Do bullseye shooters avoid coffe when shooting Matches ?

Hello my name is Bernie, I've been visiting this website on and off for a awhile now. My question is how much will caffeine (coffee) play into how a person shoots ? I know every person is different but do most bullseye shooters avoid coffee ? I myself try to limit the amount of coffee i drink.

Last time I remember reading about caffeine and shooting the majority of people said keep your normal routine, so if you normally drink coffee then drink the same amount. I try to keep caffeine to a minimum, I've drank a coke or two at lunch between the CF and 45 stages and never noticed being jittery.

Normal routine!
Jon

That's good to know.

I was going to try to go iced tea free this morning before shooting, but failed miserably...

I can cross that experiment off of the list.

I do cut down a little but I still need a bit of caffeine to wake up as I drink it every morning. I think it's more important to avoid sugar on a match day and do try to be careful of that much more than caffeine.

I drink anything I can before a match. I find that it helps during timed and rapid fire if I have to go to the bathroom!?!?!? LOL

I’ll drink less the day of the match...still need morning coffee.
Kurt

Avoid coffee? I get the shakes just thinking about it. Brass catcher check, ammo can Check, Thermos check. Just part of the getting ready list. Oh yea, coffee can for brass check. 

 

Technically I wasn't getting ready for a match here but it was the only picture I had of the thermos. I was setting up the Lee Rest to spend a day testing ammo.

I've backed off of my coffee intake since giving up smoking a couple years ago, it's helped steady my hand somewhat.

I'm also a Bernie.....just not that many of us out there.

Back in the day when I was really trying to get better, I followed Bill Blankenship's advice in "The Pistol Shooters Treasury". I gave up cigarettes, caffeine and alcohol. It took a few weeks, but my hold really got noticeably steadier. If caffeine has a huge affect on you, you may want to consider giving it up, but expect a headache for a while. Most folks just say to take in the amount that you usually do.

Smoking? Give it up! You can’t afford both!

I do half of my normal intake on match day. I think there's a good reason that Red Bull does not sponsor any shooting teams!

I go on a caffeine purge the day prior to a major match.  Get it out of my system.  I'm not good enough to throw away points.

Thank 's guys for your thoughts about the coffee. I usually just have one medium coffee in the AM and maybe an ice coffee during the day. It's the weekends at home when i drink the most coffee. Now for next season, i think i'm going to change my eating and coffee habits before Matches.

I'd worry more about the heavy carb lunches between matches....

Had already quit smoking but I still remember cutting back on coffee on shooting days...  I remember finishing a slow fire string at Ft Benning, walking out behind the firing line, and there was Bonnie Harmon with a cup of coffee in one hand and a cigarette in the other.

I switched to green tea in the morning and it seems to work for me. Tea still has some caffeine, so it helps me to wake up, but it works more gently. Plus it has some other health benefits (so they say, and I want to believe )