Flinching

[cep]

Hello to all. This is my first post. I am not a new pistol shooter or a young person. however, before this summer I was largely indifferent to shooting my pistol. This year I joined a shooting club and am shooting more often. I want to become proficient with my Glock 23. I am enjoying shooting. I read an excellent book called Surgical Shooting by Stanford. that book lead me to this site and I have ordered Brian"s book today.

Now, my question. When I fire my pistol my eyes blink and sometimes I shoot low and to the left. I read that a common cause of shooting low and left is "flinching"

How can I learn to stop flinching? If I am asking too basic a question, please forgive this once.

[iweiny]

I am by no means an expert but my flinch has improved with:

1) snap caps, they "proved" I had a flinch and allowed me to feel the technique required not to.

2) dry fire, I picked up a great tip at a shooting class. Remember when dry firing to not use more force on the trigger than is required to break the shot. It is hard to explain better but I know that when I am dry firing and I can "just" break the shot; I can still feel (even with my 1911) the take up after. That means you are not using too much force on the trigger, and consequently, not disturbing the sights. Previous to this revalation I would "pin" the trigger back on every shot, probably with like 10-15#'s of force for my 4# trigger!!! This is, in my opinion, never optimal but can work in slow fire. In IPSC or IDPA though I think it is bad. Check it out and see if it helps.

3) just more practice. Every shot I take I try and keep my eyes open and get used to the process of the gun going off.

Like I said I am NOT and expert, but I have improved a lot since I started.

Hope this helps,

Ira

[ErikW]

These ought to keep you busy for a while: Search results for "flinch" in topic titles

[spook]

The loud noise of the gun is what makes most people to blink. Plus trying to fight the recoil with the trigger finger causes you to pull the shots.

To stop the blinking, you can do a lot of other things besides shooting. You can stand behind another shooter and try to see his slide cycle without blinking, or try to see the muzzle flash etc.

Double plugging (ear plugs underneath the hearing protector) is also a good way to reduce the noise and the chances of blinking.

And to some, shooting a more powerful caliber handgun (say a 44 mag) and switching back to the G23 can be revealing. I still do it sometimes, and still get that "hey this is like a .22" feeling.

To stop throwing shots to the low left, I would just become very aware of the process of recoil control. You pull the trigger with the trigger finger, and you use everything except that finger after the shot goes off

[hopalong]

Well said Spook !!!

I am lucky and have not had the blinking problem but it is really seen alot (no pun intended).

What I recomend to some is start off with a small caliber (.22) and shoot it a while (they make a .22 caliber conversion for some glocks, plus it is cheaper shooting) and then work up to your gun, or past it that will help even more.

Hope that helps on the blinking, spook hit it spot on for he trigger jerk.

Hopalong

[Flexmoney]

The G23 with factory ammo is quite a handful. I don't recall any shooter getting up to speed with one without dealing with a flinch.

[cep]

The G23 with factory ammo is quite a handful.  I don't recall any shooter getting up to speed with one without dealing with a flinch.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

thanks to all for the tips. I have one other question prompted by a suggestion. I always was afraid that I would damage my pistol by dry firing. Is it true? Do you have to get plastic dummy rounds to save the firing pin? or is this misinformation?

[hopalong]

dry fire to your hearts content !!!!

Good luck !!

hopalong

[Larry White]

I have progressed to the point that I no longer blink, As for the rest of it, well maybe some day.-----Larry

[GuildSF4]

Welcome to the forum...

A. Dry fire

B. Live fire practice

C. Ball and dummy drills

D. Shoot a .22

E. All of the above

[XAFSP]

MMMM thanks all for the info. I have the problem with flinch which I think is anticipation. I will try some dry fire exercisees.

Tim

[Pierruiggi]

Are you thinking about pulling the trigger?

In my experience, in my beggining stage, every time I thought about shooting as align the sights THEN pull the trigger, I flinched. They aren't separate events, they both serve as part of the actions necesary to shoot the target. Think of shooting a target as a flowing event rather than many different actions you must do and I bet you'll improve very quickly.

[vsound]

One of the tips that I was taught to avoid blinking or flinching is to go out and unload an entire magazine very quickly at a sufficient backstop. Do not worry about getting on target, just blow and go. After about the third shot or so, you will not be blinking because your blinking response can't keep up with the rate of fire. Try this a few times and try to focus on the front sight. Before long you will get used to not blinking, and you will be able to follow your front sight after the shot(s).

Same thing happens if you just start clapping really loud. For the first few claps, you will blink in response to the noise. After several claps, you will stop blinking.

[Sean Gaines]

One of the tips that I was taught to avoid blinking or flinching is to go out and unload an entire magazine very quickly at a sufficient backstop. Do not worry about getting on target, just blow and go. After about the third shot or so, you will not be blinking because your blinking response can't keep up with the rate of fire. Try this a few times and try to focus on the front sight. Before long you will get used to not blinking, and you will be able to follow your front sight after the shot(s).

Same thing happens if you just start clapping really loud. For the first few claps, you will blink in response to the noise. After several claps, you will stop blinking.

+1, totally agree with this comment

factory glock triggers aren't the easiest to master. Takes a little practice. If you have been shooting 1911 style pistols and are use to the <1/4" pre travel before the break. It becomes challenging to shoot a glock which travels about 1/2" before the break, with a heavier trigger pull.

Some things I would consider doing in your circumstance would be:

Sight in your gun so that it is dead on (bench resting the gun), so not to confuse your shots to the left, being your problem and not the gun not sighted in. the reason I say this is because every glock that I have bought new has always shot to the left before sighting it in.

If you are allowed to shoot fast at your gun range, then I would work on the Bill Drill, which is shooting 6 shots as fast as you can see the front sight. Or empty a mag like spook said. like he said you will stop blinking after the first couple 2 or 3 of shots, and you will start to see the sights clearly, this is called reading the sights.If you cant speed shoot at your range. shoot at a target and watch what the front sight does. Force yourself to not to blink and watch the lift of the front sight and watch it come back down in between the notch. This may seem like boring drill at first, but I think its very important to do this, in order to learn to read the sights. Doing this drill will eventually turn into a good habit, that you will need when you start shooting faster.

alot of times we think a flinch occurs when the gun doesn't go off and we move the gun. that sometimes is not a flinch if you are consistently grouping your shots. that would be just timing the recoil of the gun. Now if you are all over the place and your target looks like it was shot with buck shot, then chances are you maybe flinching. Double plug your ear muffs. or practice with a .22, but then go back to your glock and shot it before the practice session if over. and see if your groups are getting tighter.

Also when you are pulling the trigger are you using the pad or the power crease on the index finger? using the power crease, can sometimes guide or steer the gun to the left.

read some post here on grip also. The Leatham/enos grip is the one I use, and most IPSC shooters use it. You want a good solid grip, so that you are not loosing control of the gun after you shoot a string of six shot or a full mag. If you shoot the whole mag and your grip has moved chances are your grip needs some tweaking.

HOPE THIS HELPS!

[Gdaym8]

+1 on the double ears. I had a terrible flinch to overcome. I use foamies and ear protectors when I compete. It has enhanced my shooting tremendously.

How is your finger placement on the trigger. The low can be attributed to the flinching; the left can be finger (pad) placement on the trigger if you are right handed.

[pierce195]

I like to mix in dummy rounds with live ammo at the range and focus on my trigger pull and not the recoil. If I'm flinching I will know as soon as I hit a dummy round.

[Sean Gaines]

I like to mix in dummy rounds with live ammo at the range and focus on my trigger pull and not the recoil. If I'm flinching I will know as soon as I hit a dummy round.

Well sometimes during rapid fire, when you pull the trigger and you have a dummy round or a primer failure, your gun will actually move and it may look like your flinching if the gun moves with the dummy round, but if the shooter is shooting tight groups, rapid fire and the gun seems to move when he pulls the trigger and nothing happens. thats probably not a flinch its more of timing the gun and the guns recoil. Now if He/she has a shotgun pattern at 7yrds, than flinching could be the problem. Do Bill Drills, with carefull atention to the up and down movement of the front sight.

[pierce195]

Good point, the only time I use have used dummy around is during slow fire drills.

[aerosigns]

Cep,

As a Range Master I can tell you these guys have really given you some of the best tips.

Dry fire a lot, use dummy rounds inserted randomly, fire a lighter gun for awhile airsoft, or .22, just practice a lot.

One area that I have not seen covered is hearing protection. I have had some students flinch because they were afraid and jumping from the noise.

The best answer I have for that is to wear double hearing protection. Wear a pair of the inexpensive foam earplugs in your ears. Then over that wear the best Ear Muffs you can get for noise reduction. I have seen this really improve some shooters with a pronounced flinch.

A couple of small things that have helped others, without having seen you shoot:

You may be over gripping. Are you trying to crush the gun? Try gripping the gun with the middle, ring and little fingers of both hands. Relax the index finger on both hands. While one side of your brain is gripping with the 'bottom' three fingers, use the other half of your brain to slowly squeeze the trigger.

Sometimes while gripping like this place your strong hand trigger finger on the trigger. Then place your weak hand trigger finger on the end of your strong fingernail. Then slowly squeeze the trigger with both fingers 50-50.

When you become more experienced and gain confidence the flinch should diminish until gone for good.

I hope this helps. Good luck and keep practicing.

Jim

[Precision40]

One thing I try to tell folks who are either new or have a flinching problem is to practice on a plate-rack or Popper not set to fall at about 15yds.

You know that when you pull the trigger the gun is going to make a loud noise and recoil. Most folks anticipate the bang and recoil, the "flinch" is the result. I wouldn't advise practicing exclusively on a plate rack, but the 8" plates 15 yds does alot to cure flinching.

Start off on single plates, then slowly progress to 2, then 3, then 4 plates in a string. Once you get rid of the flinch, your accuracy at "match speed" improves drastically.

[elcapitan16]

sir aerosigns, i have an airsoft blowback pistol, what exercises should i do to help me lessen my flinching?

[andrewcolglazier]

I like to mix in dummy rounds with live ammo at the range and focus on my trigger pull and not the recoil. If I'm flinching I will know as soon as I hit a dummy round.

Well sometimes during rapid fire, when you pull the trigger and you have a dummy round or a primer failure, your gun will actually move and it may look like your flinching if the gun moves with the dummy round, but if the shooter is shooting tight groups, rapid fire and the gun seems to move when he pulls the trigger and nothing happens. thats probably not a flinch its more of timing the gun and the guns recoil. Now if He/she has a shotgun pattern at 7yrds, than flinching could be the problem. Do Bill Drills, with carefull atention to the up and down movement of the front sight.

I agree with this. I've been shooting handguns for a very long time, and I still drop the muzzle when my pistol "clicks" rather than "bangs".

I took a class a few years ago from Jerry Miculek. During the class, one of the students asked him how he dealt with flinch. He said that he is a terrible flincher, and one of the reasons he shoots so fast is to "...outrun" his flinch. He was serious about this. Concentrate on your front sight, grip and stance. The flinch will take care of itself.

Andy C.

[the duck of death]

A good trigger is a great help in good shooting. Many on this forum recommend:

http://www.triggerkit.com/

[Tangram]

Watch a person near you shooting. It is good practice if the sound of or anticipation of the shot is your flinching trigger. Be aware and relax it will go away in time. ... cheap practice too.

[elcapitan16]

thanks for additional advice