Blinking

[jostein jensen]

I didn't believe in the whole shoot into the berm without really focusing on anything just shoot thing.

Until I tried it.

I was speechless from watching the slide on my Edge travel back and forth while the cases went to the side. Probably the first time I ever held my eyes up when the gun went bang!

[TM262]

Practice, practice and more practice....

Not sure if you use hand tools, but do you blink when you use a hammer? I think part of it just takes time and front sight focus.

[JThompson]

You could always staple your eyelids to your forehead.

I think everyone above gave you what you need.

[havotec1]

If all you are worried about is blinking I would say you are doing great. I'm still working on trying to open my eyes.(guns scare me) Good topic though.

[el pres]

I think it should be," if you "dont" see the muzzle flash your eyes are closed".

That was the biggest leap in my shooting, when I first started to consistantly see the sparks come

out of the barrel. Before I would have said that my powder does not flash, now I cant imagine how

my eyes were closed for such a lenth of time. I mean there is alot going on in that 100th of a second or something!!

Berm shooting was the solution!!

[Michael Carlin]

Berm shooting is one way to determine that the eye is open.

When I was shooting fairly good Service Pistol (275+ National Match course scores with a .45 acp ball gun) the real epiphany was when I started to see the chunks primer (brissance) like little shooting stars in the the muzzle flash. These silhouetted the sight alignment in a sort of "flash picture" in my mind. Even after a string of rapid fire 25 yards I could tell you where each of the 5 shots went within an inch or so.

Eric Buljung introduced me to berm shooting at Phillips Range, he was shooting his Olympic pistol into the berm. No target, just shooting into the berm. If it is good enough for him it is probably good enough for me.

Edited January 29, 2008 by Michael Carlin

[benos]

[ThreadDrift]

Eric Buljung introduced me to berm shooting at Phillips Range, he was shooting his Olympic pistol into the berm. No target, just shooting into the berm. If it is good enough for him it is probably good enough for me.

Wow! That says a lot. I had the good fortune to train with him for a few days at Benning, quite a few years ago. Talk about hard core. I remember he did the craziest thing I'd ever seen. He was shooting slow fire, and he was holding, forever - the shot just wouldn't break. Then without shooting, he'd "rest" - but he wouldn't bring the gun down, he'd just rest his head over on his shoulder!

[/TD]

[TM262]

The other day, I was at a local indoor range. My buddy John was shooting his open gun, so while he was shooting I was trying to keep track of his brass. I noticed that I would blink every time he fired his gun. ...open gun indoors, no wonder, but anyway...

At first, it was very difficult to stop blinking, but after a little practice, I was able to watch him shoot and see the brass leave the ejection port without blinking. Patience and practice, and of course convincing yourself that the violent blast, flash and concussion from the open gun is harmless.

[leam]

If someone of Eric's skill does it then I wonder if it's a perishable skill that needs recurring attention? I'm still at the initial levels so I can't say if I'd lose what I've yet to full gain.

Maybe "Shoots at Berm" is a new BEnos Forum level title? Can I, huh daddy? Can I?

Leam

[Tom D.]

Leam,

In an earllier post you mentioned that your long trigger finger was causing you to push the gun. I had the same problem which I corrected by installing an SVI long flat face trigger.

[leam]

Leam,

In an earllier post you mentioned that your long trigger finger was causing you to push the gun. I had the same problem which I corrected by installing an SVI long flat face trigger.

I've been working on that for a bitbut haven't put in the time to practice my ideas. However, I did buy a couple old clunker 1911s to work on and try some different things, including some trigger ideas. I'll keep the SVI in mind, thanks!

Leam

[Micah]

Double plug and dryfire....a lot. You always need to see the shooting, and the less threatening the explosions in front of you face become, the better your results will be.

I fought this same problem.

[Flexmoney]

For the record I was putting lead into the berm today and doing so at a fast, for me, speed. Near the end of the session I started to see the front sigt move up and down a bit. So I do nothing but watch the front sight as I speed up the shooting a bit. There was a quick self-critical moment when I pointed out to myself that the sight was moving back but not into the same location. Then I remembered that I was actually watching the sight.

Hopefully this is a positive trend.

Leam

There is soooo much there. Once you begin to really see, you can then notice things that are really going on. It's like you are watching yourself on video, but in real time...when you can still shape the outcome.

[kuh pahl]

Usually, the blinking stops the more rounds you shoot. Just keep shooting until the process becomes secondary and calling your shots becomes your focus. Just my 2 cents.

[High Lord Gomer]

On my second read of Brian's book I stopped at the comment about blinking on page 94. The one that says if you blink there's not much you can do to improve until you solve that issue. I guess it's nice to know where your learning points are, I just wish they weren't so early in the game. Any suggestions on how to not blink?

Leam

I'm right at that point, now. I remember being surprised at how much flash I saw recently when shooting a .357 Magnum, but I don't really see any flash when shooting my M&Ps. I also don't really see the sight "lift"...I would describe it more as it jumps to a higher place and I see it fall back into place. Does it sound like I'm blinking really fast and able to see the flash from the revolver only because it lasts longer? Do you really see the front sight lift or does it jump (like mine appears to)?

Thanks to all for the great info posted above. I'll try firing into the berm to see if I can see more today.

Edited September 5, 2008 by High Lord Gomer

[HotIce]

What helped me in avoiding blinking (and understanding if I were), was looking at the spent case exiting the gun.

If you see it, you did not blink. It worked for me very nicely.

[High Lord Gomer]

What helped me in avoiding blinking (and understanding if I were), was looking at the spent case exiting the gun.

If you see it, you did not blink. It worked for me very nicely.

Thanks! Next time I'll note if I am seeing that. I haven't noticed it before.

[High Lord Gomer]

What helped me in avoiding blinking (and understanding if I were), was looking at the spent case exiting the gun.

If you see it, you did not blink. It worked for me very nicely.

Thanks! Next time I'll note if I am seeing that. I haven't noticed it before.

I watched last time and I did see the brass leaving and flame/sparks around the front of the gun. I still don't really see the front sight "lift"...it is much more of a jump for me.

[Gallow]

Several people have recommended shooting a .22, or double-plugging, apparently under the assumption that lack of recoil or noise will mitigate the blink. In my case, when I started shooting I discovered that I blinked even when I was shooting a pellet gun—I was using a Beeman C-5 to practice for Second Chance. This was what I’d call and “intentional” blink, not in the sense that I did it on purpose, but that it happened when I decided to pull the trigger. So my blink wasn’t a wince at anticipated recoil or noise—just a decision blink, without the other components of a classic flinch. I know—you’re not supposed to “decide” to pull the trigger, and eventually I learned to shoot my .45 pretty much flinch-free, though I still have trouble with long shots that require too long (read “visual impatience”) to line up. Trying for dot-shooting accuracy using the Beeman at 25 feet, I still tend to blink, because the trigger is so light that a “surprise break” is impossible—for me, anyway. Even so, I don’t know what the hell I’m blinking about. It’s not the noise, or the recoil. How common this is, I don’t know.

Shooting into the berm wouldn’t have helped my problem, since there’s no criterion for pulling the trigger, and thus no particular “decision” to be made. In subdued light, I’ve always been able to see the muzzle flash of my .45, as long as I wasn’t shooting at anything.

[cas]

My answer is opposite to most. I'll tell you what I always tell people about shooting big bore revolvers. If you want the gun's recoil and blast to seem less, buy something worse. Serious. Like swinging two bats in the on deck circle.