Two For Flinching...

[Bellehood]

The coin trick was something we did back at basic training. Lay in a prone, unsupported position, have your buddy put a wooden dowel in your barrel, balance a penny on it (which was hard enough to do), and then you pull the trigger, without losing the penny. Even kids who had never shot a gun in their lives, had trigger control after a few hours.

 

[Riot]

Hey All,

I just cant get rid of this bubblegumming flinch. Ive watched all the videos I can get my hands on, practiced with snap caps, dry fire, 1 or 2 snap caps in a full mag. Whatever I do its still there nagging at me like my mother in law on a bad day. Any tricks of the trade you care to share. If i continue to shoot low too much longer Im giving it up and taking up crochet.

Insert an empty shell casing at random intervals in your magazines. Focus on your fundamentals (Body possition, sight alignment, trigger press) until they are all you can think about.

Once you have everything in your head about all that, think to yourself...."press, press, press"...as you press the trigger.

BANG!

The shot should surprise you, everytime.


When I had this problem, it was with a Tuarus .454 Cassull. I had to rent a Beretta 92FS and shoot it in between shots of the Taurus to stop anticipating the recoil. If it still happens after the above, get a pellet gun or a .22lr and shoot that in between shooting your normal pistol.

It goes away, but it takes time. The good thing is that you know you are doing it and want to try to get rid of it.

Good luck!

 

[BroncoFan]

I've had/have my issues with trigger control - going from clover leafing at 15 yards to low to the left in the same magazine. While at OFA they had us practice trigger control by pressing the trigger and keeping it held down, then slowly releasing until you felt the reset, then firing again and so on. It made me aware that I had a nasty habit of occasionally slapping the trigger (not consistently but was a bad habit). It helped with my flinch, too.

 

[Wood Worker]

I know that I can be long winded at times, or maybe thats all in my head tonight, anyhow here goes.
The best short answer that I can give is:

> Find an interactive target that you can shoot at, that in it's own competitive way forces you to keep both your eyes open.
Like a golf ball, or an old stress ball, or nerf type ball.

> Take it somewhere you can shoot it.
> Throw it out in front of you onto the ground and chase it around with your pistol.
Don't focus on your front sight, point at it like you would point your finger, both eyes open, and make that ball dance.

Don't forget to have fun.

 

[pinecenega]

One of the best cures for a flinch is to shoot a lot. Get out and shoot trap, skeet, plinking with a .22. Shoot something that will kick the snot out of you every now and then.

MSgt Don

 

[Keys1971]

A wise man once told me that the key to shooting well is pressing the trigger without moving the weapon. You say in your post that you can shoot the Ruger well but not the Glock or the PPK. Without watching you shoot, I would hazard a guess by saying you may have a trigger press issue as opposed to a flinch issue. In my experience, due to the heavy trigger on the Glock, Glock shooters tend to accelerate their trigger press which moves the gun. Concentrate on pressing the trigger without moving the weapon, and use your trigger reset, and see if that helps. If it doesn't PM me and I may have more/better advice. Good luck.

 

[Sabertooth]

My two cents. Ear protection a must. Start with a small caliber and slow fire. Make sure the pistol you are shooting fits your hand. Trigger finger is on the trigger correctly. If your trigger finger is not on the trigger correctly you can pull the pistol sideways when you pull the trigger. The trigger pull should be straight back. Hold the pistol in your hand, not with a death grip. Relax but be ferm. Let your wrist and arm take the recoil. Musel control.
Improve your grip. Get a 1 1/2 inch dowel 12 inches long. Fast a cord to it. Length of the cord will be from your out streched arms to the floor. Tie a weight on the end of the cord the same weight of your hand gun.
Now with weight attached hold your arms straight out from your shoulders, elbows straight. Using both hads roll up the cord, then unroll the cord. No letting it slip in your hand. Repeat 4 times. 4 times a week until you do 30 repetitions. Then keep it up to maintain your hand and arm strength.
Why? Some times lack of stregth, your arms get tired while shooting letting the pistol bounce around when fired.
And as said above, enticipation of big nerve rattling bang.
Have fun, keep up the practice and you will get'er done.

 

[Sheldon]

My first pistol was a Ruger MKII rimfire with the 5 1/2" bull barrel and target sights. I shot that just fine and when I decided on my first centerfire pistol to purchase, I picked a S&W 669. For those that don't know, the 669 is their little shorty compact 9mm auto that held 12 rounds. It has a blocky short grip and was pretty light with its alloy frame. I flinched like crazy with that thing!! The light weight made the gun really whippy and the short barrel made it loud. I went through a couple thousand rounds and was never comfortable with that pistol and just shot horribly with it. One day while at a range I was shooting next to a guy with a 1911 and was watching him just nail his target. I commented on his shooting and he let me shoot the 1911. Right off the bat I was nailing the target too!! He was shooting lighter reloads and combined with the weight of the full size steel 1911, the light single action triiger it was a breeze to shoot well. I sold that S&W 669 to a coworker and bought a 1911 just like the one the guy had at the range....a stainless Colt Gold Cup. I was already reloading by then and loaded my loads down in the beginning and just shot the heck out of that 45. As time went on, I started to up the charge and got acclimated to them as well. Years later I went out shooting with the coworker who bought the S&W 669 from me and got to shoot it again. I did just fine with it then. I think by then I had gotten acclimated to the level of recoil it produced. My grip was probably stronger and more efficient as well. I think the jump from a .22 rimfire to a snappy shooting light weight 9mm was just too big a jump for my nerves to handle.

I would try lighter loads in the pistol or maybe a heavier gun. Strength training would definately help as it will help you grip and manage the recoil better and for a longer period of time.

 

[Kevatc]

Hey All,

Any tricks of the trade you care to share. If i continue to shoot low too much longer Im giving it up and taking up crochet.

Easy on the crochet comment. If you shoot low you might crochet low and that could turn out bad for your private parts.

On the serious side ... continue to shoot as much as you can but focus on the fundamentals. With time (rounds downrange) things will get better. Personally, I don't care about tack driving accuracy when I shoot a handgun. I do make my own targets and my personal philosophy is "aim small, shoot small". My targets are a definite but attainable challenge. But I could careless if all my rounds can be covered with my hand even at 7 yards. My drills always involve movement so my groups are often minute of (reading) magazine. So long as my hits are in the white (on my homemade targets) I am pretty happy but so long as they are inside my "limit line" (which is a bit larger but still within an average persons torso) I consider them acceptable. I will post a pic of my targets if you want.

 

[MikeE]

Coin trick, or washer. Unloaded weapon. You in a firing position. Have a buddy balance a coin or washer in the barrel or slide of the weapon. Dry fire. You're looking to have the coin or washer remain on the barrel or slide. Repeat until consistently successful. This exercise varies in difficulty/effectiveness depending on the weapon.

Try balancing a spent casing on the front sight. Concentrate on just moving the front pad of trigger finger backwards?
Check that there is no gap between hands at the grip?
Use ear plugs and ear protectors?

 

[t.huynh]

I used to flinch big time when I first started shooting. What helped me was advice from an old man about dry firing before I started shooting. Dry-fire without moving your front sight for a couple minutes, then try it with live ammo. Took me from consistent low left shots to clover leafing shots.

I was impressed! Now I dry fire for about 5 minutes before I start shooting.

hope this helps!

 

[Deavis]

Sing ABCs while pressing on ball and dummy drills.... sounds rather elementary... but I have seen it work.

Good instructor may help as well... trigger exemplar, etc.

Also ... Think abot trigger and sight management ,,,,,,, during the last .15" of trigger press and .15 second is where you need absolute concentration to break the smooth surprise shot.... be in the "bubble" of concentration.

 

[RifleEnthusiast]

Agreed. And I'm telling myself I want to see the front sight during the blast - and just after.

Advice from a master trainer of mine many many years ago: keep your eyes STUCK on the sights and on the target, do not try to see the round coming out or where did it just hit the target - the split second that your eyes leave the sights the firearm drops, forget about the shot, it should always be a surprise to you, trigger pull should be firm and smooth at the same time, no jerking, he used to call it a trigger squeeze.

 

[strongtower6114]

Balance a shell casing on your front sight (if possible) and dry fire. Don't let the casing fall off.

 

[iomatic]

Try this when at the range:

Using the thumbs-forward, modern pistol technique, take your weak hand, pinch your grip hand with the thumb and next two fingers (pointing, index), basically clamping the top part of your hand/gun.

It's a variation of the 60/40 grip (60% grip pressure with your weak hand, 40% with your trigger hand). It's actually the same grip, just focuses and isolates your trigger finger away from your hand.

Essentially, you're attempting to separate your trigger hand from giving you the shakes.

This works for me.

 

[iomatic]

A wise man once told me that the key to shooting well is pressing the trigger without moving the weapon. You say in your post that you can shoot the Ruger well but not the Glock or the PPK. Without watching you shoot, I would hazard a guess by saying you may have a trigger press issue as opposed to a flinch issue. In my experience, due to the heavy trigger on the Glock, Glock shooters tend to accelerate their trigger press which moves the gun. Concentrate on pressing the trigger without moving the weapon, and use your trigger reset, and see if that helps. If it doesn't PM me and I may have more/better advice. Good luck.

Yup. This is the correct end-result, regardless of technique.

 

[Riot]

FYI I just bought an airsoft gun at WalMart from $15 to work on my trigger press, aim and flintch. So far so good!

Also as a side note the spring loaded airsoft pistol is also helping me reinforce my "tap-and-rack" drills. Before I cock the firearm I slap up on the mag, roll the firearm to one side and rack it back to simulate a malfunction. Good training!

 

[bmw2]

I've found when I practice with my .44 that doubling up on hearing protection let's me practice longer before I start to flinch a bit. Try plugs and muffs and see if it helps, especially if you shoot indoors.