Flinching.

Status
Not open for further replies.
E

emilianoksa

Member
Joined
Apr 24, 2007
Messages
397
Location
Lima, Peru
Being British, I came to shooting late in life, and only after I'd left England.

I've had to pick things up myself, which is a slow process.

Although I've made some progress, I still find I'm shooting low and to the left.

I thought I must be "milking" and took Masad Ayoob's advice to tighten my grip in order to eliminate it. Just made it worse.

Most of what I know, I learn from the web, and my own experience. From what I've read I've come to realise that I'm probably flinching - even though I shoot nothing hotter than 38 sp.

I suppose flinching is more to do with psychology than technique. When I dry fire the sights stay on target.

Are there any well worn steps I can follow to eliminate my flinching?
 
More dry firing. Also, have someone load your cylinder with a mix of live rounds and snap-caps.
 
Yes Sir. Easily if you have a revolver.

First, make sure you are gently squeezing the trigger, not jerking it in anticipation.

In a six-shot load a chamber, skip one, load the next. Then look away, spin the cylinder (NOT LIKE IDIOTS ON TV!), and close the action. Don't cheat (and if you do load the "empty" chambers with shot empty cases), and begin single action shooting. This'll keep you from yanking the trigger and help teach you to squeeze it -- it should surprise you when it fires. Yes, you'll have no idea when the gun will go off. After you've perfected the lack of anticipation including eliminating any recoil when the gun hasn't fired, switch to double-action shooting.

Semi-autos? Load three mags with different number of live ammo and snaps caps, mix 'em up without looking, and shoot two without looking to see if it is loaded -- again, you'll have no idea when it's gonna go off and this will show you when you are flinching and train you not to.

One more thing -- tightening your grip is NOT the same as trying to keep the gun from moving when you shoot it -- tighten your stance, not you grip. Also, realize the GUN does all the work -- you may be anticipating the shot and PUSHING the bullet but, I assure you, it'll go by itself.

Send payment, $US or British Pounds, to:

Al

PS: Make sure you are wearing trustworthy eye protection and add earmuffs over earplugs -- insulate yourself from these distractions. Eventually you need to lose some of the extra hearing protection...
 
Last edited:
A hearty "HELL YEAH!" to what Al posted.

Another option if you can get yourself a .22 is to have both side by side and shoot a couple of cylinders of .22LR and then smoothly transition to the .38. The .22 is soft enough that you can really concentrate on a smooth squeeze and release with a recoil that in no way bothers the shooter.

As for the shooting left try a little more finger onto the trigger. When I shoot my own revolvers the trigger is seated in almost fully onto the first joint. Shooting with it any less in engagement will result in me patterning to the left.
 
I have had a bad time of flinching my self. In my last three trips to the range I seem to have conquered it. What I do is try to pull the trigger as slowly as possible, concentrating on holding the weapon steady. Do this first when dry firing. Try to feel the trigger move. Pay attention to every little movement it makes.

So far this has worked for me. Next time I go to the range I will try to shoot a little faster and see what happens.
 
when you are pulling the trigger, there is a small part that is pushing down and to the left. I do it all the time. Its hard to correct. hold your gun out (unloaded) and START to squeeze the trigger slowly. You will see the end of the barrell move slightly (may 1/16" - 1/8") down and to the left. Now multiply that by 30 feet or 360 inches and you'll see how quickly that small amount adds up - down and to the left.
 
I learned from a retired LEO who would load a couple empties amongst the live rounds in my model 10. Have you benched the gun to see if it isn't the reason for shooting low and left?

If you don't have one try a 22lr - great training tool.

Mike
 
Speaking of retired LEO's...

I got caught flinching by a retired police officer I met at the range. He saw me shooting low and ran me through some exercises. First, he balanced an empty brass casing on the front sight (doesn't work on all handguns if they're not level). As soon as I could dry fire without tipping the casing off, he would have me turn my back and load the gun (his Glock 17, btw). Any flinching will be very apparent when it doesn't go bang! I definitely got schooled, and while it didn't kill the habit instantly, I've been working on it since. :)
 
I find just the opposite of an earlier post. Too much finger, particularly the first joint, creates a pivot point pushing the gun slightly left as the lower shaft of your finger rides against the right side of the trigger. It feels a little unnatural, but pressing with ONLY the pad of your finger results in a more straight backward pull & less leftward bias.

+1 also to leaving empty chambers to check for a flinch.
 
I've found the same thing as AKElroy, too much trigger finger made me shoot left. I moved to using the pad of my finger to pull the trigger and it helped.

I was also anticipating the recoil which pushed my shots down. My solution was to SLOW DOWN. Focus almost entirely on trigger control, slowly squeeze the trigger back and let the shot surprise you. You can slowly build up speed as you go.

I shot a lot of 22lr to work on my trigger control, it was the only way I could afford to and there was not enough recoil or muzzle blast to cause any problems.
 
Some food for thought. Keep in mind I'm not saying dry firing is bad, or that shooting dummy rounds are bad. I just don't think that's the end all to stop flinching. I don't think I've ever flinched when dry firing. Dummy rounds really let you see if you're flinching, but for me they don't help fix it. I think when I flinch, it's not the trigger finger, it's rest of the hand jerking. I think about pulling the trigger straight back, and concentrate on the front sight.
 
I just wanted to stop by and say Hello..There is a lot of good advice on this thread..I would pick up a .22 cal pistol to accompany your regular target practice pistol .. I shoot around 500 rounds per week through various pistols...so I have developed a long checklist of items..Check how much finger is on the trigger,maintain a good front sight picture and have someone put a random dummy round in to see if you may be flinching(anticipating) or pushing the round..
 
Pepe, I think the point of dry firing and dummy rounds is as much psychological as it is a muscle-memory excercise. What stops you from flinching is the awareness you bring to every shot when you practice. Muscle-memory kicks in after many rounds and many trigger pulls, but you really need to pay attention every time to get the benefit.
 
Low left is almost 100% a trigger issue. Like a few others have said, ball and dummy drill helps a lot. A few other things....

*Like you said, it's mostly psychological if not all. With that said, you could do all the dry firing in the world and it won't get rid of your flinch because you know there will be no snap of the muzzle and loud bang when you pull the trigger. As a matter of fact, some believe excessive dry firing can actually make your flinching worse.

Don't get me wrong, dry fire is GREAT practice if you're just getting started and while your doing it you can't keep that front sight steady. As you said that's not your problem. It can also be great for someone who is a solid shooter and has good fundamentals. Since trigger control is a fundamental you are having a hard time with you do not fit under this category either.

*Make sure you're not "ambushing" the target. What I mean by that is you trying to steady the gun but it still bobs or weaves ever so slightly. As a result, you try to time it so as soon as that front sight passes the bullseye you jerk that trigger and as a result it will go low left. Instead, even if that gun in just ever so slightly off go ahead and gradually add pressure (like using an eye dropper) to the trigger. You'd be surprised how close your shots are and how many will end up being bullseyes.

*Dont worry about where you have your finger on the trigger. Obviously it should be somewhere on your first pad. However, you can hit bullseyes using any of the three pads on your finger if the trigger is pressed correctly. While placing the trigger on your 3rd pad (closest to your hand) would be impossible to fire accurately in a fast manner, you can still hit a bullseye everytime. The placement on your finger has 100% NOTHING to do with missing your intended target low left. Again, as long as the trigger is pressed correctly you can hit a bullseye no matter where you place your finger on the trigger so don't get caught up in that.

Good luck!
 
Last edited:
Dry fire. Dry fire. Dry fire. Then do it some more.

I read once several years ago that one top US shooting champion did thousands of dry fires weekly to keep himself in shape. He said he did about 80% of his trigger work. During peak competition and training, this amounted to, based on his statements of volume, about 8,000 dry fires weekly. This was not what he did to become a champion, it's what he did after he was a champion so as to stay on top.

I am no champion but so as not to loose any skill I do have, I do some daily and maybe at least 100 a week to keep the grip strong and finger trained. Also, read what Jack Weaver said about the pistol grip - not just the arm angle and presentation people focus on. He also talked about a firm, fore-aft tension on the grip frame to make the platform really stable.

PS - "Oro" is actually the name of my favorite Peruvian Paso horse. He was born in the US but his sire was from Peru.
 
the randon dummy rounds in a .22 revolver is excellent advice. a friend has been working with me on my technique and it has already made a huge difference in only a few sessions. flinching is something you don't even realize until you concentrate on not doing it. for me, it is not a recoil anticipation issue. i do it on my .22 Marlin lever, .22 pistols and 9mm. i think guys tend to do it more than girls for some reason.
 
Quote:
"tighten my grip in order to eliminate it. Just made it worse."

------

How you hold the gun is a technique not a fundamental and therefore is not your problem. A technique is the means to deliver your fundamentals. You can hold the gun with just your thumb and trigger finger. If you press the trigger correctly, presto, you got yourself a bullseye!

Again, your problem is a fundamental, trigger control. With a good instructor, anybody could get rid of the dreaded low-left shot within a couple hours.
 
+1 on guys doing it more than girls.
Click to expand...

Guys have fatter fingers. Since the finger should be the only moving part, more contact in correlation to that motion = pulled shots. That is why only the pad should be used; it puts less moving stuff in contact with the gun.
 
the randon dummy rounds in a .22 revolver is excellent advice. a friend has been working with me on my technique and it has already made a huge difference in only a few sessions. flinching is something you don't even realize until you concentrate on not doing it. for me, it is not a recoil anticipation issue...............
Click to expand...


With most shooters it's recoil/explosion anticipation IMO.
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

M
  • Locked
Flinching
Replies
19
Views
1K
BCRider
BCRider
R
  • Locked
How to eliminate wrist break/flinch.
2
Replies
49
Views
9K
Bobo
B
N
  • Locked
New-B looking for advice on accuracy
Replies
20
Views
719
TimboKhan
TimboKhan
1
  • Locked
looking for advice on pistol shooting
Replies
13
Views
732
BCRider
BCRider
A
  • Locked
How to stop flinching, see the sights, and quit missing low-and-left
2 3 4 5
Replies
103
Views
18K
spar10
S
Back
Top