I have a flinch

I've found one of those PAST type recoil shields to be a big help, (especially for things with big holes down the bores and old timey metal buttplates), when shooting from the bench at paper. That and hearing protection (even with a .22). Like has been said above, your body anticipates the pain. Take away the pain and concetrate on the shooting. After time and practice, when in the field I can feel if I start to tense and then I'll back off the squeeze and come back do it right.
 
One very good technique for flinch elimination is the surprise break. Practice pressing gently and gradually on the trigger without trying to make the gun go off at any given instant. Let the shot be a surprise, you should not know when it will fire. If you don't know the exact instant of discharge, you cannot flinch.

This will take several seconds at first, but with practice you can narrow this delay down to under a second yet still have trained your brain to recognize the interval of uncertainty.

Concentrate on your sight picture, don't think about the trigger pull at all even when performing it, and just pretend that your job is to aim and someone else will be pulling the trigger for you. Do not anticipate, do not force the shot, just aim and be surprised by the BOOM.
 
Learn to shoot a bow! If you can master that, bullets are easier. Myself it's about breathing and heart rate. Put yourself in a calm situation and let er rip. Practice,Practice,Practice.
 
I agree with Colorado Pete,I had never had a flinch problem
untill a couple of seasons ago and I had to work through it.
I had not used a shot gun in a few years and deceided to try it for coyotes, Mossy 500 and dead coyote was a little more than I was ready for on my first paterning shot my hold was a bit sloppy ok a lot sloppy,Made me swear out load and I was alone.Every shot after that was a bit of flinch, a supprise break worked for me.
 
About the only way to cure it is to ball and dummy. I coached both a pistol team and rifle shooting team in the Army and when You get a guy flinching you ball and dummy them. It's surprising how well this works.

Have a friend load your rifle/pistol/revolver and hand it to you on the range. In the case of a rifle you never know if it's loaded or not. It will either go click or bang, you never know which. Same with the revolver/pistol, just put two or three rounds in. Please practice safe muzzle control.

When it goes click you will see your flinch and begin concentrating on trigger control again. Might take a day at the range, but I've never had a guy with a case of the flinches that couldn't be cured this way.
 
There's a lot of good advice here. I would 2nd the approach of getting a good 22lr and practicing. I read this very advice a few months ago (in Shooting Times) I believe. He added that you need a good 22 rifle similar to your big bore hunting rifle in LOP and trigger pull.
 
Make up some dummies, rounds with no powder or primer, have a friend load your firearm with live rounds and dummies (don't watch) then shoot as normal. Your mind will first cause you to flinch a lot, on each shot. But consentrate on breath, and sight picture, and trigger squeeze. Make that the whole focus of makeing the shot.Over time your flinch will go away. Just consentrate on breath, trigger, and sights
 
Wow thanks for so much good advice, I'm going to be sure the bookmark this.

I personally think what caused was hunting waterfowl like it was my job this fall. I had never noticed the flinch before, but after cases of 3 and 3.5 inch shells this fall, its there.

My next purchase is this
http://www.savagearms.com/93r17BTVS.htm
Which is essentially my coyote gun in rim fire flavor. Something I had wanted anyways, but now I have an excuse. Plus I have heard they are an excellent long range coyote round /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
Get caffeine out of your system. Takes me a full 72 hours before a match.
It doesn't make me flinch but I flat out cannot hold steady with it in my system.
As far as a 17hmr being long range, a 22 long rifle passes it at 200 yards
for energy. Not going to work to well.
 
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The 17hmr was sarcasm, which never comes across well on the internet... But I chuckle to my self every time this subject comes up here, which seems to be a lot.
 
Quote:
Sorry, little slow with only decaf in my system. lol



And I'm quick like a ninja, with the coffee IV I have hooked up. Makes hunting a little difficult moving the stand from place to place though.
 
Shoot a black powder rifle, if you can, as much as you can (the cap and ball kind not the inline 209 primer kind) The slight hesitation between pulling the trigger and the bang will teach you to hold steady on target.

t/c223encore.
 
my problem is i want to yak the trigger in the field inless i can think bout it before the shot then i can make a clean trigger pull most of the time
 
While getting ready to squeeze off a shot, I used to have to think in my head,"don't flinch,don't flinch,don't flinch,don't flinch," until after the gun had gone off. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

I also use electronic earmuffs, I think they are great!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif
 
Self-control and an empty mind as smooth as undisturbed water help negate that urge to yank the trigger.

Another help, at least on a stationary target, is to be so steady in your position that your crosshairs wobble never leaves the desired impact zone of your target. That way there is no need to try to 'snatch' the shot as the crosshairs move from outside the target zone, across the target zone. Too big a wobble tends to make people perform a 'timed yank' which often is either too violent a finger/hand motion or too prone to allowing a flinch. A slow gentle press with steady crosshairs will work every time.
 
Craig, There are three factors that have to come together when shooting accurately.... 1) Sight Alignment,, 2) Trigger Squeeze,, and 3) Breath Control.

I was a Police Firearms Instructor for quite a few years and the first thing you need to do is have someone load your weapon with a couple of "Dummy" rounds (no powder or primers) and some live ones, and you can't know where they are loaded in sequence....

Fully concentrate on the three items above while you are shooting and see how much you "flinch" when the dummy rounds come up...if you are concentrating on your sight alignment, you will know immediately...also watch your groups on the ones that do fire get a lot smaller than you are used to...

After than,,concentrate on the same three items and do a lot of 'dry firing' exercises with an old rifle/pistol with a dime balanced on the barrel or front sight, until you can pull the trigger without dislodging the dime...I always suggest at least 20 times per session, every day..Just be really sure the weapon is unloaded and you are aiming at a small target..

You should only be closing your eye(s) (involuntarily), after the hammer drops and the round is on it's way... That's a normal reaction..Try to stay focused on that front sight and it's relationship to your 'target'..
 


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