# Shotgunning

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Shotgunning
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Shotgunning.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shotgunning
> Source revision: 1356411094
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

Drinking technique

This section needs more citations. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

This article is about the drinking technique. For the mind reading technique, see [Shotgunning (cold reading)](/source/Shotgunning_(cold_reading)).

A woman shotgunning a can of beer

**Shotgunning** is a means of consuming a [beverage](/source/Drink), especially beer, very quickly by punching a hole in the side of the can, near the bottom, placing the mouth over the hole, and pulling the tab to open the top. The beverage quickly drains, and is quickly consumed.[1]

Shotgunning is normally done as a competition. The participants wait until all the others are ready before the countdown begins. Once the countdown is finished, the participants get under way and the first one to finish consuming the beverage is the winner.

## Technique

Punching a hole in a can with a key

To shotgun a beverage, a small hole is punched in the side of the can, close to the bottom. In order to prevent the liquid from spilling out while the cut is made, the can is held horizontally and the hole is made resulting in an air pocket. The hole can be made with any sharp object—typically a key, bottle opener, pen, knife, or tooth. The drinker then places their mouth over the hole while rotating the can straight up. When the can’s tab is pulled, the liquid will quickly drain through the hole into the drinker’s mouth. This occurs because the hole allows air to enter the can, balancing the internal pressure and enabling the liquid to flow rapidly without resistance from carbonation or a vacuum.[1]

## See also

- [Beer bong](/source/Beer_bong) – Drinking device composed of a funnel and attached tube

- [Binge drinking](/source/Binge_drinking) – Form of excessive alcohol intake

- [Drinking culture](/source/Drinking_culture) – Aspect of human behavior

- [Keg stand](/source/Keg_stand) – Drinking game

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:0_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:0_1-1) Applebaum, Ben (2012). [*The Book of Beer Awesomeness: A Champion's Guide to Party Skills, Amazing Beer Activities, and More Than Forty Drinking Games*](https://archive.org/details/bookofbeerawesom0000appl/page/81). Chronicle Books. pp. [81–82](https://archive.org/details/bookofbeerawesom0000appl/page/81). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9781452105017](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9781452105017).

## External links

- [How to Shotgun a Beer](http://www.howcast.com/videos/2645-How-To-Shotgun-a-Beer) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20200518150628/https://www.howcast.com/videos/2645-how-to-shotgun-a-beer) 2020-05-18 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine) - Video by Howcast

- [How to Shotgun a Beer](https://www.wikihow.com/Shotgun-a-Beer) - Article on wikiHow

Listen to this article (2 minutes)

[This audio file](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:En-Shotgunning-article.ogg) was created from a revision of this article dated 17 May 2022 (2022-05-17), and does not reflect subsequent edits.

([Audio help](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Media_help) · [More spoken articles](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Spoken_articles))

v t e Drinking games List of drinking games Word games 21 Fuzzy duck La vache qui tache Never have I ever Zoom Schwartz Profigliano Pong games Baseball Beer pong/Beirut Beer pong with paddles Slam Table games Beer die/Snappa Boat race Flip cup Quarters Card games Around the world Horserace Kings Pyramid Scum / Asshole Quodlibet Dice games Biscuit Liar's dice Three man 7/11/2x Binge drinking games Beer mile Boot of beer Flunkyball Funneling Goon of Fortune Kastenlauf Keg stand Neknominate Power hour Shotgunning Wizard staff Yard of ale Miscellaneous Buffalo Detonator Fingers Ice luge Icing Category

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Shotgunning](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shotgunning) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shotgunning?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.