"BAD HABITS"

[jekla]

i want to know what exercises i can do to remove some of my bad habits during shooting. they are flinching and "blinking" or grimacing the moment gun goes off. how can i overcome these so i can improve my accuracy??

[Quartus]

This is why every new gunnie should start with small caliber, preferably a .22. It's very tempting to start with a "real" gun, but that's a great way to develop those bad habits that are now tormenting you.

You need to go back to square one. Get something in a SMALL caliber. A pellet gun or a .22 at most. Work on the basics. Work on relaxing. One useful trick is to balance a coin on the sights and do some dry firing. The object is to let the hammer fall without dropping the coin.

Lots of dry fire practice. If you can't afford a .22, get some Snap Caps and do a lot of dry firing.

[Arc Angel]

Oh, my friend! This is, truly, a classic question as well as a problem that most new shooters ( and a lot of experienced ones, too) have to overcome. I have a friend who had heart problems a few years back; afterwards, he discovered that he had acquired a nasty flinch whenever he tried to shoot a pistol. So, here was a guy who had previously been a decent competitor and a good shot, suddenly, unable to use a pistol - well! I would go to the range with him; and he really made me earn my credentials by, probably, subconsciously fighting everything I had to say to him. Some days we, just, wasted ammo! Getting this guy to, ‘let go’ and start shooting decent, again, was like trying to get him, ‘reborn’.

I’ll go through the regimen with you, here, that finally turned my friend into a decent shot, again:

First, you own and use shooting glasses and ear muffs – right? OK, take the advice you’ve already been given and start with a 22 caliber pistol. Do, get yourself a bunch of snap caps. (I love the point about putting a coin on the top of the pistol and dry-firing without letting it fall – very good!) You DON’T need to do a great deal of dry-firing. Fifteen or twenty minutes a day is sufficient; and a ten minute session before you load live ammunition into the gun can produce surprisingly good results.

Use those snap caps mixed in with live ammo in your guns. You don’t need someone, else, to load the gun for you. I have six magazines for an S&W Model 41; and I, just, load them up all different ways and pay no attention to which magazine I’m picking up. On my S&W Model K-17, ‘Masterpiece’ I play, ‘Russian Roulette’ to load the cylinder without looking. You can, also, load your HK speedloaders in a random fashion and, simply, don’t look when you charge the cylinder. Snap caps and dry-firing practice, alone, will take you a long way toward developing a steady trigger release.

Recognize AND admit to yourself that you were born with and continue to possess a NATURAL FEAR OF LOUD NOISES! Frequently remind yourself that: NOISE CAN’T HURT YOU! NOISE CAN’T HURT YOU! NOISE CAN’T HURT YOU! Got it, now?

Here’s some uncommon advice that you’re, probably, only going to hear from an uncommon (Read, ‘grouchy old man!’) teacher like me: FORGET ABOUT THE SIGHT PICTURE! You’re not ready for it, yet. Great shooting starts (As Rob Leatham has, often, pointed out.) with excellent trigger control. That’s right! You need to concentrate on smoothly shooting through the entire, ‘trigger release’ sequence. Don’t be confused. I’m not talking about shooting to a, ‘surprise break’. I’m talking about SHOOTING THROUGH THE ENTIRE TRIGGER SEQUENCE – THROUGH THE RELEASE – AND INTO RESET FOR THE NEXT SHOT.

Now, completely forgetting about sight picture for the time being, simply hold the pistol in front of you. I don’t care whether it’s: Isosceles, Weaver, or Modified-Weaver. Use a two-hand hold – any two-hand hold that you’re accustomed to. I want you to work with a minimum 5 shot string – more, up to 10, is OK. There are two points on a pistol stock that I want you to become very sensitive to: (1) The front strap – this is where I want you to focus your attention and feel the most pressure. (2) The back strap – this is where I want you to, ‘anchor’ your grip, especially on the, ‘nickel-sized area’ at the bottom of the back strap.

(Please note that with a two-hand hold most of this pressure will be supplied by your support: hand, locked wrist, locked elbow, and arm. Your gun: hand, wrist, elbow, and arm will be unlocked and, somewhat, more, ‘loose’.)

Now get this: IF YOU TEACH YOURSELF TO BE SENSITIVE TO, AND CONTROL THESE TWO AREAS OF A PISTOL STOCK (Grip or frame for traditionalists.) I, ABSOLUTELY, GUARANTEE THAT YOU WILL GO FAR TOWARD GETTING RID OF, BOTH, FLINCHING AND POOR MARKSMANSHIP. Now you’re ready to practice for trigger control by squeezing through a: surprise break, stop, and that all important trigger reset. One fluid motion covers ALL aspects of pulling that trigger! Believe me, it takes a lot longer to read about this than it does to make it happen.

With this skill in hand you’re, now, ready to learn how to focus on a front sight or, as some of my teachers have shown me, the entire back of the gun! I, also, hold to the uncommon opinion that much of aiming derives from the shooter, ‘intuitively knowing’ HOW the pistol normally feels in his hand. I’m so convinced of this that whenever I grasp a pistol wrong and fire, I already know that the shot’s going to be off!

FEEL IS A BIG PART OF SHOOTING A PISTOL STRAIGHT. It’s actually difficult to maintain a, ‘nasty flinch’ when you are keenly aware of, ‘How’ a pistol should feel in your hand. Your hand is able to monitor the pressure on those two, ‘sweet spots’ I mentioned. When your mind is aware of how the gun feels, the sight picture will, in large part, take care of itself; and, then, you’ll be able to concentrate on STROKING THE TRIGGER – a subject I’ll save for another post.

Lastly, work in close to the target – close enough to see your bullet holes; and, whenever you practice, start close to the target and work back as the session progresses. Try to keep all your shots inside a 4” circle. Don’t practice to exhaustion, or what I like to call, ‘muscle confusion’. One hour at the range and a hundred rounds is a good typical session. If you want to do this more than once a day, fine.

Should you, ever, end up in life looking down the sights at another gunman I think you’ll find that this kind of training will completely take over your personality and your reflexes (The feel of the gun, the vertical stroke on the trigger, AND the sight picture) will do the correct shooting for you. As a matter of fact, I’m sure of it!

[jekla]

ive been on .22s. ive been shooting centerfire handguns for a while. but ive a 4 year break since my last 9mm which was a star firestar. i dont know maybe i'm just still "cold" from that 4 year break?

[myopicmouse]

good advice Arc, thats basically the same advice that an rifle 'expert' gave in 'Shooting Sports' - With the not concentrating on hitting stuff at start, coin, smaller cal etc, good post.

[Quartus]

You DON’T need to do a great deal of dry-firing. Fifteen or twenty minutes a day is sufficient; and a ten minute session before you load live ammunition into the gun can produce surprisingly good results.

I figured 15-20 a day would seem like a lot to most new shooters.


jekla, the "per day" part is very important. 5 minutes a day is MUCH better than an hour every weekend.

[Arc Angel]

It you get interupted or distracted, you need to do one of two things: a) STOP, you are done for that session or b) Go through the whole clearing/checking ritual again. Safety!

Once you have decided to STOP, that's it. No more, not a 'One for the road', 'Just this last one.' Nope, you are done. ND's during dry practice happen at the very beginning or when taking that Last One. Once you're done, you are done.

Thanks, never heard this before; but, it sure makes sense!

[jekla]

ive been studying the targets [paper] lately. i noticed that most of my shots group at 4 o"clock of the 3" circle target. is it still my flinch that causes this? or is the gun just shooting low? but then there are times i hit the target 2 to 3 times in succession. is it possible that i have a flinch that deflects the gun to a uniform place or is it my squeezing of the trigger that causes the 4o'clock group?

[Spectre]

To what Erick said, let me add one thing.

You cannot do it while practicing your presentation, but *especially* if you are using a handgun with a long double-action trigger pull, incorporate at least a few minutes of coin practice. Set a coin- you can start with a quarter- on your
slide, get a good sight picture, and practice pulling through the shot while keeping on target, with the coin undisturbed. Start with a quarter, and as you improve, move downward in coin size, until you can do this reliably with a dime.

If you do this regularly, esp. with something with a crappy, long/heavy TP like a Kel-Tec P-11, you will eventually be able to shoot something like a single-action
1911 with what appears to be unnatural speed.

John

[jekla]

erick,

im right handed. and i shoot a walther p99 9mm. i havent really used the DA first shot. all were made in SA mode with trigger on the shorter pull mode. hope this helps in your evaluation of my problem

[Arc Angel]

Here ya go,

For Right-Handed Shooters:

http://www.sportshooter.com/improvin...tion_chart.gif

For Left-Handed Shooters:

http://www.sportshooter.com/improvin...lefthanded.gif

First, get your trigger squeeze down pat; then, concentrate on the sight picture.