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Old May 16, 2012, 09:51 PM   #1
TheRaskalKing
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Eliminating "Flinching"/anticipating recoil?

Hey all,

I had an extra hour or so to kill after work today, so naturally I decided to spend some time at the LGS/range. I put 100 rounds through each an FNX-9 and a SA Range Officer. Both shot really well and functioned flawlessly, BTW.

BUT, I noticed I was flinching and really anticipating the recoil a lot. Is there a good training tip or method to eliminate this? I usually shoot my XDM in .40 but I didn't have it with me today. I'm sure at least some of this had to do with the fact that I'm used to shooting a "snappier" round, but I know guys that can shoot multiple calibers equally well.

I want to make sure my fundamentals are sound, because that's what translates well no matter what round or what gun.
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Old May 16, 2012, 10:03 PM   #2
egor20
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My wife had a flinching problem, I used to load an AZoom (aluminum) snap cap somewhere in the cylinder or magazine randomly. She got over her flinching rather fast.
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Old May 16, 2012, 10:03 PM   #3
Jamas
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Practice. Get a .22 and shoot a few thousand rounds. When you go back to a larger round you may notice a change. Also I would do lots of dry fire practice and just concentrate on a slow steady trigger pull... I wouldn't say that it should be a "surprise" when it goes off, but you shouldn't be trying to make it fire you should be trying to get a smooth trigger pull while focusing on your front sight. my .02
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Old May 16, 2012, 10:14 PM   #4
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Buy some snap caps, have someone else load your mags randomly loading a snap cap every so often or... get multiple mags, load them yourself doing the same thing with the SC's, mix them up and practice.
If you have a revolver, you can practice this same technique by randomly loading a(or two) SC's in the cyl. The rest live rds. Spin the cyl. so you don't know where the caps are. Close cyl. and shoot.

Too, dry firing concentrating solely on trigger control and grip also helps to get your mind conditioned to concentrating on actual shooting technique's rather then recoil.

Shooting is mostly a mind game.
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Old May 17, 2012, 06:12 AM   #5
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Quote:
Practice. Get a .22 and shoot a few thousand rounds. When you go back to a larger round you may notice a change. Also I would do lots of dry fire practice and just concentrate on a slow steady trigger pull... I wouldn't say that it should be a "surprise" when it goes off, but you shouldn't be trying to make it fire you should be trying to get a smooth trigger pull while focusing on your front sight. my .02
+1 on this. I am new to pistols also. I didnt releize I had a problem until I had a failure to stay open on last round. Pulled the trigger with no bang yet the gun still jumped. Went to shooting the 22 for a while and concentrating on my squeeze. Big diference when I move back to the 9.
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Old May 17, 2012, 07:56 AM   #6
drail
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Dry fire and concentrate on releasing the sear without seeing any movement of the front sight. And relax.
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Old May 17, 2012, 03:56 PM   #7
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I know one friend used a revolver loaded by someone else at random with live rounds or an empty cylinder so the shooter never knew when the gun would go off. Focused on trigger pull and sight picture for each slow fire round fired. Seems to have worked for him.
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Old May 17, 2012, 04:58 PM   #8
Walklightly
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LOL shoot a 44mag once.
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Old May 17, 2012, 05:01 PM   #9
James K
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All good advice, including purchase of a .22 similar to the gun you have the most problem with.

But a quicker and easier way is the oldest. Don't think about the gun going off - concentrate on the sights and squeeeeze the trigger until it goes bang. Concentrating on the sights keeps you from thinking about the recoil and squeezing the trigger keeps you from anticipating it.

Jim
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Old May 17, 2012, 07:18 PM   #10
Smit
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Front sight-Press. I think we are all guilty of flinching to one degree or another, no matter how seasoned a shooter you are. I also tend to flinch worse the more rounds I go through in a session.

What helps me in addition to concentrating hard on sight picture is that I know exactly what is going to happen when i pull the trigger. It is going to go boom with a recoil. Try to suprise yourself each time you pull the trigger and put yourself in the mindset of trying not to compensate for this, but to expect the recoil without trying to control it. It's when you start compensating for the boom is when you get into accuracy troubles. Just my experience, hope it helps.

Also, make sure you have a good solid grip on the pistol.
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Old May 17, 2012, 09:00 PM   #11
tlm225
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Quote:
Practice. Get a .22 and shoot a few thousand rounds. When you go back to a larger round you may notice a change. Also I would do lots of dry fire practice and just concentrate on a slow steady trigger pull... I wouldn't say that it should be a "surprise" when it goes off, but you shouldn't be trying to make it fire you should be trying to get a smooth trigger pull while focusing on your front sight. my .02
Excellent advise. Shooting is 90% mental, many of use have to fight the normal reaction to the blast and recoil taking place inches in front of our faces. The use of a .22 for sub-caliber training allows you to develop and re-enforce good habits while breaking bad ones. When you do shoot your larger caliber guns do the "ball and dummy" drill. Focus and concentration are keys to good marksmanship.
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Old May 17, 2012, 09:21 PM   #12
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As an instructor, one of the things I do with my students is have them stand and hold the pistol like they are firing (always ensure weapon is clear and free of ammunition). Then I stand in front of them and start talking about stuff like "as you're firing along.......(make it up as you go but keep talking)" and I smack the muzzle of the gun lightly. I do this repeatedly and randomly miss the muzzle on purpose. Not only does it help identify if you are flinching or anticipating recoil (aka me hitting the muzzle), after a few rounds 99% of my students are no longer flinching. Hope this helps
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Old May 17, 2012, 10:53 PM   #13
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Try hunting with a flintlock. After you pull the trigger, and depending on how humid it is, you might have time for lunch before it goes off. Holding a steady aim while all the histrionics take place right there in your face will train you not to flinch in anticipation. Of course, if it's REALLY slow, you could flinch and then regain your aim before the barrel discharges (just kidding, no flintlock is that slow unless it's malfunctioning somehow). Or else you should only hunt deaf, slow deer, none of which I've ever run across.
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Old May 18, 2012, 11:46 AM   #14
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I have run into this issue with several of my Soldiers over the years. The best way that I have found is to have them mentally go through ALL of the fundamentals as they do it. Usually the bang will "surprise" them and they learn that (assuming the weapon does not malfunction) nothing "bad" will happen.
Sight picture - Front sight crisp and clear, target clear, rear sight fuzzy but there
Breath control - slow even breaths, no stopping breathing
Steady position - grip the weapon correctly, not to tight, not to loose. Feet in a strong position AND comfortable
Trigger SQUEEZE - pad of index finger on trigger, pulling the PAD of your finger strait back, with a steady and smooth motion

At some point in all of that mental gymnastics the gun will go bang and a little hole appears on the target.
Good luck
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Old May 18, 2012, 03:53 PM   #15
Clifford L. Hughes
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TheRaskalKing:

Devloping a good dry firing routin will help you take control of your pistol. Your snapping-in works best when it's done on a daily basis. The human eye can focus on only one point at a time. In pistol shooting that point is either the front or the rear sight. The target will be blurred.

I stood about ten feet from a blank white wall using the back of a kitchen chair to simulate a shooting bench. I experimented with developing a good grijp and developing my trigger finger placement. Proper trigger finger placement is vital to releasing the trigger with out disturbing sight alignment. There's no one trigger finger placement that works for everyone.

Next I focused my eyes on the front sight and raised the pistol, my eyes followed the pistol to shooting position and then I released the trigger watching the sights. If my trigger release disturbed the sights it was apparent with the white background.

When you carry your new slill to the range remember if you are focusing your eyes on the sights the target will blurr. If the sights are aligned when the shot fires they can move the distance of the bullseye and you will still hit the ten ring.

The pistol should suprise you when it goes off so you'll have no reason to flinch.

By the way I gained my experience while shooting of several Marine Corps pistol teams. I was a NRA master competitor.

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Last edited by Clifford L. Hughes; May 18, 2012 at 04:07 PM. Reason: word choice
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Old May 18, 2012, 04:05 PM   #16
Nakanokalronin
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Quote:
LOL shoot a 44mag once.
LOL, try a S&W 500.I shot one a few times and it was literally a blast to shoot.

As a matter of fact, I was just shooting my M&P 9mm today at the range and in the middle of a mag I heard a "BOOM!" from down the lanes. Everyone around me stopped shooting and said "what the heck was that?" It didn't even effect me knowing full well that it was the S&W 500 rental and once I was done with my mag, I looked back and everyone is looking at the guy shooting it. I tell them what it is and get back to shooting, hearing BOOM after BOOM and realized I was the only other one shooting. Obviously nobody else could concentrate.

As already suggested, a .22lr pistols and some snap caps for your other guns does wonders. I usually have a target taped to a wall and practice dry firing focusing only on the front sight and target. If you drown out everything else around you and focuse on what your doing. nothing will effect you as much, if at all. The .22lr handgun is your best bet though since you get some feedback unlike dry firing. Trigger pull has a lot to do with it as well. If your pulling to slowly or anticipating where the trigger breaks, it may make you flinch. Get enough practice in, make the gun second nature and shooting will be as easy as breathing.
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