help with blinking...

[jeffsoward]

I've recently decided to try and get into some single stack matches.

So I started practicing. I've changed my grip to a "proper" technique and been hitting the range ALOT, but I can't seem to get past the blinking as I fire.

It screws up my sight-in and I'm always off on my second shot because i'm not following the sight.

I searched through the topics, but I couldn't find anything other than double-plug or keep shooting.

I've put about 2600 rounds through my 1911 in the last three weeks, but I can't force myself to keep from reacting.

My flinch has receded. As I changed my grip and slowed down, I started squeezing the trigger and it helps keep from forcing the muzzle down before I fire.

What really frustrates me is I shoot my .223 all the time without blinking. I shoot my .308 without blinking (most of the time). But that's where I come from, I've shot rifles much, much more than pistols. now that I'm getting into pistols, it's really bugging the crap out of me.

Any advice for a newb?

thanks all.

[Dan Hefta]

Tape...lots of tape Just kiddin', shoot a lot and it will go away.

[Nuke8401]

Are you shooting reduced loads?

Double hearing protection?

These two things can help not only breaking a flinch, but can also help with the blink.

You might be surprised if you take a video of yourself shooting the 223 or 308.

The camera sees what it sees and tells no lies.

In the end, as previously stated, no majic to it you just need more bullets and pasters.

[XRe]

Do a search on the forum for "timing drills". Run them repeatedly, with just a thought that you want to see the front sight move (don't care where you hit, what you're shooting at - as long as it's a safe target - etc). Several mags worth of ammo should be enough to start shaking off that flinch and keep the eyes open when the gun goes off... You might have to do it over several range sessions, etc. Amazing how well that works, though, and it's fun in addition to being useful

[Corey]

shoot some bill drills. also if you arent doubling up on hearing protection, DO IT! i used to blink a lot too, not a flinch, just a body reaction to an explosion in my hands, haha. i wear plugs walking around the range and when im up to shoot i put on my ear muffs too. makes a HUGE difference and im able to keep my eyes open much better...now i just gotta learn to use them

[Stumpnav]

Dry Fire. Shoot an airgun. Plug and Muff (also a tavern in Scotland).

Focus on not blinking.

I used to do the same thing and still do if I haven't shot much in awhile. I stopped it by shooting a lot of air pistol and focusing on not blinking.

[Bigpops]

As others have stated - double plug.

Load up a few mags, walk over to the berm with no aiming spot, and shoot into the berm. Concentrate on only your front sight, watching it carefully to see where it goes. Make an effort to keep your eyes open during the whole process. After a few mags you should be fine.

I still do it from time to time, especially once I made the switch to Open.

[benos]

I'd recommend doing some timing drills or Bill Drills, but start from a low ready position as opposed to from the draw. Which will make it easier to put and keep all of your attention in your face throughout the drill. Just keeping your attention in your face while you are shooting will automatically fix the blinking problem.

be

[jeffsoward]

Thanks guys.

I'm going to double plug and start some timing drills tomorrow.

"focus on my face. focus on my face."

[CHA-LEE]

Do you blink when you hear/watch others shoot? When I first started shooting I had a really hard time keeping from blinking when any gun went BANG. To get over this I would go to the local public indoor ranges during their busy times. Then I would go to my lane and hold the gun on target and dry fire shots as all of the random shots rang out from the other lanes. Doing this for about a month allowed me to tune out the "BANG" of not only my gun but other guns as well while I was focused on my sights. This sounds kind of strange but the only way I figured I would be able to get use to the "BANG" was to expose myself to it in extreme conditions.

Another thing you can do is RO other shooters and force yourself to keep your eyes open while they shoot, especially the really loud Open guns. I still find myself blinking some times when ROing Open shooters and get hit by the concussion of an open gun muzzle blast, especially indoors against a wall, but its far less prevalent than before.

You can actually practice a lot of things to improve your shooting while ROing other shooters but that's another story.

[G-ManBart]

Think about the corners of your eyes. R,

[Aloha Robert]

I agree with all the folks posts. If those dont work here is something to think about.

I think it's one of those instinctual things that you automatically are hard wired to do and some get passed it easier than others.

To reprogram your brain for differeant reaction, try linking the positive behavior to some other thing you know. For example try linking it with another fundamental. As Brian always says watch the front sight. In this example instead of trying to not blink, try to watch the sight AND describe the motion you saw. eg is it up and down or slightly to right and back down? It doesnt matter what the motion is, just focus enough attention on describing and seeing the motion in your "mind's eye". You will gradually realize you can't do that if you blink.

So the drill might be shoot some shots and maximize your visual attention and focus on describing where the sight goes. Dont pay a lot of attention to other stuff (at the time of the drill). Somewhere way in back of your mind hardly up to conscious level is the goal of "not blinking".(If you can try the drill with a dot its easier, but iron sights works too with a little extra attention)

That might work for some folks.

But I think the best advice is dont worry about it much

Edited June 17, 2010 by Aloha Robert

[edison]

Do a search on the forum for "timing drills". Run them repeatedly, with just a thought that you want to see the front sight move (don't care where you hit, what you're shooting at - as long as it's a safe target - etc). Several mags worth of ammo should be enough to start shaking off that flinch and keep the eyes open when the gun goes off... You might have to do it over several range sessions, etc. Amazing how well that works, though, and it's fun in addition to being useful

On the Burkett timing drill, he put emphasis on not stopping in the middle of a mag. There're nine strings and he said to use at least 250 rounds. If I use a 28-rounds big stick, would that throw off my timing because of weight and all? I'm normally shooting 10 rounds in production. (Just didn't want to waste 250, if there's an alternate drill)

[Racindemon]

I think its a matter of more practice. I am sure with some dry fire practice will assist you with this weird blinking problem you are experiencing

[BritinUSA]

I suspect that you are blinking because you expect to blink. You try NOT to think about blinking, so you blink. So focus on something else...

This is something that has worked for me when I work as an RO on shooter safety courses;

It's a slow fire thing;

1. With an unloaded gun.

2. Focus on the front sight, the target is not an issue, just focus on that sight.

3. As you pull the trigger keep focusing on that sight, imagine the sight getting closer to your eye as you pull the trigger back.

4. Keep going until you hear the click.

5. Repeat a dozen times.

6. Now repeat with a loaded gun, pulling the trigger back as you picture that front sight coming towards you ,as if it were moving along the slide in between the rear sight.

[jeffsoward]

Do you blink when you hear/watch others shoot?

Yes. sometimes. When we go to the range, it's usually a friend and I. At the beginning of the session, i do blink. But once I'm there for a bit, I tune it out. I wish I could tune out my own bangs.

When I first started shooting I had a really hard time keeping from blinking when any gun went BANG. To get over this I would go to the local public indoor ranges during their busy times. Then I would go to my lane and hold the gun on target and dry fire shots as all of the random shots rang out from the other lanes. Doing this for about a month allowed me to tune out the "BANG" of not only my gun but other guns as well while I was focused on my sights. This sounds kind of strange but the only way I figured I would be able to get use to the "BANG" was to expose myself to it in extreme conditions.

The range I frequent (2-4 times per week) is an indoor range. it's close to work so I got a membership. 99% of my shooting happens there.

Another thing you can do is RO other shooters and force yourself to keep your eyes open while they shoot, especially the really loud Open guns. I still find myself blinking some times when ROing Open shooters and get hit by the concussion of an open gun muzzle blast, especially indoors against a wall, but its far less prevalent than before.

You can actually practice a lot of things to improve your shooting while ROing other shooters but that's another story.

I've helped out at a match and watch others, but I haven't shot one yet. that's what I'm working on. So I don't feel like I've participated or have nearly enough experience to RO. The thought (just now) that I might cause someone to screw up during a match made my stomach knot. I have first-match jitters and the match isn't for a month.

[Xfactor]

...Focus on not blinking...

Sorry to pick on you Stumpnav, but I think it's much harder to focus on NOT doing something. (The brain doesn't do negatives... try this: DON'T think about a purple elephant. Gotcha, right?)

My suggestion would be to focus on keeping your eyes open to see the front sight lift, and watch it settle back into the notch. Same result, but just a little different mental process to get there.

[Flexmoney]

flinch breaker 101 http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=82124

[jeffsoward]

flinch breaker 101 http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=82124

I've got that one bookmarked. I've been going through it. No flinch, just a blink (but I guess that's sort of a flinch). I did better today with double plugs and focusing on what I was doing and the sights, but the blink still happened. Just need to put more rounds downrange. More and more and more...

[Dwight Stearns]

Several years ago I discovered a trick I have used to train hundreds of shooters to stop blinking when the shot is fired. For most it is learned very quickly. I know this will sound stupid but try this. It really does works.

The next time you are shooting, press your tongue into the roof of your mouth as hard as you can as you shoot. A combination of things happen when you do this. First it distracts the subconscious which is where the blink command originates. Second it creates stress in the facial muscles delaying the muscular movement of the blink. After a period of shooting without blinking, the subconscious will realize that the loud noise and the recoil action of the firearm are not a danger to the eyes and you will no longer have to use the tongue trick.

Let me know if this worked for you.

Dwight

[jeffsoward]

Several years ago I discovered a trick I have used to train hundreds of shooters to stop blinking when the shot is fired. For most it is learned very quickly. I know this will sound stupid but try this. It really does works.

The next time you are shooting, press your tongue into the roof of your mouth as hard as you can as you shoot. A combination of things happen when you do this. First it distracts the subconscious which is where the blink command originates. Second it creates stress in the facial muscles delaying the muscular movement of the blink. After a period of shooting without blinking, the subconscious will realize that the loud noise and the recoil action of the firearm are not a danger to the eyes and you will no longer have to use the tongue trick.

Let me know if this worked for you.

Dwight

i'm up for anything, so I'll try it and let you know what happens.

thanks again to all for your input. Maybe, with all of the recommendations combined, I can beat this.

[soaringf22]

I had the same problem. I came from rifle shooting for a long time. shooting a scoped .308 you wouldnt notice a blink too much if you are shooting from a bipod cause a bipod gets knocked off target, ie nothing to track. thats when i started shooting with both eyes open cause i had to be able to see the report of my bullet on target. this really helped me when i came over to civilain rifle competitions and f-class shooting. the m16 on the other hand is really easy not to blink in my opinion because the blast isnt really that close, and theres no need to flinch. my only pistols i had were big bore revolvers, so i developed a flinch and not only a blink but a squash of the eyes to where it was blurry when i opened em again. after buying some more guns the best being a 1911 i got over the flinch easy but not the blinking even after loading down bullets. thats when i applied my rifle skills focused both eyes open on tracking the target not the sights. of course there was no accuracy but im assuming since now the gun isnt even a factor my mind didnt think that the gun was a problem. from there i tracked the sights movements still not worrying about accuracy. from there it all came together. especially since i did this all at an indoor range too. then once i got outside in the nicer weather, it became silly easy since now the walls dont reflect the blast back at you. hope this helps.

-Steve

[jeffsoward]

Well, I feel like I haven't accomplished anything. I've been through another 750 rounds or so and I've tried everything that was mentioned. I feel like I'm trying to stare the front sight off the gun but I can't keep from blinking. I've been working with and without a target. trying to do nothing but stare at the front sight. I catch myself anticipating once in a while. I keep myself from pulling the trigger when I tense; I relax the strong hand and correct my grip and squeeze, but the blink still happens.

Could i get one of you guys in OK to come and watch me and maybe smack me in the back of the head with a bat every time you catch me blinking?

[G-ManBart]

Do you have a .22 pistol that you can practice with? If you can't learn to not blink shooting a .22 it's not going to be any better with a centerfire pistol.

Something that's worth trying is to shoot reactive targets....so you'll want to see the results. I like regular old clay pigeons set on the backstop. Shoot those with a .22 and if you're not blinking, try something bigger (gun). Ultimately, you don't want to be paying attention to the target, but if it helps break the blink it will be a step in the right direction. R,

[jeffsoward]

Do you have a .22 pistol that you can practice with? If you can't learn to not blink shooting a .22 it's not going to be any better with a centerfire pistol.

Something that's worth trying is to shoot reactive targets....so you'll want to see the results. I like regular old clay pigeons set on the backstop. Shoot those with a .22 and if you're not blinking, try something bigger (gun). Ultimately, you don't want to be paying attention to the target, but if it helps break the blink it will be a step in the right direction. R,

I've got a ruger mkIII 22/45 that I shoot all the time without a blink. I don't blink (90-95% of the time) when shooting my 9mm. That's my problem. It's become evident since I began shooting the 1911. Rifles aren't an issue. I've been on a precision shooting kick for a while and I don't blink with either my 5.56 or my .308 (again, I'd say 90-95% of the time, can't say I never blink).

I shoot suppressed and unsuppressed with many calibers, but it's this stupid 1911 that started it (or brought it to my attention). i Ilove the gun but I'm so frustrated at this reaction I'm thinking about NOT trying to shoot SS with it.