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Thread: Flinching with both pistol and rifle

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  1. #1
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    Flinching with both pistol and rifle

    Greetings all, long time lurker infrequent poster. I just recently joined my local range and have been shooting quite a bit. I've noticed that I can flinch from time to time with a handgun, at least 1 shot out of every magazine will be a good bit lower than the group.


    With a rifle it's a different kind of flinch. If I try to shoot with just one eye I'l blink hard before the shot, but if I shoot with both eyes open it doesn't happen at all. It's not a big deal, and I can shoot both eyes open with a red dot out to 200yds without focus problems. But past 100 with open sights it's hard to focus(20/20 vision) on the front sight with both eyes open, I see it fine with just my dominant eye up until the point I pull the trigger, but then I flinch.


    Any tips, tricks, or drills, to help this or is it just something that diminishes with trigger time and rounds down range? TIA

  2. #2
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    Here's my suggestion. It sounds kinda silly, but it worked for me.

    Get yourself a .22, and put a couple thousand rounds down range with it. Then when you go to shoot your center fire rifle or pistol, pretend it's a .22.

    I know it sounds silly, but doing that, (or alternatively muttering to yourself that "the recoil cannot hurt me") works.
    Last edited by MisterHelix; 09-14-17 at 19:08.

  3. #3
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    Try not to think about when you are going to shoot when squeezing the trigger. Just let it "surprise" you and maybe focus more on your breathing so you don't think about the shot.

  4. #4
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    I'm going through something similar with my 9-year old son; teaching him how to shoot. What I've found that helps at the range is dry firing before any shots are sent downrange, until he gets comfortable. Then, load one round in the chamber and have him shoot that. Then two etc. If I see him start to flinch, we go back to dry firing maybe a dozen times again; making sure that he's not flinching on the dry fire shot. Then repeat, alternating dry firing and shooting live rounds. The dry firing helps to remind him how he's supposed to pull the trigger, and get the feel for it without the anticipation of the loud sound, and observe the sights.

  5. #5
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    MM touched on dry firing, which is a great place to start to learn breath control, trigger squeeze and sight picture. You want the point at which the trigger breaks to be a surprise, not anticipated. Buy dummy rounds and load them randomly in your magazines with live rounds. What happens when the hammer drops on the dummy round? Do you almost fall on your face? Or do you maintain a correct sight picture? One funny trick someone taught me way back when I started shooting PPC matches: while squeezing the trigger repeat the mantra "front sight clear, straight to the rear". This does a few things: makes you concentrate on the front sight while squeezing the trigger, and most importantly while reciting this you are not thinking about the trigger breaking so it is a surprise. It sounds goofy but helped me tremendously, especially when training to shoot from 50 yards with a double action revolver.
    Philippians 2:10-11

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  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by militarymoron View Post
    I'm going through something similar with my 9-year old son; teaching him how to shoot. What I've found that helps at the range is dry firing before any shots are sent downrange, until he gets comfortable. Then, load one round in the chamber and have him shoot that. Then two etc. If I see him start to flinch, we go back to dry firing maybe a dozen times again; making sure that he's not flinching on the dry fire shot. Then repeat, alternating dry firing and shooting live rounds. The dry firing helps to remind him how he's supposed to pull the trigger, and get the feel for it without the anticipation of the loud sound, and observe the sights.
    ^^This.

    Dry fire, a lot.

  7. #7
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    I agree with dry firing to help work through an issue. Dry firing is a very effective way to develop sound shooting skills.

    I suggest placing a dime on the front sight while dry firing your handgun. Concentrate on building a good shooting position and pressing the trigger to the rear without the dime falling off.

    Once you move onto live fire, try loading one round at a time in the pistol or rifle and focus on that one shot. Repeat single shots until you feel you have mastered the process, then load the pistol or rifle with two shots, etc.

    If you think noise is causing you to flinch, try doubling up on hearing protection using both earplugs and headphones.

    Speed comes with time and countless repetitions using proper technique. You can work on speed after you have mastered the single shot.
    Last edited by T2C; 09-15-17 at 21:49.
    Train 2 Win

  8. #8
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    I agree with what’s been shared. Ear plugs with muffs, and lots of dry fire practice with a dime on the muzzle.

  9. #9
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    Ball and dummy drills....
    " I can't walk with gum in my mouth...It makes it to where I can't breathe"-The Wife Unit

  10. #10
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    Whether it be with a rifle or a pistol, focus on pulling the trigger SLOWLY and SMOOTHLY. Think of yourself as ROLLING the trigger back. Also, focus on pulling the trigger back as STRAIGHT BACK as you possibly can. These things sound small, but they can make a huge impact on your accuracy.

    Do dry fire practice pulling the trigger in this way...just like 10 proper pulls a day, and then apply it at the range. Your flinching should go away, and your accuracy should be pretty solid.
    - Michael C.
    (hotlinks in signature lines are prohibited - stop bumping old threads to promote your website)

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