How to eliminate wrist break/flinch.

[98Redline]

Technique changes are not going to cure your flinch. They may improve your shooting but once you develop a flinch, until you can break the mental connection between the sights being on target and the gun going off, you are doomed to continue to flinch.

At it's root a flinch is nothing more than classical conditioning, the same as Pavlov's dogs. In Pavlov's experiment he rung the bell then fed the dogs...many many times. Eventually the dogs mentally connected the sound of the bell with getting fed. Once that connection was made, whenever the bell was rung they started salivating regardless of whether they were being fed or not. Your flinch is exactly the same thing. Your mind has made a connection between the sights being on target and the recoil of the gun. To get rid of the flinch you need to retrain your brain and break the connection.

1) No more target shooting...for awhile. Stop shooting at targets and "things" and just concentrate on your trigger control. At the range make sure your gun is pointed down range and safely at the berm or backstop and just squeeze the trigger. Don't aim and don't look at the sights at all. Concentrate on building up your trigger pressure. Each time the gun goes off, it should be a complete surprise. At this stage, as long as the round goes off in a safe direction, we don't care about where on the backstop or berm it impacts. Not having a target up helps you from inadvertently trying to aim at your previous bullet holes.
As soon as you start to feel the least bit tired or fatigued, stop. There is no sense in reinforcing bad habits.

2) Put up a target and with a loaded mag or cylinder (to keep the weight of the gun consistent), bring the gun up and just aim at the target. Hold your aim for about 2x as long as it would to get a normal shot off then lower the gun. No trigger squeeze at all. Keep doing this over and over.

Keep this regime for at least 21 days if you can.
NO SHOOTING AT TARGETS during this time.

At the end of this time period approach your target shooting again in small increments. Just a couple of shots while aiming then back to #1 and #2 again for the majority of your range time. Slowly work back up to a normal round count. It is very helpful to keep #1 and #2 as part of your normal practice regime to keep the flinch away.

As a rule, you should be doing #1 about twice as many times as #2.

Some people will struggle with flinching their entire shooting career, others, not so much. What makes one person susceptible and another not, I am not sure, but I do know that this routine is how my shooting coach got my flinch in check quite a few years ago. Since that time I keep these tools as part of my practice regime and it allows me to shoot even my biggest bore revolvers (480 Ruger) without any flinch at all.

 

[ratt_finkel]

9mm:

First I have to say that these pictures really help. Much better than the single POV, blurry pictures we sometimes get.

Two confusing points you might address:
1. In the first picture, your strong thumb looks very tense (like it is applying pressure to the base of the other thumb); however in the last picture it looks pretty relaxed. Which is your default...I'm guessing tense
2. I can't quite tell what your support hand index finger is doing, if it is trying to 1) hook the trigger guard (a la Napoleon Solo), 2) establish the Ayoob Wedge, or going for the Vogel grip.

Some observations of less than optimal technique:
1. It looks like you have your elbows locked...which means you're being rocked by the recoil
2. You have your trigger finger along the frame, rather than arced outward...which means that as you press the trigger, you're pushing the gun laterally.

Don't try to "fight" the recoil...after all it only occurs after you've completed your trigger press. Accept that the gun will recoil...you really don't have much choice...and use technique to allow the gun to return to it's original POA. If you are trying to muscle the gun to keep it from flipping upward...or even worst, using a push/pull technique...it will have an adverse effect on your trigger press and your accuracy

Since no one else has mentioned it yet, don't worry about your wrist breaking upwards...it isn't affecting your accuracy in a two-handed grip. Your strong hand grip shouldn't be too tight and your support hand should exert most of the grip pressure in holding the gun

The elbows are most obvious in Pic #2, #5, and #7; much less so in #4 and #6.
It is possible he has huge forearms and smaller biceps, but it isn't very likely

I don't think my elbows are completely locked out. Though I would say they are very close. I definitely extend my left arm out near to lock compared to my right arm.

Thumbs are not applying any lateral pressure. But they also do more than just dangle there.

Index finger is just wrapped around my right hand. Not doing anything special or funky with it. Though I too took a double take after seeing the pics.

Not sure what you mean about my trigger finger touching the frame.

Yes, my left hand is applying significantly more pressure than my right. Probably 70-80%. Overall, I have landed on my current positioning to fight lateral movement of the gun. Which has proven to be effective. But still fighting the flinch and shooting high.

I can't say that I try to fight the recoil, but who knows. Maybe I am. I do know there are times when i really try to relax and let the gun really do its thing. In those instances, I actually find my accuracy worsens. I have tried ever manner of grip you can think of. Loose, tight, overly tight, overly loose, etc.



BCrider:

I missed the locked elbows on the first view.

From the looks of the nail beds on your thumbs and the amount of pad deformation on that left side muzzle shot I'd suggest that you're pressing into the frame with your thumbs. The thumbs should not be used for support. Putting them where we do is mostly a parking spot to get them out of the way. It's fine to have them in contact but be sure you're not pressing as hard as the pictures make it appear.

I don't think I'm applying any real pressure with the thumbs. I know in dry firing exercises that they don't affect anything. Having just gone to the range, I noticed that they appeared white like there was excessive pressure. But there was no actual pressure on the frame.

murf:

your wrists are supposed to "break". accept that fact and stop fighting the recoil. don't help, or hinder the gun during the shot, just line up the sights and squeeze the trigger. keep a firm grip throughout the shot.

may i suggest you also bring the gun back down after recoil and line up the sights on target after every shot.

just don't fight the recoil. fwiw

murf

p.s. watch the video at customsixguns.com. john linebaugh does a wonderful job of managing recoil.

Indeed. As I mentioned earlier. Even when I relinquish complete control allowing the gun to do whatever it wants. I loose accuracy. But your advice is sound.

98Redline: To be honest, I'm not sure if I can do this. This is my prime time firearm season since my car racing season is over. So I have lots of free time for the range. It will be tough to go 21 days with out firing a single bullet. I'd like to try some of the other technique before I go this drastic. It's certainly a very unique regimen. And I appreciate you sharing it with me.

My plan is to either buy or rent some rimfire pistols and plink away until I can get rid of the flinch. Focus on the front site and focus on a smooth consistent trigger pull. I like the idea of just shooting at the backstop while working on these basics. It will be tough for me as I am really working hard on improving my accuracy. But it's a necessary evil I suppose,

With my two berettas, I know the trigger stage really well. So I am going to have to work real hard on unlearning that staging technique. Or just shoot it DA every shot. Which is difficult because of the long heavy trigger pull. In SA it's quite gritty and obvious where the break point is. If I had a competition type gun I'm sure that could help me a bit.

Really really apprecaite everyone's input and advice. I'm not afraid to admit i may be doing something wrong. And I am open to improvement. Thank you

 

[mbt2001]

Flinch has nothing to do with the gun and everything to do with the shooter, I agree with that point.

 

[BCRider]

While I agree that it's a PITA to de-cock regularly so you can shoot in DA mode it's likely that it will aid you a lot. And in fact the heavy pull might actually be better since it'll mask just where the break will occur.

So yeah, try some DA shooting. Work with the follow through idea and be sure you're holding the trigger back until the recoil is finished. Then work the reset. After each shot pair of one DA then one SA stop and de-cock the hammer and do it again.

And if you can buy, beg or borrow a .22 I'd recommend trying it as a flinch buster. A lot of folks agree with me that it's a great way to beat the flinch. It might be for you as well.

 

[Dave P.]

This will sound odd, I've had some success with newer shooters by
having them shoot .22 rifle off a bench. Have them really focus on
tight groups. A .22 rifle is pretty much a non-event when it fires.
Seems to carry over to the handgun when they switch back.
Dave

 

[5Wire]

These (printable) diagnostic targets might help:

 

[9mmepiphany]

I know you mean well, but those targets at designed to correct stray shots while shooting one-handed.

They have very limited use for diagnosing two-handed shooting errors

 

[98Redline]

Maybe I wasn't clear in my description above.

When you are doing #1 you are discharging rounds, what you are not doing is actively sighting using your sights. You eyeball it to make sure that your round will hit the backstop then take your eyes off the sight while you work on your trigger control up to and including firing a round.

You are certainly welcome to try all of the other methods above to try and get rid of your flinch but the only one that addresses the connection your mind has made between the sights and the recoil is the one I suggested. There may be form or technique related improvements that can be made to your shooting that will eventually help your speed and accuracy, however every round you discharge while aiming is further burning that flinch into the learned behavior of your brain. I don't care if you shoot a dump truck full of 22s and you think you have the flinch under control, when you go back to your 9mm, that flinch will return very...very quickly or worse yet, will show up when shooting the 22.

The other part you are missing is that you are not, not practicing. What you are doing is practicing each of the disciplines required for shooting, separately. In addition to helping break the connection your mind has made between the sights and recoil you are continually working on your trigger control and your aiming, albeit separately. When you eventually get back to putting them together you will find that your shooting will have improved markedly. Your mind will stitch the aiming practice and the trigger control actions together seamlessly.

This technique was not something that I came up with via "rectal retrieval". It was prescribed to me by a shooting coach who I was working with over the course of two years and I can assure you that it does work. Frustrating...yup, somewhat abstract...yup, effective...absoloutely

 

[5Wire]

I know you mean well, but those targets at designed to correct stray shots while shooting one-handed.

They have very limited use for diagnosing two-handed shooting errors

I know you mean well, too but you've offered no optional charts and there are none I've seen online. The ubiquitous correction charts are essentially correct. There is a two handed version which I've seen but haven't yet found online. I know where I saw it and I'll try for a scan or photo. In any case, the net results are translatable, especially trigger pressure and heeling.

One of the problems with two-handed holds are the many varieties there are, Chapman, Isosceles, Teacup, and so on, each with a different inherent set of dynamics. Of course one could always try shooting one-handed and refine a diagnosis from there.

 

[RBid]

I am a very flinchy person (takes me about 10 minutes to get contact lenses into my eyes), so I have been there. I also agree that most advice is geared towards diagnosing or proving a flinch, or fixing bad trigger control; none of that stuff actually fixes a deeply-ingrained flinch. Here's what worked for me:

Understand that the flinch begins with the eyes. The chances are really good that your eyes are closed when the gun goes off. And that means you can't see the sights move. You likely keep the sights aligned and on-target until you close your eyes, at which point they jump in whatever direction you flinch (mine was low and left, but I don't think the direction really matters for purposes of breaking the habit).

So, quit worrying about anything else but the eyes. Go to the range with a .22. Do not put up a target. Just point the gun at the backstop/berm. Fire the gun. Watch the gun go off. See as much as you can see. See if you can see the muzzle flash. See if you can see the brass eject. See if you can see the slide move. See if you can see the sights lift. Watch the gun go off. It's important to use a .22 for this, not only because the blast (which is the source of the flinch far more than the recoil) is less, but because the gun moves less and less quickly. See as much as you can. Don't even think about putting up a target until you can really see the gun going off.

It may take quite a while. And, if your flinch is as bad/deep as mine, then you'll need to repeat this several times over many days. And you may periodically need to go back and re-do it, especially if you don't shoot for a while.

But when you can start seeing the gun go off, the flinch will go away very quickly on its own. Then you can gradually move up the power scale. Don't rush it. Go to .38spl wadcutters in a full-size revolver, or soft 9mm in a service-sized pistol. If the flinch comes back, alternate with the .22. Once the flinch is going away, try to hit something small, but at very short range. (Put up a 1" circle sticker and try to shoot it completely out from 15 feet. That will get you to really start looking at the front sight. Shooting out a 1" sticker is how I start most range sessions.) You can't do it with your eyes closed, so it will reinforce keeping your eyes open through the shot.

The only problem with this approach is that you may go through hundreds of rounds of .22lr in the first session or two (I used an entire 500 round bulk pack on the first day I tried it). And that's tough to come by these days. But it works. It really, really does.

This is a quality post.

I use different methods, but for the same specific issue-- eyes. I carry a Glock 19 Gen 4, so I do flinch work by shooting a Glock 23 Gen 4 and focusing on seeing the sights through the break, recoil, and settling back on target. If I can call the shot by seeing where the sights were when the shot broke, I know I'm good. By using a harder recoiling weapon, I get desensitized to the snap, and get have a slightly increased challenge tracking the sights. When I shoot .40 regularly, my flinch is kept at bay, and shooting my carry weapon feels eeeeaaaaassssyyyyy.

The eyes really are the key.

 

[9mmepiphany]

I know you mean well, too but you've offered no optional charts and there are none I've seen online. The ubiquitous correction charts are essentially correct. There is a two handed version which I've seen but haven't yet found online. I know where I saw it and I'll try for a scan or photo.

...One of the problems with two-handed holds are the many varieties there are, Chapman, Isosceles, Teacup, and so on, each with a different inherent set of dynamics

This is true...assuming you mean alternative

I've started the process of coming up with an accurate 2-handed chart more than once, and the tedium of the process, along with my natural tendency to correct with the support hand has constantly flustered me enough to never complete the project.

In any case, the net results are translatable, especially trigger pressure and heeling.

My experience is that heeling might be correct...it is countered by pronating the support hand's wrist, but "Too much trigger finger" and "Too little trigger finger" have no effect as long as the trigger in pressed straight to the rear.

Using a Isosceles style grip, I can put the trigger between the first joint (from the tip) and the second joint and still place centered shots consistently at the POA

 

[JohnKSa]

If you dryfire a lot, you should have the trigger pull down cold. So forget about the trigger pull. Instead, do the following while you are shooting:

• Concentrate on watching the sights through recoil. Recoil is going to happen, you need to keep track of what the sights do during the process so you can get them back on target without unnecessary delay. You want to pay attention to how the gun moves in recoil and adjust your grip and stance to modify the recoil "track" of the front sight so it's as close to straight up/back as possible and recoil recovery is as close to straight down/forward as possible.
  
• Don't try to force perfect sight alignment for each shot. Your results will be better with a tiny bit of misalignment and no flinch than with perfect alignment and a flinch. Trying to be perfect for each shot actually makes it more likely you'll flinch.
  
• Focus on watching for the muzzle flash for each shot. This is the same thing as focusing on NOT blinking at each shot but stated in a positive way instead of a negative way. Trying to not to blink is hard. Watching for the flash is much easier. Why is this important? The muzzle flash happens so fast that you can't react to it in time to screen it out with a blink. That means if you don't see the muzzle flash you are blinking BEFORE the shot and that means you're also flinching. You want to work to see the muzzle flash every time the gun goes 'bang'.
  
• Focus on keeping the trigger pulled after the shot and on consciously releasing it to reset once the sights are back on target. Concentrating on the reset/release instead of on the pull/break often results in much better on-target results.
  
• Make an effort to shoot in a cadence as a training tool. If, at first, you need to call your cadence out loud, then do so. "On target, break shot, back on target, release to reset, break shot"--and so on. At some point, you'll be able to combine the conscious release to reset with bringing the gun back on target and that will help speed things up without feeling like you're rushing.

In other words, stop agonizing over perfect sight alignment and on holding the gun perfectly steady. Instead, focus on what is happening as the shot breaks and on all the things you need to do during recoil and as you prepare for the next shot.

You've been trying to convince your brain that recoil/muzzle blast/muzzle flash should be ignored and have failed in the attempt. In one sense that's a good thing. Paying attention to and dealing with those things constructively is actually an important part of shooting accurately and rapidly and you can't achieve that goal if you're trying to ignore what happens as and immediately after the shot breaks.

Instead of telling yourself to ignore what happens after the shot break, train yourself to observe the process so you can use those observations to improve your performance. Now all the things your brain subconsciously dreads and tries to protect against by flinching/blinking actually become things you want to study, analyze and control.

<<Ok, confession time--I didn't read the entire thread before posting. After posting, I reviewed some more of it and I see that ATLDave has already addressed some of the issues I have mentioned. >>

 

[David E]

The OP is doing a "pelvic rest," where his weight is on his heels. This magnifies the perceived kick of any caliber. Especially rapid fire. Add in locked elbows and it's even worse.

Put the weight on the balls of the feet.

I can't see he's applying 70-80% of the grip pressure with his support hand when his forefinger isn't really a part of it. Bring the support hand down so it is parallel with the gun hand middle finger, knuckles aligned.

THEN apply 70% pressure utilizing a clamshell grip.

 

[tuj]

you know, instead of doing this all online, why don't you come down to Houston and I will be more than happy to take you to the range!

ratt_finkel - you're only a few hours north! PM me if you're ever interested. I have helped lot of people with their shooting.

 

[ratt_finkel]

Well I am beyond discouraged. Went to the range on the 2nd. Shot two of my best 25 yard targets ever. Including with my soon to be father in-laws Glock 19 which I have no real trigger time with.

Then I went to the range this Saturday. Was there with the kids shooting their 22 rifle. When done, I put 2 groups of 5 down range. They were just slightly worse than my previous best.

Then I went on Sunday as I had an out of town friend and local friend who wanted to go. There were a smorgasbord of pistols there. Including a glock 34 with a trigger job and a m&p pro. All guns I have not shot or had little trigger time with. I was excited as I figured this would be an opportunity to go back to the basics on these new guns. Without staging the trigger as I do with my berettas.

The first few groups were ok. But soon there after my shots started getting worse and worse. I got to the point where I felt like all I could do was slap at the trigger. Herky jerky can't help it. Ugh, it was ugly. Finally called it a day feeling in defeat.

Went to the range today since I wanted to work on some of the techniques discussed here. Plus it was on the way home from Cabelas LOL
Anyway, I borrowed a pending gift, Heritage Rough Rider 22 revolver. I took my M9A1 just in case as well.

I started out just shooting at the back stop. It took me a few rounds to "settle down" and just let the gun do it's thing. Focused on feeling the trigger. But mostly focusing on the front sight. And then watching the blast and the muzzle rise. I think I shot 3 cylinders this way.

Then I put up a target with a 1" black sticker (exploding type). Put the target out to 3 yards and began blasting away.

The first cylinder was mostly about 1" to the left. Nice grouping though. 1" at the most. The sights are very tough and I do not much have experience with the blade and grove style. Or with the odd grips of revolvers period. So I blame that some haha.

I repeated this for 3 stickers. Went through just over 50 rounds in total. Was able to get excellent accuracy and tear out each sticker with about 12 shots.

So I decided to load 5 rounds in the beretta. Put the target out to 3 yards. Results were dismal. Atleast compared to how I normally shoot at that close of a distance. Put it out to 7 yards and again no luck. Then brought it back to 3 yards and the shots were again inconsistent.

So I pulled the target down and blasted 2 - 5 shot groups at the back stop. Tried focusing on the things discussed here. But I don't know. I feel like I've lost it completely. What was a minor flinch keeping me from 3" or less 25 yard groups has now turned into complete destabilization of my shooting performance. Maybe I just need to step back and take some time off.

 

[ATLDave]

It takes time. You're building trust in your brain. If you've got a really ingrained flinch, you won't lick it in a single session. Keep working on it. Don't try to push through to the 9mm too fast.

 

[ratt_finkel]

I tried shooting the M9 in DA. But it was worse that way. While building up pressure I know that I was approaching the breaking point and I would just rush it from there and it was a disaster. Repeated this several times.

Tried doing a consistent pull in SA mode but I kept staging the trigger. There isn't a ton of slack. But it's a brick wall getting over the breaking point. If I had a competition trigger I think it would be a breeze. But anyone who has shot a 92 variant in SA knows that the break is long and gritty. It's incredibly hard to maintain a smooth consistent pressure, when the trigger is neither smooth nor consistent.

I'm thinking about going to my Ruger SR9c. While it does recoil more than my beretta it does have a much more consistent trigger pull. I may look into the ceiner conversion for the 92 as well. Or maybe just get the whole Chiappa M9 22. Still undecided. Either way, I'm going to do some dry firing this week and wait until Sunday to go back to the range.

 

[ATLDave]

So here's the question: Do you feel like you have your flinch completely, 100% definitely gone in a .22? Can you watch the sight throughout the recoil process? Can you watch the front sight lift out of the notch, move up in recoil, and drop back down into the notch? On every single shot?

If not, don't even think about moving to the centerfire stuff. It may take you thousands of .22 rounds to get there with a bad, strongly ingrained flinch. That's what it took for me. You absolutely have to train your eyes to stay open through the shot. And if you cannot manage that with a .22, then it's definitely not happening with something many times more powerful. Don't worry about groups. Just learn to see the sights throughout the whole shot.

 

[ratt_finkel]

So here's the question: Do you feel like you have your flinch completely, 100% definitely gone in a .22? Can you watch the sight throughout the recoil process? Can you watch the front sight lift out of the notch, move up in recoil, and drop back down into the notch? On every single shot?

If not, don't even think about moving to the centerfire stuff. It may take you thousands of .22 rounds to get there with a bad, strongly ingrained flinch. That's what it took for me. You absolutely have to train your eyes to stay open through the shot. And if you cannot manage that with a .22, then it's definitely not happening with something many times more powerful. Don't worry about groups. Just learn to see the sights throughout the whole shot.

Short answer: Yes. After about two or 3 shots yesterday I was able to do what you mentioned. I shot the rest of that cylinder and then two more without a target. Moving on to a target with the 22 I was still able to witness the entire event.

When I moved to the 9mm the flinch immediately came back. What's funny is when I shot over the weekend with my buddies. I brought my Socom II out. (I was really hoping to shoot that first but the range was slammed) Indoors this thing is LOUD! And puts out an enormous fire ball. I was able to shoot that without the slightest of flinches and again witness the entire firing event. Which is how I know it's a flame thrower LOL

I think I'm passed the visual and audio overload that "larger" handguns offer. And having been shooting now for 4 or 5 years. I thought was passed the jumpy stage too. But it's come back and I guess just the gun going off has spooked me again. So I think that's what I need to work on.

 

[ATLDave]

When you move to the 9mm, are you able to track the sights, or are you blinking?

You may want to try something in between the two. Got access to a full-sized .38 revolver that you can run wadcutters through?

 

[Rule3]

As others have mention, it's easier to do with a revolver but get some snap caps. Alternative live rounds and snap caps in you mags. Have someone else load them if you can.

You will not know when the gun will fire or not, Pull through the trigger do not stage, do not care about getting a bullseye

In my former Career, I dealt with people with anticipatory anxiety (and other issues). More of a fear on panic situation before the event even happened, It gets ingrained and then just has a life of it's own.

Follow the grip suggestions given, but do not think about the actual shooting or target or actual bulls eye. Relax your shoulders, breath slowly and normally and pretty much just relax. You may be to the point of trying to fight it as you know or anticipate it's going to happen.
Take a stance that is comfortable, don't worry if it is not a perfect Weaver or whatever. Stand how you feel comfortable, we are working on removing a flinch not perfect form.

It sounds lame but just go with it Zen like if you will. let the gun recoil and rise up, relax shot, breath, shoot, slow, breathe etc etc.

Wear shoes not socks

 

[BCRider]

The time with the new guns likely caused you to focus on something other than the BANG!. So that's likely why you did a little better for a while. Then you got feeling confident enough with the new to you guns and that let you get back to the "serious" work of focusing on the up coming BANG!

I feel that your success with the rimfire revolver says a lot. It shows that you CAN focus beyond the big BANG! and just simply hold the gun steady while pulling the trigger. So now what you need to do is achieve Rule3's Zen like state of mind and smoothly carry that on over to the 9mm. And then when it all collapses go back to the rimfire and get back into the Zen Zone. If this means you can't even get the mag seated and aim the first center fire shot then so be it. It sounds like you can FEEL and recognize the flinch staging itself to jump on you. And that's a good thing in my experience because it means you can isolate it and eventually learn to send it to the back reaches of your mind.

I know it sounds corny but Rule3's "Zen" suggestion is what I've always called it too. But whatever you call it all the suggestions so far have been geared to either consciously taking your mind into that zone or through other repetitive practice methods to unconsciously do the same thing. And regardless of how you get there you will only banish your flinch through this Zen like mind control.

For me and a lot of others the fun method was and remains lots of .22LR handgun time. For others it's copious amounts of dry firing. And for another group it is lots of center fire time with focus on the whole experience to aid in downplaying the kick and noise to your mind so that you can move on and shoot without reacting.

Obviously different things work for different folks since we all got past it using whatever method we are supporting. Your trick will be to find the one that works for you.

The one thing that I think most of us will agree on is that staging the trigger is bad. It is the reason I went to some lengths to describe the pressure build idea instead of actually moving the trigger. In the end I don't think it matters much which method you use to beat the flinch issue. But either way your accuracy will take a step up in the end if you learn to pressure the trigger and let it move on its own. And remember the follow through where you hold the trigger against the rear travel limit until the recoil is done. Again this focuses on a smooth and deliberate trigger control.


I'll also toss out one other suggestion. It'll seem a little out there but you might just want to try a competition event such as Steel Challenge. Odd though it seems the focus on aiming, shooting and moving to the next target puts enough pressure on your thought process that it can take away the time and opportunity for the back of your mind to focus on the kick and issue a "flinch command". It's worth a try at least. And it's hellishly good fun in its own right. Not to mention you'll meet a great bunch of folks with similar intrest. I've yet to attend a shooting event where the time spent yakking between shooting was not just as much fun as actually pulling the trigger. So even if it doesn't work out in terms of kicking the flinch in the teabag you'll still have a lot of fun and get some fresh air and sun....

PS: With that little cowboy revolver try holding your hand around the grip a little lower so your pinky sits down under the butt end. If you're not doing that due to holding high to get all your fingers onto the front strap that will push your shots over to the left for a right handed shooter. Drop your hold down a little so your pinky has to sit below on the butt end and it'll pull the POI back and you'll find you're ripping the center out.

 

[tuj]

Maybe this will help. I shoot bullseye (NRA Conventional Pistol). We shoot the .22 pistol, any centerfire pistol, and a .45 pistol at distances of 50 yards for slow-fire and 25 yards for timed and rapid fire. I was a natural shooting the .22 and was shooting very good scores after just a few matches. Then one of the guys said 'hey, why don't you try this .45 in a match?'. Ok sure, np right?

Wrong.

I shot the .45 so horribly you can't even imagine the look of shame on my face. And I know it wasn't the gun's fault either; this was a bullseye .45 that would hold 1.5" from a randsom rest at 50 yards.

What happened? I learned about recoil and developed a flinch. So as I started to shoot the .45 more (I got my own bullseye guns at that point), I found out that my slow-fire .45 shooting was actually not that bad at all. It wasn't as good as the .22, but it was close. But my timed and rapid fire targets were CRAP! In fact, in one match I shot the metal tag that held the number on my target.

I had developed 'the jerk' which when you shoot one-handed (as we do in bullseye) and you are right-handed, the jerk tends to put the shot low-left. I practiced my *$$ off to try and get better with the .45. By this point I was shooting Expert-level .22 scores so I didn't understand why I couldn't match that or even come close with the .45. It was all about trigger control.

It probably took me about 10,000 rounds of disciplined shooting to get over the recoil of the .45 and not jerk the trigger. I'm serious, I was lucky but I was shooting every day, 200 rounds a day, every day, before I started to see my rapid fire scores in .45 come into the low 90's.

When I asked for help when I first was having the issue, a lot of people suggested the same things that you see here, ball-and-dummy drills, etc. I did not find those useful. What *was* useful was a *ton* of dry-fire, but mostly shooting those 10,000 live rounds. Experience counts. So make each practice about incremental improvements and always focus on the fundamentals. You will get better.

 

[michaelnel]

One of the biggest helps for me was when my instructor / coach encouraged me to single load my 1911. ie: put only one round in the magazine, slam it home and chamber that round, and then mentally go through my checklist:

Feet shoulder width, angled out
Nose over toes (sightly bent over at waist, leaning forward)
Head up, neck straight
60/40 grip on weapon (60% weak hand, 40% strong hand)
Trigger finger outside trigger guard until ready to fire
Arms extended, elbows locked
Raise weapon to eye level (don't lower head to weapon level)
Trigger finger middle of distal pad
Sight with dominant eye, but both eyes open
Breathe in, exhale half of it
Align sights and watch the front sight
Pull trigger straight back when on target (the trigger break itself should be a surprise)

If I do all that, I shoot well, with no flinch. I think part of it is that going over that checklist removes my attention from the upcoming BANG. I often go to the range and shoot quite a few rounds that way, (in single shot mode). I think it helps a ton. Often we flinch on a subsequent round when we "hurry it up" while not really ready yet. This method and checklist solves that problem.

And yes, I do fire lots of rounds that are not single-loaded, but single-loading is a good warmup for me. I have been shooting thousands of rounds of .45ACP out of my Les Baer Thunder Ranch Special. However, this coming Monday I will be picking up a new S&W .44 magnum Stealth Hunter, and I will have a new possible flinch to deal with. I have only shot one round of .44 mag in my life, and that was 30-mumble years ago. ;-) I hope the above steps are effective with the big boomer, I think they will be.

 

[Bobo]

CALL YOUR SHOTS!

Concentrate strongly on the sights during each shot.

You should be able to remember the sight picture you had when the gun went off. Knowing this, you should be able to tell where the bullet hit without actually seeing it.

Try this by setting the target further away than you can see the hits, call where the shot hit, then use a scope or binoculars to see if you were right.

This forces you not to flinch because your eyes must remain open in order to see where the sights were when the gun went off. You will also see the sights jump if you jerk the trigger just before the gun goes off.

Conversely, if you can't call your shot you closed your eyes (flinched).



Bobo