Do you drink while you hunt?

Rackmastr · #1 03-09-2009, 03:06 PM

Hey Guys,

I hope this doesnt turn into a brawl, so lets try and keep things civil and realize that people do things differently from one another. Feel free to post your comments but respect others choices....

Do you drink alcoholic beverages while you hunt? You can select as many choices as you'd like.

Sorry that I couldnt add more choices but think this covered the bases well enough.

Cowtown guy · #2 03-09-2009, 03:12 PM

No, No, No. Now if it is after hours back in camp, that is a different story. I however still don't drink to excess after hours either. I have never understood why some people drink to the point of a hangover and then tell everyone they are as sharp as the next guy the following day. I believe that although not drunk the next day, your reflexes and such are not as sharp. I am there to hunt. I can get hammered at home.

TheClash · #3 03-09-2009, 03:14 PM

i don't drink anyways, but i do not think firearms and booze mix..even if it just a beer with lunch. that being said...what people choose to do back at camp after the guns are put away is their decison.....but before or during is a no go for me.

dmckay · #4 03-09-2009, 03:19 PM

Personally, I wouldn't touch a firearm if I'd been drinking. As for after the hunt is over and all the guns are put away.....have at er. Not me though......just can't handle the hangovers being up early in the morning.

Albertadiver · #5 03-09-2009, 03:21 PM

I believe that before you have a drink that the guns go in the cases and the trigger guards go on. They stay that way till morning. I do have a couple of rye and coke's at the end of the hunting day back at camp. But I'm not staggering drunk to the point of a hangover either. Basically we have 2 or three good rye's and that's about it. Usually so tired after hiking anywhere from 5-20kms in the day that we have a couple of drinks with dinner and then off to bed for a very early morning.

I would hope that a person who hunts would have enough respect for the deadly weapons we carry and choose to abstain from anything during the day even if you're 'probably ok'.

bullpike · #6 03-09-2009, 03:26 PM

I have no problem with having a beer at lunch. Where one man would have a pop, I would have a beer. But I DO NOT drink enough to be "impaired" and I do not get drunk when I'm hunting.

#7 03-09-2009, 03:27 PM

Sorry i will not vote this thread is as bad as the one that asked would you shoot after dark if you saw a big b/c deer. I hope they delet this crap

munyee4321 · #8 03-09-2009, 03:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by river_runner

Sorry i will not vote this thread is as bad as the one that asked would you shoot after dark if you saw a big b/c deer. I hope they delet this crap

so tell why is your name under one of the current 3 votes under drinking at lunch or throughout the day?

BrownBear416 · #9 03-09-2009, 03:33 PM

I am a non drinker and 99% of my hunting camps are dry...In saying that If you aren't mature enough to have a beer at lunch (If you choose) and not shoot your foot off shortly after you probably should not own firearms let alone be allowed to carry them IMO.

Cowtown guy · #10 03-09-2009, 03:35 PM

I don't want you to think I'm starting a fight here cause I'm not. Call it Devil's Advocate if you will. How many beers does it take for your reactions to become affected? Do you know the answer? Most people would have an answer of probably 3ish. The real issue is that how do we really know? Has anyone had a motor skills test done as they were consecutively drinking? I'd bet no. Do you know the effects of alcohol on your body in the cold, after you are tired, maybe hungry or dehydrated? That is the real issue here. Not just it is a bad idea. Do you really want to bet your life and the life of someone you care about on a whim? Just tell me where you hunt so I won't be around you.

I don't care to make that bet, so no booze for me. Simple answer. I think if you can't go a day or so without a beer for lunch then maybe there is a more serious issue at hand.

bullpike · #11 03-09-2009, 03:36 PM

I agree Brown Bear. Well spoken.

Rackmastr · #12 03-09-2009, 03:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by river_runner

Sorry i will not vote this thread is as bad as the one that asked would you shoot after dark if you saw a big b/c deer. I hope they delet this crap

Uhhh.....looks like you voted.....lol

TheClash · #13 03-09-2009, 03:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cowtown guy

I don't want you to think I'm starting a fight here cause I'm not. Call it Devil's Advocate if you will. How many beers does it take for your reactions to become affected? Do you know the answer? Most people would have an answer of probably 3ish. The real issue is that how do we really know? Has anyone had a motor skills test done as they were consecutively drinking? I'd bet no. Do you know the effects of alcohol on your body in the cold, after you are tired, maybe hungry or dehydrated? That is the real issue here. Not just it is a bad idea. Do you really want to bet your life and the life of someone you care about on a whim? Just tell me where you hunt so I won't be around you.

I don't care to make that bet, so no booze for me. Simple answer. I think if you can't go a day or so without a beer for lunch then maybe there is a more serious issue at hand.

bingo....my thoughts exactly....impaired at home on your lazyboy with a full tummy is far different than hiking all morning at altitude, in the cold with nothing in the furnace...just too risky for me even if i did drink.

Jerry D · #14 03-09-2009, 03:54 PM

We all open beers around ~6:30pm depending.

If we get a deer, we bring it in, open beers, drink one and talk a bit, hang the deer and clean it up really good, drink another beer or so - 2 total, obvious its just casual/social drinking.

Go in around 7:30 and gramps has got dinner about ready, we normally put something in the oven on low - 300 or so @ 3pm before we go out for the afternoon. Gramps gets in just before dark while he can still see obstacles... he turns food up to 350 for an hour or so and makes sure it stays warm but not over cooked.

Then we go to sleep around 9 pm and wake up again at 5 am. I think its acceptable. If we get deer during the morning hunt we open a can of pop instead.

sparky660 · #15 03-09-2009, 03:57 PM

I will have one at lunch and after the day is done sitting around the campfire I will drink my fair share. I have drank enough to have a hangover the next day but as with any hangover, at home or in the bush, I sleep it off and only if I don't have a tag to fill. If I have a tag to fill I don't get intoxicated as I want to be fresh and alert when I am wanting to fill the freezer.

Redfrog · #16 03-09-2009, 03:58 PM

i have no issues with having drinks at the end of the day. But I hunted 30 years with an Italian who would sometimes have a glass of wine with lunch. I wasn't worried that he was going to turn into a mass murderer.

A lot of the same guys that get quite indignant about the thought of someone having a beer or glass of wine with lunch probably wouldn't have a problem getting in their car after a couple of pints at the pub. Or having a few on the ice while fishing and then drive home.

Common sense

i don't think anyone should be hunting and drinking, or hunting while impaired, but I see no problem with those who have a beverage with a meal mid day.

Dick284 · #17 03-09-2009, 04:00 PM

I think thread says it best.
http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/showthread.php?t=7345

FishBrain · #18 03-09-2009, 04:03 PM

NOPE!!
Dont drink till the day is done, when hunting with certain people there is no drinking unless an animal has been taken. some weekends the beer goes home with us.
I do like to have a good rye and water after dinner before bed tho

hornhead · #19 03-09-2009, 04:20 PM

i'll have a scotch or a beer after all the rifles are put away.

just as a test i had a glass of wine with dinner. a couple of hours later i went to do some target shooting at an indoor range.

couldn't shoot worth nothing ... not that i'm that great to begin with.

it doesn't take much booze to throw you off target. a crappy shooter like me needs all the edge he can get.

Okotokian · #20 03-09-2009, 04:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rackmastr

Hey Guys,

I hope this doesnt turn into a brawl, .

Then why are you asking? This seems to be a classic "stir the pot" thread. Do you seriously think you are going to have a civil, reasoned discussion regarding the pro's and con's of getting hammered while toting a loaded gun? I guess I'm at a loss as to what the intent is.

IR_mike · #21 03-09-2009, 05:11 PM

I'll have a few after the day is done,but not before. I have no problem with the guys that say they have one with a meal at dinner.

I am not wanting to reopen the claudio ongaro earlier contraversy about guiding but twice in the past 6 years once in zone 400 and once in 330, I have given rides to the nearest town/phone to two groups of people. All during hunting season, all carrying guns, all head to toe in camo, all drunk and still drinking. This was at 5:00 pm and 10:30 am respectivly.

In both cases they had attempted to take vehicles were I would think twice about taking a quad. I know it doesnt represent 99.9% of us, but its the .01% that the non hunters notice, remember and reflect badly on the rest of us.

pdfish · #22 03-09-2009, 05:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Okotokian

Then why are you asking? This seems to be a classic "stir the pot" thread. Do you seriously think you are going to have a civil, reasoned discussion regarding the pro's and con's of getting hammered while toting a loaded gun? I guess I'm at a loss as to what the intent is.

I second that notion. Is it just me or are people getting a little stir-crazy on the board lately? Spring will be here soon.

TheClash · #23 03-09-2009, 05:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hornhead

i'll have a scotch or a beer after all the rifles are put away.

just as a test i had a glass of wine with dinner. a couple of hours later i went to do some target shooting at an indoor range.

couldn't shoot worth nothing ... not that i'm that great to begin with.

it doesn't take much booze to throw you off target. a crappy shooter like me needs all the edge he can get.

hope you didn't drive yourself to that range haha

albertadave · #24 03-09-2009, 05:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bullpike

I have no problem with having a beer at lunch. Where one man would have a pop, I would have a beer. But I DO NOT drink enough to be "impaired" and I do not get drunk when I'm hunting.

On the "Hunting Camps" thread you said you have 2 or 3 beers with lunch, here you say "A" beer. So which is it? There's a big difference between 1 beer and 3, in terms of what will make you legally impaired. You get pulled over by a cop at 1:30 in the afternoon and tell him you had one beer at lunch, chances are he sends you on your way. Tell him you had three and you're probably going to get to blow in his little machine.

rem338win · #25 03-09-2009, 05:25 PM

I do believe that firearms use and booze are not a good mix. I personally will not hang around if live guns and booze are being used simultaneously, because judgment and inhibitions become impaired when you have consumed.
That being said, I have and will bed a rifle, or do some other no-brainer work when I am enjoying a cold one. As long as the gun isn't live I am good.
I won't give a fella a hard time about having a beer at lunch or some such during a hunt, but I have never been compelled to. Having a few seems like you have a problem if you can't wait until the end of the day.
I definitely enjoy one (or five) at the end of the day.
I think this thread is a good wake-up call for some who may be acting irresponsibly, and need to know the hunting community is happy to see you held responsibly.
On another note, if you are hunting with a rifle and ammunition readily available, and F&W catches you also in possession of alchohol with good reason to believe that you have been consuming, you are asking for it.
Dangerous handling of a Firearm is not out of the question.
Like everything, use common sense.

The Rog Man · #26 03-09-2009, 05:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cowtown guy

I don't want you to think I'm starting a fight here cause I'm not. Call it Devil's Advocate if you will. How many beers does it take for your reactions to become affected? Do you know the answer? Most people would have an answer of probably 3ish. The real issue is that how do we really know? Has anyone had a motor skills test done as they were consecutively drinking? I'd bet no. Do you know the effects of alcohol on your body in the cold, after you are tired, maybe hungry or dehydrated? That is the real issue here. Not just it is a bad idea. Do you really want to bet your life and the life of someone you care about on a whim? Just tell me where you hunt so I won't be around you.

I don't care to make that bet, so no booze for me. Simple answer. I think if you can't go a day or so without a beer for lunch then maybe there is a more serious issue at hand.

Because of what I do for a living and who i work with i know exactly how much i can drink before i am both mentally and legally impaired. That being said i would never and I mean never drink while actively hunting but that is just my own choice. Booze and guns just don't mix for any reason IMHO.I have a couple of whiskeys when i get back too camp as others have stated as a nite cap but thats it cuz anymore and it hurts when that alarm goes off sooooo early in the morning.
If you can't even hunt half a day without booze perhaps you have a problem???

#27 03-09-2009, 05:35 PM

The "buck" bottle only gets opened up when a bucks in the ground. Until then, its a dry camp.

Rackmastr · #28 03-09-2009, 05:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Okotokian

Then why are you asking? This seems to be a classic "stir the pot" thread. Do you seriously think you are going to have a civil, reasoned discussion regarding the pro's and con's of getting hammered while toting a loaded gun? I guess I'm at a loss as to what the intent is.

Well with that way of thinkin we wouldnt discuss ANYTHING political or anythin that differs in opinions. Just because people disagree on something doesnt mean it needs to be a brawl, and that was my point. A civil discussion about differing ideas is what makes the internet such an interesting tool.

If all we did was asked about different hunting areas and didn discuss anything that we MIGHT disagree on then I'm not sure what we'd be doing here.

This thread wasnt intended to be an argument or a 'stir the pot' thread. It was brought up as some people do things differently, neither of which is wrong, and I was curious about opinions. Posts like yours are an attempt to 'stir the pot' just as much, so thank you very much kettle....

Cowtown guy · #29 03-09-2009, 05:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Rog Man

Because of what I do for a living and who i work with i know exactly how much i can drink before i am both mentally and legally impaired.

If you have done the tests, you are one of the few. I had testing done for a project and I was amazed at how little booze it took before I was not normal. Not drunk or impaired by any means but not how clear thinking I was during the control portion of the test. That was a real eye opener for me. I am a big guy and I can handle my liquor but I found that after 2 drinks my brain wasn't communicating with my eyes like it was during the control. I felt nothing at all in the way of being impaired.

prospector · #30 03-09-2009, 05:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rem338win

That being said, I have and will bed a rifle, or do some other no-brainer work when I am enjoying a cold one. As long as the gun isn't live I am good.

I too enjoy a few at the end of the day, and I admit sometimes feeling a little lonely during those cold nights, but I honestly can't say I've ever drank enough to bed a rifle...