1928 - Alderson High School - 1968

Coffee and Pistol Shooting
John McCurdy 09

When I was actively and competitively Pistol Shooting I never used any caffeine containing food or drink knowingly. I, like most other precision shooters, had found that the minute twitches and spasms and tics were significantly lessened when one did not use caffeine. Interesting though, that "wet shooters" were almost the rule. Shooters very discretely would slip behind their autos or a convenient shelter and take a little nip. Most of the champion shooters knew almost exactly what what their bodies could metabolize on a given day. Their steadiness would remain on a plateau, now some would slowly become more and more under the influence and their performance would drop off as the day went on. According to all the rules, the use of alcohol was strictly forbidden, in Bullseye Pistol shooting the rule was ignored. I never, in over 40 years ever heard of an accident, on the range, that involved alcohol.

I can remember once at the National Matches at Camp Perry, Ohio, Gil Hebard had his new Cadillac backed up to the fence with the trunk open, He and Jim Clark we mixing a drink from a large chest of crushed ice, in which two bottles were buried, One of OJ and the other of Smirnoff vodka. Jim Clark was the National Civilian winner that year with a score of 2655 out of a possible 2700. Gil Hebard was third.
 
Then the tranquilizers came out. The FRW Dentist was on the team. He kept us in Atarax. Bob Craft a member of the team, decided that if one was good two would be twice as good. He stood up for one of the phases of the match and forgot to fire, and then sat down in his folding chair and went to sleep..
But, by damn, we didn't drink coffee!