We all know guns and alcohol do not mix. But if you’ve ever wondered exactly how drinking and being drunk might affect your shooting skills, now you have a sort-of answer. This video from Polenar Tactical isn’t going to answer precisely how alcohol works on you at your size, tolerance, and skill level but it does give you an idea of what alcohol does to a shooter.
For safety’s sake, airsoft guns were used for this experiment.
The Experiment
Some thought did go into just how to get this experiment done. In order to make it as accurate as possible the guys at Polenar Tactical used these testing measures:
- Sober shooting as a control test
- Shooting tests after each drink or drinks
- Breathalyzer prior to shooting
- Testing for hand and eye coordination and balance
- Precision shooting (ten shots at ten meters)
- Dynamic shooting (Shooting from four different positions on 8 targets)
How it Progressed
At first, the one beer plus one Jagermeister shot combination didn’t seem to have much of an effect, which was reflected by how low his number was on his first Breathalyzer blow. His shooting remained perfectly fine.
By the time his Breathalyzer reading began to climb, his balance and hand-eye coordination testing were going downhill but his shooting remained almost unchanged. Did his shooting ever suffer? To find out how the experiment ended you’ll have to watch the entire video.
It would be interesting to see how the shooting of an inexperienced shooter would fare in a similar situation.
The Science in Drinking
According to the University of Notre Dame:
The number of drinks consumed is a very poor measure of intoxication largely because of variation in physiology and individual alcohol tolerance.
Variation exists with respect to:
- •Body weight
- •Sex
- •Body fat percentage, even between genders
Neither BAC [Blood Alcohol Content] nor the number of drinks consumed are necessarily accurate indicators of the level of impairment. Tolerance to alcohol also varies from one person to another and can be affected by such factors as genetics, adaptation to chronic alcohol use, and synergistic effects of drugs.
Guns and Alcohol — The Law
Here’s the thing. In most places, it’s illegal to have a firearm in your possession while you’re drunk. The exact definition of “drunk” depends on the location. It is technically within the law in some states to have a gun on you while you’re drinking as long as you are on your own property. But, you need to remember that if a self-defense situation were to occur while you are drunk, the prosecution is going to use the fact that you were drinking against you. It’s something to definitely keep in mind.
As always, you need to know the laws regarding guns and alcohol in your area.
