When you fire a Rifle do You Blink?

[BruceRDucer]

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When you fire a rifle, do you blink?

Does everybody blink?

Does anybody manage to keep their eyes open?

Should I not blink?

 

[Larry Ashcraft]

When you fire a rifle, do you blink?

Not if I want to hit anything. Seriously, I have to make a conscious effort to watch the target as I fire. If I blink, I miss.

 

[hexidismal]

Same here. I've beaten the blink through training, but it wasn't always so easy. Blink = Miss, or at least a hit not exactly where I want it.

 

[Owen]

blinking is an autonomous response to the loud noise and the push, or the expectation of the loud noise and push.

It can be difficult to overcome. The first suggestion is to use enough hearing protection. If your friends give you crap about wearing double protection, find new friends.

The second part is focusing on the follow-through. Try holding the gun on the target, after the shot.

The third part is associated with follow through, and breaking the relationship between the loud noise and the trigger pull. It's called the ball and dummy drill. Have a friend load a magazine randomly with live rounds and dummy cartridges. You'll prabably be surprised by what you do the the hammer falls on the first few dummies.

 

[NavajoNPaleFace]

I can honestly say I don't.

 

[brickeyee]

A lot of practice.

So much that during a neuro exam when told to "try not to blink" as the hammer thumped the bridge of my nose I can make myself NOT blink.

Neuro was about to write down another cranial nerve symptom until told it was carefully learned so I can see the sights on a gun at the moment of firing.

 

[csmkersh]

Yes, I blink, but not before the rifle has fired. When hunting, I'm not aiming so long as to have a problem with blinking. At the bench, I'll back off the shot, relax, breath, close my eyes a moment, then proceed with B.R.A.S.S.


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[sacp81170a]

Training for steel plate shooting with pistols helped me a LOT. If you're going to go faster, you have to maintain your ability to acquire targets between shots. This means blinking is a bad thing that you have to overcome.

 

[Soap]

I definitely don't blink. Put down your centerfire and train yourself on your .22.

 

[Claude Clay]

practice not blinking. it can even be done when you sneeze. maybe not everyone, and it requires concious thought; but most can train to keep one eye open--when you are driving even a squint is better than being blind. ditto with a gun.

 

[Old Grump]

I know I used to when I was a kid and shooting without eye or ear protection. 2 years after shooting competitively I realized I wasn't blinking anymore when I could see the brass being ejected and the action of the slide on my 45 or the charging handle on my M1 going forward. When the sun was just right I could see the 45 hardball going down range as a yellow line. Those were the days when I was doing everything right and my groups showed it. I miss those days.

 

[doubleh]

Nope, not in a long, long time. I just figuered out if I kept my eyes open I could see what my shot did so no more blinking. I'm old enough that other problems have shown up to make shooting a challenge even without blinking. But it doesn't mean I'll quit shooting. I'll still be at it as long as I can lift a gun.

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

If you're talking about simultaneous with / immediately after the shot, then of course. Everyone does. It's an involuntary reaction. Doesn't affect the shot in the least - it's already out of the barrel.

If you're talking about before or during the trigger pull? No, of course not.

 

[sharkhunter2018]

I've never had a problem with blinking.

Only time I ever had that problem was when I first shot my Mosin M44 from a bench. It was bout half dark and between the recoil and massive muzzle blast, which was much more noticeable at dusk, I couldn't keep my eyes open if my life depended on it.

 

[Loomis]

Practice with a 22rimfire semi auto rifle. Concentrate on WATCHING the bullet fly towards the target. That's how I cured my "blink" years ago. If you can't do that, then drop back to an air rifle and start there. It's easier to see a 22 cal pellet than a 177 caliber pellet.

 

[scrat]

depends on what im shooting. my 22lr naaa i can shoot them all day long. 30 caliber ehhhhh sometimes. .50cal muzzleloader. my first shot is the best. after that i find myself flinching as that thing has got a kick like a mule. i do find that after shooting a few rounds through the .50 when i go to shoot 30-06 or 30-30 i feel like im shooting a 22lr again.