....
Her only fault is that she keep putting the toilet seat down ..... Be Smart and; Be Safe !!!
__________________
'Fundamental truths' are easy to recognize because they are verified daily through simple observation and thus, require no testing. |
April 28, 2014, 07:28 PM | #12 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: February 23, 2013
Location: Central Iowa
Posts: 720
|
Quote:
|
|
April 28, 2014, 07:28 PM | #13 |
Senior Member
Join Date: January 27, 2013
Posts: 988
|
Either myself for my wife are always sober, so I don't ever really
worry about it as she has her gun as well.
__________________
Semper Fi Marine, NRA member, SAF Defender's Club member, and constitutionally protected keeper and bearer of firearms |
April 28, 2014, 07:38 PM | #14 |
Senior Member
Join Date: September 6, 2012
Location: Lakewood, CO
Posts: 1,057
|
Nope
I already drank my share, I quit in 2004. Except for the occasional flu induced shot of Nyquil.
Firearms has had nothing to do with my decision to quit, I guess I can sum it up with; "I used to drink every day, now I only think about drinking every day." When I did drink at home, I still had a firearm loaded and somewhat handy, for the remote chance I needed one.
__________________
NRA Lifetime Member Since 1999 "I ask, sir, what is the militia? It is the whole people except for a few public officials." George Mason |
April 28, 2014, 08:28 PM | #15 |
Senior Member
Join Date: December 28, 2006
Posts: 4,341
|
I don't drink when I CWC, OC or hunt. But I will enjoy a drink or two while at home. Someone breaks into my house, I will do what's needed to protect me and my loved ones. Simple as that.
|
April 28, 2014, 08:57 PM | #16 |
Senior Member
Join Date: June 18, 2009
Location: NorthWest USA
Posts: 1,996
|
At home, sure. I've always been fortunate in handling alcohol, I know when to stop and if I do go too far, well tomorrow's hangover reminds me. These days I often go weeks without a drink then may have a couple one night. And a hot day outside, sure a beer hits the spot. I've never had my blood alcohol level tested but I doubt I ever reach the legal intoxicated level.
Interesting topic and one I never gave much thought to. No doubt it would be good to have a large tumbler of water between drinks to hold down consumption and do anything to limit the number of drinks in an evening. |
April 28, 2014, 09:10 PM | #17 |
Senior Member
Join Date: December 5, 2012
Location: Lexington, NC
Posts: 102
|
I love beer. It makes me a jolly good fellow.....
I would never carry outside my home with alcohol in my system. But, inside my castle, if I have a beer (or 2) and someone decides to invade,I would not hesitate to defend my family. |
April 29, 2014, 12:03 AM | #18 |
Senior Member
Join Date: August 31, 2009
Location: New Mexico
Posts: 1,033
|
I never drink while carrying, shooting, or at a gun show, or handling guns, or coming to or going away from any of these events. At home we have a glass of wine out on the deck most evenings at sunset but it's one small glass right before dinner. I guess I just don't enjoy getting snockered, never have.
I think it was Aristotle who said, All things in moderation. Good advice I've found. If I just HAD to use a firearm to defend my home or family, a glass of wine would be my least concern. |
April 29, 2014, 04:19 AM | #19 |
Senior Member
Join Date: April 27, 2014
Location: Texas, ya'll
Posts: 166
|
There are those people who are belligerent drunks and those who are mellow drunks -- I fall into the latter category. I have no problem with carrying while I am drinking, whether it is at home or away from home. Not that I do much drinking away from home -- maybe a pitcher of beer with a meal, but not enough to actually get me drunk. Have ya'll noticed how the pitchers for beer have shrunk over the years? Used to be a pitcher was large enough for 3 or 4 guys when they were out having pizza. These days, the pitchers are "single serving containers".
These days, people are just too uptight about drinking, probably thanks to the that neo-prohibitionist group "MADD". I can remember when it was perfectly socially acceptable to go to the local unofficial dump and make a day of drinking beer and shooting tin cans. If drinking and shooting was so dangerous, why did we never have an AD and why did no one ever get accidentally shot? Of course, back then, it was perfectly acceptable to grab a beer and drink it while stuck in the traffic jam on the way home after work. We had a lot less road rage back then. These days, the drivers are all hyped up on caffeine (Starbucks or "energy" drinks) and they only need the slightest thing to set them off. Back then, if someone wanted to cut in front of us, we would just let them go and keep sipping on our beer.
__________________
When you fill out your income tax forms at the end of the year, look and see how much money you have given the government throughout the year. Then, take a moment to ponder -- has the government done $X worth of stuff FOR you or TO you this year? I tend to believe the latter... https://sites.google.com/site/navyvet1959 |
April 29, 2014, 05:25 AM | #20 |
Senior Member
Join Date: October 14, 2009
Location: Sunshine and Keystone States
Posts: 4,461
|
No, never. It's more of a morality decision for me, also I've never had a problem swimming against the tide. The firearms issue also seems like a pretty good reason to quit, along with a plethora of other good reasons.
|
April 29, 2014, 06:29 AM | #21 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: January 8, 2006
Location: Eastern, TN
Posts: 1,236
|
Ruger480 wrote;
Quote:
__________________
WITHOUT Freedom of Thought, there can be no such Thing as Wisdom; and no such Thing as public Liberty, without Freedom of Speech. Silence Dogood Does not morality imply the last clear chance? - WildAlaska - |
|
April 29, 2014, 06:39 AM | #22 |
Senior Member
Join Date: December 11, 2008
Location: Upper Michigan, above the Mackinac Bridge
Posts: 568
|
Truth be told
A few years back I participated in a training seminar for new officers. I was in the group who were to be drinkers so they could monitor our blood alcohol content and then run us through sobriety tests to see how it affected people. There were 20 of us subjects. It was really quite interesting how it affects the human body and even if you "master" the tests, there are certain things that you have no control over that tip you off. However, the thing that I took away from this exercise was that it takes actually quite a bit for you to reach the limit of .08 in my state. When you start feeling the "buzz", you are actually no where near that BAC. The buzz that you feel is actually your brain telling you to stop doing what you are doing because you are "on the way" to getting there. If you keep drinking, your brain shuts down and you have the sensation of "drinking yourself sober." Now, does that mean that you can drink when you are carrying? Absolutely not. But, it's not just the amount that you consume, it's the time in which you consume it as well. One beer, one shot, or one glass of wine per hour in your own home should not be a problem. Your body metabolizes that much in that time. At least that is what the instructors taught the class that I got to be a part of. I'm not a lawyer so you need to do your own research. But, given my knowledge and experience, that is my data set.
|
April 29, 2014, 07:15 AM | #23 |
Senior Member
Join Date: September 1, 2012
Location: Ohio
Posts: 284
|
Rarely use alcohol now. Will occasionally have a drink or two but only on rare or special occasions and never when away from home. Never when carrying concealed. Many of our major urban centers are very dangerous places right now. It's far better and safer to have one's senses operating at 100% than diminished by alcohol.
|
April 29, 2014, 07:31 AM | #24 |
Senior Member
Join Date: November 20, 2008
Posts: 11,131
|
If someone shoots an intruder and they've had a couple of glasses of wine (or equivalent), explain to me how alcohol would be a factor. The police cannot demand a blood test or breathalizer test any more than they can beat you to make you talk to them. Don't forget, this is an incident at a residence - the rules that apply on the government owned roads don't apply inside your house.
Just point the police in the direction of the person who was shot and then tell them you want to speak with an attorney. Obviously, I'm talking about someone who just had a beer or two, a couple glasses of wine, or something with one shot of liquor in it. Falling down drunk - lots of luck! Last edited by Skans; April 29, 2014 at 07:37 AM. |
April 29, 2014, 08:35 AM | #25 |
Senior Member
Join Date: January 24, 2013
Location: NC
Posts: 545
|
I quit drinking 25 years ago, never attended any meetings, just quit.
Not saying this about anyone but me: I was a different person when I drank. I was happy with my friends and unhappy with my family, strange way to be, but that was me. I would say it's not cut and dry. |
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
|
|