this is probably a small annoying training nit, but i notice a difference when i abstain from drinking coffee etc before i shoot. it’s especially evident in a carbine class.
the caffeine jitter isn’t so bad close-up with a handgun, but with a carbine at range (>100 yards) it is really noticeable to me.
i experienced this during an LAV walk back drill on several class occasions. In Feb of this year (LAV carbine/pistol I) I was chugging coffee like there was no tomorrow before the class. Jitter city. Fast forward to July (LAV carbine/pistol II). I made an effort to avoid any caffeine before the class. Definitely less jitter/wobble through the optic and modestly better shooting.
this is hardly scientific but i wonder if other folks experience the same (and … out of curiosity is it the same with nicotine, etc).
then again, in the real world, you may have to shoot after downing a few double espressos.
fwiw, morning caffeine is a requirement to get through LAV/Hackathorn low light classes (when you don’t get to bed until 4 a.m. and have to get up for class bright-eyed and bushy tailed at 9:30 a.m.).
I’ve noticed a difference but there is no way I could get moving without my coffee. Not only that but nobody would want to be around me if I hadn’t had my morning fix of caffeine.
I think it depends on what you’re trying to do. If you’re looking for super precision, then it may be a worthwhile idea. You also have to balance that against what happens if you don’t have caffiene. If I get a caffience headache I’m going to shoot a lot worse than I would had I avoided the headache.
When I took the FBI LE Instructors Course, you had to shoot a bullseye course to stay in the class. They had a bunch of recommendations for passing the course. One of them was to avoid caffiene before you shot, that it could be worth 5 points on a 300 point course. IIRC, I had caffiene that day because I don’t function without it. I just had 25% of what I normally do.
There is no question that caffeine affects your performance. The degree varies from person to person and also obviously on quantity.
Caffeine also tends to have a deleterious effect on low-light vision.
If you “can’t function” without caffeine, that’s a pretty big clue that you’ve formed a chemical dependency. The human body is perfectly capable of getting up early in the morning and working hard all day without caffeine.
If you are going to a precision rifle or a bullseye class, I would use the minimum I need to avoid getting a withdrawal headache (Hey its the only addiction I got left).
For a defensive driven course like LAVs I just consider it a reality enhancer, cause I know that once my initial adrenaline spike has passed I get a good case of the shakes. A little caffiene jitter is nothing compared to that;)
I have a chemical dependency to caffiene. Not only that, but because I like to drink the “good stuff” I spend way too much money on coffee in a month that could be used to buy more ammo.
I know I need to either quit or reduce the number of pots of coffee I drink, but I just love the stuff.
I do not quit or lay off coffee before training. I drink coffee in the morning and at the lunch break I drink a coke or some other “leaded” beverage (not an energy drink).
However, I would argue that my coffee probably has less impact on my performance because I am use to it, than the “energy” drinks some people chug for an additional boost before a class, a practice most do not do on a regular basis.
Caffeine, carbonation and many of the ingredients in coffee, tea, energy drinks and soda are injurious to your health. They inhibit physical development, cause chemical dependence, weaken the immune system and generally harm performance and health.
I still imbibe such things, but I know that water is a healthier choice.
Jack yourself up on caffiene and learn to shoot. You might throw a round because you have the jitters but how is your body going to feel jacked on adrenaline?? Jittery as hell in my experience. By all means keep saftey as top priority but push your self out of your comfort zone and I promise you will learn more about yourself. I personally like making things uncomfortable for myself so I know how my body reacts.
If you are strictley worried about performance then do as most have said, stick with your normal routine.
I come from a 3-position 22 rifle and highpower rifle competition background. We always avoided caffeine before matches, a habit I still maintain. If I don’t have it I don’t get headaches or whatever but I feel steadier (calmer?) when competing if I abstain. Maybe it’s an illusion but it’s certainly real in my case.
I must admit it is probably moot for much of the handgun games such as USPSA or IDPA but it’s a habit and I just keep doing it that way.
Same here. I drink a lot of coffee normally (and that is bad, I already know that), so I’d be half asleep without it. It does seem to make my muscles tire more quickly and it makes me sweat more when training, but as long as long as I drink enough fluids it doesn’t seem to be cause more than some minor annoyance.
MOC -Minute of Caffeine… your error gets bigger as the range increases.
Seriously, I suspect more than a few members here get jacked up on Monster or Red Bull before a mission, just to stay sharp and awake. That is the nature of the beast. Or it may be some average Joe in Houston sitting in his front yard, drinking coffee to stay awake while guarding his property.
There was one dude recently in class wearing a camelback. He was always energetic and his “groups” were OK…nothing hathcockian, but acceptable minute-of-hadji.
Then during a break, I see him refilling his bladder with Red Bull! Wowie!!
Seriously though. A few months ago we had a thread at my forum about caffeine addiction, and how cutting it out would jack you up. I decided to try it. I cut it out totally to see what would happen.
Now I have been drinking good central american coffee for years. back as a cop in the dark ages, I would work nights and down about a gallon of coffee everyday. Bad for me? Yes, but it got real quiet and sleepy around 4:00 AM.
Anyway…I cut it totally. Had a little headache on day one, but no other issues after that. I did keep up the PT hard during those days so it may have helped as well. I am back to it now (two cups max).
With all respect, I will tell you that if you need a special diet to shoot well, you are in trouble. You may have to fight hungry, hung-over, sick, after a full meal, of with a gallon of caffeine in you.
MHA (My humble advice) toughen up and just shoot. Don’t get so hung up on “group size” that you set an imaginary standard that is unreachable without a special diet or something.
