How to Stop Flinching With a 44 Mag.

[asknight]

Unlock your right arm and your groups will likely shrink. Use the muscles in your arm to slow recoil rather than trying to stop it altogether by locking your elbow.

 

[4fingermick]

Mind set

All good advice, start low, work up, etc. What I learnt off a vid of one of the go fast guys (skinny little guy, can't remember his name) was to watch the sights and watch they way the gun recoils. Most guns will generally return to the point of aim that you had before if you do not relax your grip. This is good to learn, but also gives you something to think about other then the impending recoil.

Also you have to get the mind set right. Tell yourself (verbalise in your mind or out loud if you are by yourself) something along the lines of 'this is going to bite a bit, but it is not really going to do any real damage! I can handle this!. Put in an empty one and spin the chamber (don't slam it shut like in the movies, it damages the crane). Do your verbalisation thing and after every shot LOWER the gun. This is very important. It relieves strain and allows you to gather yourself for the next shot. Once you lower the gun, think about how the shot went. When you hit the empty you will either not move if you are doing it right, or if you jump about, you will see exactly what you are doing and can adjust accordingly. Be brutally honest with yourself in this process. I shoot a lot of big bore stuff and get a bit raggy occasionally, but knowing how to work through the process, it doesn't take long to get back on track. Mick

 

[Stainz]

I shot .44 Specials and Russians in my Ahrends wood-stocked 629MG for years before 'trying' those new Hogue .500 Magnum grips made for S&W. They really helped with the recoil of the UMC 180gr SJHP .44 Magnums I tried, some really hot rounds easily found for comparison. I bought a new 6" 629, SKU 163606, several months later just to use those grips (8/05). I replaced my MG with a new standard 4" - again, another one of those .500 Magnum grips - the best $35 you can spend on a hard hitting recoil - and they fit K/L, N, and X-frames... but they are only available from S&W Accessories. I did measure my trigger finger extension beyond the trigger guard when laid out alongside, in an attempt to determine the additional 'reach' required by the new Hogue's covered backstrap. My Ahrends square conversion f-g cocobolo stocks gave me nearly 3/16 inch more 'extension' than the Hogues. The wider smooth trigger of the 6" 629 (and 4" 629) make them feel comfortable with those new Hogues, as sad as that is to say for a wood stock person (Everything else I have has wood stocks!). My hands are medium in size, and those grips take the sting out, although, as you'd expect, the muzzle rise is still there.

Shooting milder loads may help, but shooting with your normal loads - and a few empties - in DA only - will give you more feedback. Have someone watch you, too... with good ear protection. You should 'know' when your DA hammer will drop... not so you can flinch, but so you will know what you are shooting. Practice this with your revolver unloaded, to determine the 'break'. Then, practice with real ammo. My personal 629 shooting included enough real Magnums to tell me I didn't 'need' them, having had my fill of launching high KE rounds with the .454 SRH I had for years. I now stick with 300gr LSWC's at 900 fps and 240's @ <1,000 fps for my high-end 'fun'... but I did buy the 6" 629 to replace a 6.5" 24 in .44 Special, anyway. The main goal here is to determine YOUR need - and work towards it.

Stainz

 

[svtruth]

What works for me

is to shoot some hot Buffalo Bore loads- the regualr .44 mags feel like .22s.
Good luck.

 

[dragongoddess]

I take the sage advice of Yoda and obie-wan-kenobi.

As obie-wan says. Be one with the trigger. Feel the trigger. Squeeze the trigger.
keep the elbow bent and don't fight the recoil

 

[Geno]

Fliching = Noise sensitivity, not pain

Everyone I have helped with flinching did so because their ears were hyper sensitive to the noise. It had nothing to do with the recoil. Revolver are among the worst due to the escaping gases between then cylinder and the frame. The blast of a .44 Mag. is massive!

Wear a good pair of soft ear plugs in your ear canal. Then, a good quality set of ear phones over those. That should cut your noise level to a very tolerable level. I know a couple of people who wear 3, yes THREE sets of ear plus, soft one in the canals, the soft type covering the outside of the ears, then headphones. I tried this one time and could barely even hear when the gun fired.

Give it a try. You will be surprised at just how little physical recoil firearms really possess.

Doc2005

 

[chilly460]

I'm by no means an expert, but I've run into a similar problem. My issue wasn't a fear of any kind of pain, it was simply my body trying to anticipate and compensate for the recoil.

The way I work around this is the simple drill of only loading 5 in the cylinder, this seems the simplest way to show if you are indeed flinching, and also how you're flinching. Along with that, I just try to zone out and only concentrate on the front site, NOT the trigger pull. I find that as long as I concentrate on the site, my body compensates for the pull and the trigger break is not anticipated. Tough to explain, but it works for me.

Also, as stated, I find that if I forget my phones and only wear earplugs, my flinch is much worse...great hearing protection really seems to minimize the flinch in my case. Just a natural reaction, for instance I find that I can't stop myself from blinking anytime someone is hammering nearby. There's no logic to it, but it's an involuntary response...same as the body reacting to the anticipation of a loud noise.