Can't Stop Blinking

[Soligen]

I got Brian's book last week and did mucho reading over the weekend. Being a beginner, decided to work on some basics. Went to the range yesterday with a goal of seeing the gun as it shot, or at least not blinking when the shot goes off. Darn it! no matter how hard I try, I blink when the shot goes off. Not blinking seems to be a big pre-requisite in Brian's book. Any suggestions for curing this? I already wear double hearing protection.

Also, I'm having a lot of trouble focusing my eyes. I'm trying to keep both eyes open per Brian's book, but if I focus on the front sight, I have troule seeing the target. What worked best was a focus in between fron sight and target. We'll, "best" is relative, lets just say it's where I ended up.

Results were 3" groups at 25 yards from a bench (butt or wrists on sand bags, didn't seem to make much difference)

The outing was more frustrating than I hoped for. Any Sugestions?

Thanks

Soligen

[Thomas Moore]

if you read the book carefully it stats to try different thing and then use what works best for you.

i tried the tape method but i came back to closing one eye.

as for the blinking try plugs and muffs it's what i do and i love it. double plugging also takes care of the idots behind you making all that noise.

[silvervette]

The human eye can't focus on two things at the same time, the target should not be in focus.

[Cameron]

Soligen,

I had the same problem. I double plugged, seemed to help, but not 100%. Then I went to the range and loaded 10 rounds in each mag, 7 yard target, and just kept firing and changing mags until my blinking could not keep up with my shooting. After the second or third mag, lo and behold, there was my front sight lifting and returning to point. Keep doing this for about 100-200 rounds, and you may overcome the blinking. Worked for me, thanks to Matt Burkett for that tip.

Cameron

[Ray S.]

This is another of those FWIW'S. Worked for me, though. From a solid rest, get a good sight alignment and sight picture, and concentrate on seeing a dead-still front sight on the target throughout the trigger pull and for a count of two AFTER you pull the trigger (dry-firing). Click-one-two-relax. Do this until you can do it ten times in a row without blinking or the sights moving at all, then load up (with muffs and plugs) and hold that thought. Repeat as necessary. Also, I try to look at the top center of the front sight rather than the whole thing (aim small miss small--M. Gibson) while I do it. I think what it does is to teach my rather small brain that its not going to be blown to bits by the pulling of the trigger.

P.S. I'm a beginner at the competition thing, this is just what stopped me from blinking shooting targets and stuff. This may not be a good way, but if it's not someone will tell you, and I'll learn too.

[short_round]

I've been shooting "taped up" since last July (2003.) It's been about 16 matches and all kinds of practices in between since then. I took the tape off for the first time about a week and a half ago. I finally got to the point to where not having the vision in my left eye was holding me back. I guess I used the tape like training wheels.

There were two reasons I taped: 1) closing my left eye caused enough tension in my right eye that it blinked easily on its own 2) keeping both eyes open at that time caused my visual focus to alternate between the two eyes giving me a headache.

The good news is that my right eye is really trained to be more dominant than it was. The bad news is that it took me 8 months to get there. Hopefully you will progress faster than I did.

Keep trying different things, but stick with each one long enough to know that it is or is not working for you. Be careful when you are trying something that you don't give up too early on it. It might not be working because it is new to you. Conversely if you are honest with yourself and you know something isn't working even though everyone else says it's good, trash it.

Welcome to the Forum!

[G34-Driver]

I would double plug as recommended above, and spend allot of time just shooting at a berm with no target and just watching the sights.

[jessej]

Soligen,

This might not be the best method depending on your personality. When I discovered I was blinking I got really pissed off at myself. I would go to the range and fire off a mag after mag. The more I blinked the more pissed off I got. Now I don't blink and I'm not pissed off anymore, lol.

Hope that helps.

j

[mcoliver]

Double muffs could work.

And this may sound weird but I seemed to have cured my blinking problems by conciously trying to blink everytime I fire a shot.

Or do a full mag bill drill on the berm.

[Matt Griffin]

Also, shoot a thousand rounds of .22 out of a pistol. You can train yourself to do anything, and since the .22 doesn't generate any "blinking triggers", you'll train yourself to pull a trigger without flinching/blinking.

H.

[lndshrk]

For me, it was running a couple of bill drills back to back, be aware of what you are doing, and it dis-appeared.

[benos]

And this may sound weird but I seemed to have cured my blinking problems by conciously trying to blink everytime I fire a shot.

Ohh, I like that one.

I found a couple Word files I'd saved on this subject, from previous posts:

The most difficult instant to see the sights lift is during slow, aimed fire.

The easiest is during rhythmic fire, when you're not trying to hit anything in particular. Just casually watching....

You don't have to be looking right at the sights to see them lift. Actually it's probably easier if you aren't.

If you don't see the sights lifting and returning, you're probably blinking.

IMO it's valuable to know whether you're blinking or not without depending on seeing your sights lift or not.

When you first try to know this it helps to have a friend confirm whether or not your blinking by looking at your eyes while you shoot. But eventually you'll want to know this for sure by yourself.

With a friend watching, fire a magful of rounds at a slow cadence and see if you can confirm whether you are blinking with your friend. Without exception, everyone I've worked with on this cannot tell, at first. You have to learn to tell if you are blinking by yourself.

While repeating the experiment, shift 98% of your attention to your aiming eye and your facial area surrounding your eye (leaving a trace of your attention to simply watching the site's activity. This is not easy to do because we never do it. We're always casting our attention out, often straining to see the targets, holes, or even the sights. Keep repeating this until you become comfortable firing with absolutely no concern over where the bullets are going. At this point you should be close to knowing what it feels like to be aware of your face and eye while you are firing. If you keep practicing this awareness excercise - begin and end each training session with it - after some time you'll become sensitive to whether you're blinking on your own. This is vital for progress. You must learn to calmly see everything that is happening even though firecrackers are continuously exploding right in front of your face.

[number 2]

Yea, the blinking problem is a tough one, but it can be beaten if you apply yourself properly.

The longer blinking has gone on unnoticed, the harder you may have to work to correct it.

First, definitely use all the ear protection you can deal with.

It's good to realize that it is a natural/normal reaction to blink, because, shooting a pistol is not much different than having a firecracker go off in front of your face every time you pull the trigger. So don't make it bad. The usual approach, when we label something as bad or undesirable, is to want "get rid of it." This usually just makes the problem worse. Instead of wanting to eliminate it, just LOOK at the problem - become aware of what is REALLY going on. That's why on the tape I talked about shifting your attention to the your face, eyes, or the area around your eyes when you are shooting. This moves your attention into an area you were previously unaware of. (This is the most powerful tool we possess to permanently change behavior.) Now at this point, the important thing is to NOT ATTEMPT TO CONTROL what is happening. Instead, just place ALL your attention in your face while firing into the backstop at nothing in particular and notice whether or not you are blinking. Just notice what your eyes/face are actually doing as you fire shots. (In the beginning it helps to have a friend confirm if you’re blinking or not.) Shoot slowly for awhile, then at a medium speed, and then more quickly, paying attention to what your eye/face is doing at various shooting speeds. Then place 9/10 of your attention in your face (leaving the other 1/10 to aim) while doing the same thing shooting groups on a target.

You yourself must know if you are blinking before your body will make the necessary adjustments. Your body will correct its activity BASED SIMPLY ON YOUR CLEAR INTENT TO CALL THE SHOT. (Which implies that your eye remain open through the shot cycle.) With experience you will learn to relaxedly just look right at the sights during the firing cycle. But again, it’s not natural so you must cultivate it.

I’ve also found it helps to consciously open the eyes a little wider than normal, like if you noticed something interested and wanted to look more closely at it. Even disregarding the blinking factor, I see better/more when opening the aiming eye just short of the “deer in the headlights” look.

Start your practice sessions with a few slow fire accuracy drills, monitoring for blinking, and then do the same to end your day’s practice. That’s good stuff.

Again – you must learn to know for certain whether you are blinking or not. Once you’ve learned to know whether or not you’re blinking, the problem is just about whipped.

Even after shooting/competing for 20 + years, I’ve noticed, if I haven’t been to the range in awhile, I may blink a little for the first shots. Always pay attention.

be

[mcoliver]

That's why on the tape I talked about shifting your attention to the your face, eyes, or the area around your eyes when you are shooting.

AHA! So BE, when do we get to buy your new tape?

[Marine shooter]

And this may sound weird but I seemed to have cured my blinking problems by conciously trying to blink everytime I fire a shot. 

Ohh, I like that one.

I found a couple Word files I'd saved on this subject, from previous posts:

The most difficult instant to see the sights lift is during slow, aimed fire.

The easiest is during rhythmic fire, when you're not trying to hit anything in particular. Just casually watching....

You don't have to be looking right at the sights to see them lift. Actually it's probably easier if you aren't.

If you don't see the sights lifting and returning, you're probably blinking.

IMO it's valuable to know whether you're blinking or not without depending on seeing your sights lift or not.

When you first try to know this it helps to have a friend confirm whether or not your blinking by looking at your eyes while you shoot. But eventually you'll want to know this for sure by yourself.

With a friend watching, fire a magful of rounds at a slow cadence and see if you can confirm whether you are blinking with your friend. Without exception, everyone I've worked with on this cannot tell, at first. You have to learn to tell if you are blinking by yourself.

While repeating the experiment, shift 98% of your attention to your aiming eye and your facial area surrounding your eye (leaving a trace of your attention to simply watching the site's activity. This is not easy to do because we never do it. We're always casting our attention out, often straining to see the targets, holes, or even the sights. Keep repeating this until you become comfortable firing with absolutely no concern over where the bullets are going. At this point you should be close to knowing what it feels like to be aware of your face and eye while you are firing. If you keep practicing this awareness excercise - begin and end each training session with it - after some time you'll become sensitive to whether you're blinking on your own. This is vital for progress. You must learn to calmly see everything that is happening even though firecrackers are continuously exploding right in front of your face.

[number 2]

Yea, the blinking problem is a tough one, but it can be beaten if you apply yourself properly.

The longer blinking has gone on unnoticed, the harder you may have to work to correct it.

First, definitely use all the ear protection you can deal with.

It's good to realize that it is a natural/normal reaction to blink, because, shooting a pistol is not much different than having a firecracker go off in front of your face every time you pull the trigger. So don't make it bad. The usual approach, when we label something as bad or undesirable, is to want "get rid of it." This usually just makes the problem worse. Instead of wanting to eliminate it, just LOOK at the problem - become aware of what is REALLY going on. That's why on the tape I talked about shifting your attention to the your face, eyes, or the area around your eyes when you are shooting. This moves your attention into an area you were previously unaware of. (This is the most powerful tool we possess to permanently change behavior.) Now at this point, the important thing is to NOT ATTEMPT TO CONTROL what is happening. Instead, just place ALL your attention in your face while firing into the backstop at nothing in particular and notice whether or not you are blinking. Just notice what your eyes/face are actually doing as you fire shots. (In the beginning it helps to have a friend confirm if you’re blinking or not.) Shoot slowly for awhile, then at a medium speed, and then more quickly, paying attention to what your eye/face is doing at various shooting speeds. Then place 9/10 of your attention in your face (leaving the other 1/10 to aim) while doing the same thing shooting groups on a target.

You yourself must know if you are blinking before your body will make the necessary adjustments. Your body will correct its activity BASED SIMPLY ON YOUR CLEAR INTENT TO CALL THE SHOT. (Which implies that your eye remain open through the shot cycle.) With experience you will learn to relaxedly just look right at the sights during the firing cycle. But again, it’s not natural so you must cultivate it.

I’ve also found it helps to consciously open the eyes a little wider than normal, like if you noticed something interested and wanted to look more closely at it. Even disregarding the blinking factor, I see better/more when opening the aiming eye just short of the “deer in the headlights” look.

Start your practice sessions with a few slow fire accuracy drills, monitoring for blinking, and then do the same to end your day’s practice. That’s good stuff.

Again – you must learn to know for certain whether you are blinking or not. Once you’ve learned to know whether or not you’re blinking, the problem is just about whipped.

Even after shooting/competing for 20 + years, I’ve noticed, if I haven’t been to the range in awhile, I may blink a little for the first shots. Always pay attention.

be

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Blinking goes away with practice. Shoot however you can hit the target. I shoot 1 eye closed for stationary and two eyes closed open for something or someone who is moving.