Drinking while carrying?

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Gameface

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Question is…

I carry at home. I live in California temporarily so I do not have CCW. I also drink on occasion.

When the cap comes off the first beer the guns get locked up. I also put the car keys up. A lot of people play games with terms like “buzzing†but I only have two categories, no drinks, or drinking. I’m not comfortable handling guns if I’ve had anything to drink. That doesn’t mean that my family and I are out of danger once I’ve decided to have a few drinks, so what do I do if I’ve been drinking and something happens? Should I go to my guns and hope that my training and experience are enough to overcome alcohol? Can I really know my target if I’m under the influence, just a little? Should I even think about it?

What do you do?

Gameface
 
I do not drink and carry at all.

If Im at home, the carry gun goes into the safe but the home defense guns stay right were they are. That way should something go down at least the wife can defend the homestead.;)

Matter in fact, since I have been back from Korea (June 03), I have only had 4 beers. Guess the remote tour took a lot out of my drinking habits.

I feel that if your gonna commit to take steps to defend yourself and your family then thats more important than a drink of alcoholic beverage.
 
One of my criteria for a serious inner group of friends is if I trust them enough to be around them while drinking (and armed).

(do not read meanings into this that are not stated explicitly above)
 
I carry because I might have to use -- and using while intoxicated is a losing proposition -- both legally and interms of diminished ability to carry out precision tasks with speed.
 
The answer is simple. Deadly force does not mix with mind altering mood affecting chemicals of any kind, unless your goal is to become a statistic.
 
I agree, I just feel like I’m putting my family second when I have even a few beers. Like I said before, when I have the first drink the guns get locked up and the car keys get put up. I have a policy that my wife be familiar with every gun in the house, something I got from my dad. My son is 3, but when I decide he’s ready he’ll be able to use every gun in the house too. I don’t drink to the point of inebriation, but like I said, I don’t’ split hairs. If I’ve had one then all my practice and investment in arms goes into the locker. My question is that in the event of a very clear attack on my family, should I open the locker and use my “best†judgment under the circumstances? Should I play victim? Does drinking amount to surrendering our arms?

Gameface
 
Carrying while drinking?

No need to carry a gun while drinking. After a few drinks you will be bullet proof. ;)

I am a recovering alcoholic (haven't a drink since Nov 2, 2003) Spent the last 20 years empting glass after glass of Jack Daniels. I did not carry a gun during this time. My guns stayed in the safe. Since I've been sober I've started shooting again and got my carry permit. "I only had a few" is as lame an excuse to use around guns as it is around driving.

Guns or alcohol, pick one and put the other away.
gmonroe
 
I just don't drink.


I was invited to go shooting with a fellow and his friends once and I was just about to say yes when the guy got out the photos of another trip of theirs.

In just about every photo someone was handling a beer can. Or there were cans sitting on the tailgate etc.

I said I didn't have the time. Should have told him straight up, but I had to work with him...
 
Guns and alcohol don't mix.

However, if on one of those occasions that I've had a beer or Bloody Mary, someone attacked my family, I don't think I'd hesitate to use as much force as necessary to stop the attack.

It's hard to advise on this subject. I basically gave up drinking when I got my CPL. I think I've had 4 beers in the last 2 years.

If you ever do have to shoot someone, your chances in court are going to be a lot better if your blood alcohol is 0.00.
 
When I have a drink out, the gun gets locked up in the back of the truck, beforehand, as the law dictates. If I have a drink at home, nothing changes with the position of the defensive firearms.
 
If I'm having a couple of beers, not getting hammered, but just a couple, I keep my carry gun available. When I have a few beers I don't lock up my steak knives, chain saw or other potentially dangerous items, so why should I lock up the gun?

If I'm going to the range I will NOT consume any alcohol before the shoot.

I look at it this way. I wouldn't drink and drive, but I wouldn't hesitate to use my car after a few cold ones if a family member needed to be rushed to the hospital. If I have a couple of drinks and someone invades my home and threatens my family, I'm going to be sure I have the means to end that threat.

Gun ownership shouldn't mean the end of enjoying a few beers.

I'm just being honest. I wonder if everyone else is.;)
 
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Well Done, Dallas Jack!:) I have been sober since 1 Aug 2000. When I drank, I often shot trap or informal pistol shooting after a few beers. Just like some of the things I did driving back then, I look back on it now and realize how foolish I was, and also how lucky. I find it interesting that shortly before I went sober, I had virtually lost interest in my firearms and hunting.:eek: Since I quit, I have a renewed interest in shooting, and even have started a collection!(Mosin Nagant rifles. BewareMosincollecting.png ;) ) I have even found a part-time job as a gunsmith, something I never would have persued while drinking. (It's a second job. Would have cut into my drinking time, yaknow!)
Alcohol and firearms only mix well in Federal Bureaus, I think!;)
 
Dallas Jack and entropy...Salute!!

Keep up the good work!

I quit the boozing on Feb. 4th 1992 after 20 years of hard drinking.
When I got down into a bottle of tequila guns were the last thing on my mind and, if someone had broke into my house and killed me I would have welcomed them with open arms.

I retained enough sense back then to pack up the few guns I had and store them at my folks house, not for any safety reason but because I probably would have ended up selling them for more booze.

Today, I have those guns and many more back in my safe.

If you don't have a problem with alcohol you shouldn't have to worry about your guns if you decide to kick back and have a few. If you have to question your judgement then the safe thing to do would be to put the guns away.
 
Texas CHL law prohibits carrying a concealed weapon "while intoxicated" and it also prohibits carry in places that do 51% or more of their business in the sale of alcohol for on-premesis consumption.

The CHL law doesn't explicitly set forth a legal limit for blood alcohol as does motor vehicle law, nor does it have an "implied consent" provision, mandating submission to a blood alcohol test. Some opine that the 0.08 limit of motor vehicle law could reasonably be assumed to apply, while others claim that a single drink would be "intoxicating." I don't know if there's any existing case law on this.

Notwithstanding the law, getting drunk - or even tipsy - while using or carrying a gun - whether carrying concealed, target shooting, or hunting - is, IMHO, a really, really, bad idea.
 
After the judges ruling a couple weeks ago, I carried my firearm to a freinds BBQ, and had a couple beers there. That is the first time I have ever drank while carrying, it'll probably be the last. I'm not a huge fan of drinking anyhow so it isn't a big deal for me, but I knew that it was the only time I would do something like that, it's out of my system now. :)

Of course I wouldn't carried if i'd planned on drinking anything more then a few beers, I'm just not interested in facing the consequences of shooting one of my family while drunk.
 
If you think it's perfectly okay to drink and shoot, imagine being in these people's position, caught on video, allowing an unattended three-year old to pick up an unattended gun. Fortunately they appeared to have followed at least ONE safety rule and the gun was unloaded.

http://thehighroad.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=93786

This was an absolutely GREAT moment in shooting, brought to you and the rest of the country courtesy of NBC TV.

PS: The video clips I saw did not show any drinking but the person who took the video made a point of saying that the couple was drinking beer.
 
I hardly ever drink, but my rule of thumb is: if I'm going to have more than 2 drinks, the gun gets put in the safe.

I usually only have 1 drink anyway.
 
Real simple ...
I carry a gun whenever I go out. So I don't drink when I go out.
I carry a gun at home (or have one available nearby if it isn't on my body). So I don't drink at home.

I never found drinking to be all that enjoyable anyhow. Sleeping is a much better way for me to lose touch with my surroundings. And I feel much better afterwards.
 
Here in Misery, if you're carrying a loaded firearm and intoxicated (and there is no level of intoxicated specified), it's a felony. If you're carrying an unloaded firearm, it's a misdemeanor...

So...

If you are gonna go out and get _moderately_ stupid, and feel like you need to carry, stick the mag in the other pocket - that way if someone drives his four-wheeler through the front window of Bubba's Country Bunker and commences to cappin' the patrons, you can shoot back. If you get tagged with it, it's a misdemeanor.

Of course, if you're planning on getting REALLY stupid, don't go to bad neigbhorhoods, and call a taxi. And leave the boomstick at home.
 
I came to the conclusion years ago that ingesting any mind-altering substance at all was a waste.

After I came to that conclusion, I swore off, so the issue raised does not apply.

I urge anyone reading to consider the wasted time, money, and life involved in using mind-altering substances of any sort.

Sermon over.:D
 
I am a professional drinker-I know when to stop. I do drive and drink and I do shoot and drink.

I sip beer more than drinking it, sometimes 1 beer will last me one hour.
 
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