Ah, summer: that season where everyone gets to go outside and live their best lives – sweltering heat and bugs aside. This timeframe is also considered an on-season for many USPSA competitors as a lot of Level 2 and Level 3 major matches tend to be scheduled around now. For those unaware, Level 2 matches tend to be a club’s bigger match (>6 stages, sometimes multi-day events), while Level 3s can be summarized by Area (USPSA interstate groups) matches and Nationals.
Most recently, I had the opportunity to shoot the Area 4 Championship match at Mission 160, my home range. Shooters have the option to opt to shoot all of the stages in one day, or split it up over two according to their preference. Regardless, everyone was sweltering as the Texas summer had begun. This weather entailed little to no cloud cover along with strong mid-90s heat (35C for our overseas readers) on average.
An incident occurred on my second day of shooting where the ambulance had to be called, as one of the competitors suffered from heat exhaustion. Contingencies were in place and they were moved to the range’s air-conditioned building, where the competitor was cooled down and made to drink water. As we start to shoot more during the summer months, these are just a few things I’ve seen some of the local shooters do that can improve your quality of life significantly.
Hydration for the homies
Staying hydrated is usually the initial thought of many when it comes to the summer heat. The CDC recommends about 1 quart (1 liter approximately) of water per hour in the heat. Personally, I end up just packing a whole gallon jug and top off my water bottle as the day goes on. It is much better to have too much water than not having enough.
However, if you know match day(s) will be very hot, it is required that you drink water the day before is starts, as well. I have learned this lesson the hard way many times, where I didnโt drink enough water and ended up taking in some sort of caffeine early in the morning only to find myself developing migraines that were only exacerbated by the heat.
Electrolyte drinks/mixes and similar products (i.e. Liquid IVs) are also a good addition to have on the day of as well. Despite stages being “short” in terms of time spent, you are still shooting and moving in an athletic manner where you are outputting a lot of energy. That, along with taping and resetting stages all day under the sun, means you will be sweating a lot, losing both water and the salt that would allow your body to retain said water.
Finally, as a personal rule, I would stop consuming caffeine at hammer down. Caffeine is known to dehydrate you, and I have come to learn I am very susceptible to this. In the event that you find yourself overcaffeinated, stop consuming immediately and start consuming water. It might take a stage or two to get your nerves back, and you might pick up a migraine, but its better than having it with you the entire day.
Staying Cool includes Feeling Cool
This never really occurred to me until Area 4, where after the heat casualty incident, the range officers (ROs) and match staff were going around making sure everyone had water and were not on the verge of passing out. The ROs, being shooters themselves, had canopies and portable jobsite fans that kept them cool and were gracious enough to let us use thrm as well.
When I sat down on my ammo can, I could feel the air start to bake my skin. Subsequently, I also took note of my sweat and how heavy my breathing was getting, which are generally signs of not having a good time. I immediately looked for a portable fan to stand in front off while fanning myself and downing another bottle of water. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a towel or equivalent to help cool me off.
While keeping up water intake is good, keeping your skin cool is also something that is commonly overlooked. Usually, most people (myself included) would just apply sunscreen and call it good. However, the skin is an organ itself and anything adverse happening to it is something that cannot be ignored. It takes a bit for some people to start sweating and allow their bodies to cool off. If that is not possible, due to humidity/weather or otherwise, I’d recommend having pre-soaked cooling/ice towels stashed somewhere accessible. They’re generally more budget friendly and packable than a portable fan. Amazon has a pack of four for about 12 dollars, but you can pick them up from almost any sporting goods or department store. These are also good to have in the event of heat related emergencies.
Beat the heat!
Hopefully, the tips I have shared will keep you cool in this year’s upcoming season. If you have any tips for staying cool, please feel free to leave them down in the comments below. I am sure I have glanced over a few helpful tidbits, and Texas heat is most certainly different than heat in other parts of the globe. Good luck especially to those of you shooting Level 2 majors, area matches, or even Nationals. Stay cool, make ready!
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