Don't Flinch

[masterdekoy]

Slow your trigger pull way down. Focus on the front sight. Don't allow yourself to jerk the trigger. This has worked for a couple people I know.

 

[Tombs]

I'm a new shooter and I'm sure that I flinch. My grouping is about 10 inches at 21 feet. I shoot a 357 J frame snubbie with 125gr ammo. It's about all the hotter I want to go with my round. I'm getting better and they all hit the paper. There isn't much consistency to the group. Time to tweak.


I'm curious to know how you practice NOT flinching. I practice dry-firing and want to make sure that this carries over into live ammo. It seems like the best mentality is to take a good stance, work on the front sight, and let the ammo run its course. I guess I see it more like the ammo works me, rather than I work the ammo. My job it to reset. If I want to get faster at shooting, I have to get faster at resetting--not at trying to prevent recoil by muscling through the shot.


I guess this thread could have gone in any forum, but I think that flinching has the biggest impact on shooting a pistol. Maybe I'll rethink this after firing a 30-06 or a BMG at the horizon.


Thoughts?

I see a mention of a 357 magnum J frame, and a complaint of flinching...

I'd flinch too with that piece of paper firing such a powerful round, those hurt more to shoot than my 454 casull.

I'd recommend you find some light recoiling lead round nose 38 specials and get comfortable with the gun shooting those. They might still be too much for you if you're a newer shooter. If that's the case, you might want to find a large, heavy, 357 magnum counterpart to your j-frame that will make shooting comfortable for you. Practice with your heavy gun and carry your j-frame, at least until you can work your way up to being able to shoot the j-frame without flinching.

Flinching is almost impossible to avoid for anyone, idealy, you want to make sure you don't flinch until the bullet has left the barrel. Some self discipline and that doesn't take too long to do. Oddly I find myself flinching when I reset the trigger, not when I fire. I don't know how or why it happened, but I'm not complaining.

 

[96firephoenix]

The advice on using lower velocity 38 special is good and there's nothing wrong with 38 special as a defensive round.

Where can you buy hollow points in 38sp? I've only ever seen target wadcutters.

 

[Tombs]

Where can you buy hollow points in 38sp? I've only ever seen target wadcutters.

Personally I'd prefer wadcutters over a hollow point with a low velocity 38 special. But they do exist, every manufacturer offers hollowpoint 38 specials.
38 Special Hollow Point Ammo | 38 Special Bulk JHP Ammo

 

[rvb]

Not flinching is all about calling the shot. Really focusing on the sights and seeing them lift. If your focus is on the sights and you really want to see them aligned as the shot breaks, and call the shot based on their alignment as they lift, you won't flinch. You cannot both flinch and call the shot.

-rvb

 

[rvb]

Previous discussion, including links to other previous discussions.

https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/handguns/378984-flinching.html

-rvb

 

[Bigtanker]

Buy a 4" S&W .500 Magnum, find the heaviest loads you can, shoot 50 of them and then go back to the 357. It will feel like a .22.













Or get some professional training. They can help you out with proper trigger control which as stated above, will help. You can never really have to much training anyway.

 

[rvb]

Here's something I wrote up in one of those threads I linked to, here: https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/handguns/296037-shooting-problems-any-ideas.html#post4205123

The solution is the easiest thing in the world. You have to 1) discover a grip and trigger finger position that allows you to break the shot w/o disturbing the sights and 2) keep the sights aligned throughout the firing process, until the bullet has left the barrel.

actually doing that is the hard part.

Some good suggestions above.

You have to SEE. What do you SEE the sights do when you dryfire?

Once you start to see improvement/consistency in your dryfire, try the dime trick... balance a dime on top of the front site, then pull the trigger, without causing the dime to fall. Then, when you can do it, try to see how many in a row you can do it... 5 times? 10 times? 50 times?

SEEING is critical if your problem is a flinch. You HAVE to "look the shot off" (keep the sights aligned until the front sight lifts in recoil). If you are not seeing it lift, then you are probably flinching.

Are you familiar with "shot calling?" that is the ability to know where the bullet went based on the alignment of the sights at the time the sights lift in recoil. You can score your hits w/o looking at the targets by shot calling. experiment with scoring based on your sight picture. Since a "flinch" is usually accompanied with closing the eyes, you can help avoid a flinch by calling the shot.

Also, don't fight the recoil. Let it recoil. Flinches also come from the desire to stop the recoil, or fear of recoil. Don't take too long to break the shot. If you take all day to break the shot, building anticipation, you're more likely to flinch as you get close to breaking the shot. If you're currently shooting better shooting fast, then do that; dont use all the time given in the slow fire strings if it doesn't help you.

Once you get passed the flinching, and start to produce consistent groups, then look to mechanical improvements (sights, lighter triggers, etc).

as said above, it's hard to diagnose via internet. Hopefully that input helps or at least gives you ideas to consider.

-rvb

ps. a trick I have done that has helped some students cure a bad flinch... first use both plugs and muffs. take aim at the target, then completely close your eyes. fire the shot, let the gun recoil, and focus only on how the gun feels in your hands. notice how little it really moves, how little it moves you, how little it hurt. Get comfortable with the recoil. removing the visual and audible inputs as much as possible helps realize there's nothing significant to flinch from or to have to control. Then go back to aiming, trying to call the shot as best as possible.​

 

[Fullmag]

^^^^^That's some good advice^^^^^

Thanks have been wanting take my shooting the next level and going to practice what your saying.

What really helped me get some consistency was using bore sight laser and dry firing while concentrating on the dot on the wall. What you'll find is that there is a proper place for the finger on the trigger and how to operate it smoothly.

 

[ajeandy]

Get on groupon, buy a vip membership to point blank for 3 months, buy a surplus of ammo, and practice in there with people shooting 45 and 308

 

[LPMan59]

Having a friend randomly load/not load is really helpful. My buddy did that for me when I was first shooting my ar. He'd load one round (or not) slap the mag in the rifle, charge it and then hand it to me.

 

[Fullmag]

Get on groupon, buy a vip membership to point blank for 3 months, buy a surplus of ammo, and practice in there with people shooting 45 and 308

YES sir. Trying to focus and shoot with a 308 booming beside and around you is really distracting when your not used to it.