What are the best foods to eat before you shoot.

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Excellent question with a few good answers. I've often wondered what helps and what defintely does'nt help steady a shooters aim. Some people it matters alot, others can eat anything. Exrecise , getting your heart, respratory rate going, is important. Does the US Palma Team, US Shooting Team, NRA have anything to recommend?
 
And no disrespect to the question.

If someone shoots in competition, and wants to stay away from caffeine and that, this is very sensible to pursue a certain diet.

I might add, that maybe some of those supplements that are supposed to stimulate mental focus might even be helpful. I don't know their names though.
 
Whatever happened to...

"I can outdrink, outride, outeat, outshoot....etc?"
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Im right here. I guess i still got you guys beat. Never did matter to me. I can eat whatever. or nothing. Take yesterday friday we had pizza for dinner. Just a quick friday meal. Well saturday i had to go to work. I was out of the house at 3am. I had one cup of coffee at 3am. By 10am i was on my way home. When we got home i loaded up the car. Then we left on to the range. Somewhere around 2pm i believe i sent my son over to the hot dog stand and we chowed down on those jumbo hot dogs. Then back to shooting. Other times though it really dosent matter to me. I have gone to the ranges like this barely eating. Or other times just stopped off at the burger place and picked something up. As for drinks dosent matter to me. I was really tired by the time i got home last night from the range. However i was still hitting everything i was aiming at.
 
Big ole bowl of plain cheerios for me, no coffee or energy drink seems to be my best approach but I am in no way a competetive shooter.
 
Hey Scrat! Well met. I've always been able to eat and drink just about anything. I drink all the coffee I want and it doesn't affect me, not one bit, not one bit, not one bit, not one bit...:p
 
Saul Kirsch's excellent book, Thinking Practical Shooting, has a section on diet. Read it!

On training days, I try to stay hydrated, but do nothing special otherwise.

On match days, I generally have a larger breakfast than normal, then skip lunch. Instead, I take some sugar-free yogurt, gorp*, or Clif bars, and munch on those throughout the day. Also, plenty of water.

* - Gorp. One part salted peanuts, one part raisins, one part plain M&Ms. The greatest energy food ever invented.

- Chris
 
Chris, It looks like we are on the same page.

I always buy one new thing to take to Perry every year. This year I bought a Camelbak. It's the best piece of equipment I own. I drank more water daily with the pack than without. I've also discovered the tuna and chicken salad kits for lunch while pulling targets.

Good Ole Rasions and Peanuts.
 
I just dont get it. i mean maybe its because im not malnurished nor was i raised that way. However when i go shooting its not like i need a lot of physical energy to pull a trigger or hold a gun steady. I guess maybe i need to write a book on how what you eat before shooting doesnt do diddly squat. I have had a good cup of coffee while shooting i have ate whatever. If you want to sit be hind me after eating 3 bowls of chilli beans thats your problem. You know when you pull the trigger and screw up. Same time you know when you pull the trigger and hit dead on target. These are not things i need a massive amount of carbohydrates for. i need to be able to hold a gun steady take aim and fire. Its not rocket science. Man figured out how to shoot a gun for a few hundred years now. eating has never been a problem.

So what your saying. If the Government read this book and made the soldiers eat better in Vietnam our casualty rate would have been a lot better.


I doubt it. its practice, practice practice practice. then when the adrenaline kicks in the practicing pays off.
 
same as always.... good complex carbs, lots of fiber, and lots of protein. Get it however you want.

who mentioned Propranolol? Why would you need a beta blocker for shooting?
 
I'm new to shooting, but I've done a lot of performing as a soloist. I have found that coffee and sugar are very bad for mental poise.

Alcohol is out of the question, but maybe those posts were merely jokes.

I find that eating food made from scratch, free of chemical additives helps. Commercially prepared food has a lot of toxins in it.

I also don't eat grains, except occasionally teff, and not much of it.

Meat, vegetables, organic dairy, maybe some non-acidic fruit. I also eat seaweed. Strengthens the immune system and is full of minerals, which strengthen the nervous system, too.

I eat a high alkaline/low acid diet and find it helps my mental clarity.

Some people like to take supplements, too. Vitamin B is good for the nerves. So is magnesium.

As has been mentioned, what one eats directly before shooting depends on how one lives the rest of the time, as well.

All the best to you!
 
Absolutely no caffeine or other stimulants. Bananas are known to calm the nerves/shakes. Small doses of Beta blockers also help to even out adrenaline bursts which prevent shakes.
 
I think any drink with caffeine in should be avoided. And foods with high sugar content should be at a minimum. If I drink a soda and have a donut before I shoot, I`ll have serious heartburn.
The best thing to drink in my opinion while shooting is just plain water. The rest is crap.
I don`t think it is a very good idea to eat while shooting. Eat something healthy like fruit or nuts before you shoot, and wash your hands after shooting.
 
+1 on Bananas

On hot days, if you are drinking lots of water you run the risk of depleting your potassium level. This causes involuntary muscle spasms. Ask me how I know! It happened to me yesterday. Eating a banana resolved the problem almost instantly. I had been snacking on trail mix bars, but nothing salty, before experiencing the muscle spasm. GORP gets a +1 also.
 
Thank You guys for all the post, I thought this was a very interesting subject. People forget how important this can be to be a top shooter. I eat a balanced meal just before I go to the range. I am lean on the suger and high on the protien side. I drink distilled water and watch my sodium. Omega 3's are most important. Keep eating right and never shoot on a empty stomach.
John
 
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Like every other "BEST" it all depends.

It depends on glucose tolerance.
It depends on your allergies.
It depends on lactose intolerance.
It depends on how fat you are or are not.
It depends on your physical conditioning.
It depends on how much sleep you got last night.
It depends on how good or bad the traffic was on the way to the range.

It depends.

For me, Gator-aid (mixed half strength) and salted peanuts work wonders. For some others I know, that doesn't work.

It depends.
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Wait, im lost. It does what? I don't get it.... Whats this depends you speak of. Im a simple man and do not posess an engineering degree. How do you know these new fangled things.
 
Peanut butter crackers or protein bar, whatever kind is on sale at the time, and a glass of vanilla soy milk. Yes couple cups coffee enroute, and raisins or dried fruit and another protein bar in the fanny pack. Sometimes if I'm camping, I'll have instant oatmeal with peanutbutter and raisins in it, soy milk, coffee and off to the hunt.
 
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