[L'attente]

Alright, it really showed itself this weekend. I picked a p22 for my wife and we went and shot it that evening. I brought my 9mm and shot it for a bit and then switched with her. I totally pushed down on the first shot of the p22. I know, I know...pretty bad, but hey at least I can admit to it...lol

So, what do I do about it?

What's a good way to work through the flinching without having to pay any money (no the rounds don't count), I mean what can I do, aside from paying money on snap caps, or instructors, etc to get past the flinching?

Is there a technique in standing, and holding that might help, anything?

 

[apollosmith]

I'm by no means an expert, but do have a few thoughts.

Do you have good ear protection? A lot of people flinch because it's the natural reaction to a loud noise. I have a pair of over the ear noise enhancing/reducing earmuffs. They amplify all the sound around you, but when you shoot a 9mm, it sounds like a .22, but without the pressure to your ears. They've been one of the best shooting purchases I've made in a long time. They were ~$80 at Sportman's.

Practice dry firing. Be sure to roll your finger onto the trigger. You should squeeze enough that you are typically surprised when the trigger breaks. When shooting, you (or better, someone else) can randomly put a snap cap into your magazine. That will show you if you still suffer from flinching. Beyond that, just shoot a lot.

 

[L'attente]

I generally wear plugs (foam), but I do have some muffs, nothing special ($10)...maybe I should try with those more.

I almost bought a pack of snap caps, but I had just bought my wife a gun and figured I would have been skinned for anything more :lol2:

I'll try the dry firing practice and what I can do with that.

Thanks.

 

[MarshallDodge]

I find some that have an issue with flinching is that they are concentrating too much on the gun rather than on the target. Get a good comfortable grip on the gun, watch the front sight, take a breath and let it half way out while squeezing the trigger and still watching the front sight. Concentrate on the front sight and let the gun surprise you.

Remember the target is your enemy, not the gun. The gun will not hurt you, unless you are shooting some big magnum round that will leave your hand stinging.

Practicing with your P22 is an excellent way to learn the right way.

 

[mchlwise]

You should squeeze enough that you are typically surprised when the trigger breaks.

This is the biggest thing that I have to remember.

I've had the same problem with shooting my 22 after shooting my 9mm - I anticipate recoil that isn't there, and the gun jerks down.

I catch myself doing it with the 9mm too, though. Not so much the flinching or the "yanking", but the anticipating. I'll get excited when I shoot, and will pull the trigger a little bit, then when the sights are perfect say "NOW!" and will yank the trigger the rest of the way to get the shot off quickly before the sights move. This, of course, causes the sights to move and my shots are off. When I catch myself doing that, I remind myself to just pull slow and steady, and that it should be almost a surprise when it goes off.

If it's almost a surprise, then you can't/aren't anticipating, so you aren't flinching.

:dunno:

 

[DeeJay]

I find some that have an issue with flinching is that they are concentrating too much on the gun rather than on the target. Get a good comfortable grip on the gun, watch the front sight, take a breath and let it half way out while squeezing the trigger and still watching the front sight. Concentrate on the front sight and let the gun surprise you.

Remember the target is your enemy, not the gun. The gun will not hurt you, unless you are shooting some big magnum round that will leave your hand stinging.

Practicing with your P22 is an excellent way to learn the right way.

Very good advice.

One technique I have used through the years to hand a student a partially loaded gun. In fact I used thes method with my grandson yesterday. It is easier with a revolver than with a semi-auto, but works if you have dummy-loads for your weapon.

With a revolver, have someone load three with unpredictable spaces between rounds. Make sure the first round comes up to fire. The empty chamber will make you very aware of your flinch, and with practice, using MarshallDodge's suggestions you will find yourself learning very quickly. With a semi-auto, the same method can be used by having someone load some dummy cartridges for your weapon and have them loaded intermittantly in the magazine.

Practice, practice.

DJ

 

[Paul]

I flinch too. When I notice I am doing it, I just take a few breaths and remind myself not to flinch. Thinking about not flinching seems to help me.

 

[L'attente]

Looks like I'm off the pick up some snap caps and see if I can't get this flinching under control!

Thanks for the advice everyone, I'm going to put it into practice this weekend.

 

[divegeek]

I catch myself doing it with the 9mm too, though. Not so much the flinching or the "yanking", but the anticipating. I'll get excited when I shoot, and will pull the trigger a little bit, then when the sights are perfect say "NOW!" and will yank the trigger the rest of the way to get the shot off quickly before the sights move. This, of course, causes the sights to move and my shots are off. When I catch myself doing that, I remind myself to just pull slow and steady, and that it should be almost a surprise when it goes off.

I have the same tendency and have to really fight it when shooting pistols. For some reason I don't have the same issue with rifles.

This has always been an interesting issue to me, because unless you're superhuman your sights will be moving around significantly while you squeeze (when shooting unsupported). People just aren't that steady. What amazes me is how when I'm shooting correctly my shots are much more tightly grouped than I would expect from the way my sights wander around.

 

[apollosmith]

Another thing I tried a while ago that seemed to work is to fire a few shots doing nothing but looking at the gun itself. If you believe it's safe, look at the side of the gun (preferably the side opposite of the ejection port) while you squeeze the trigger and fire a few shots downrange. This gives you an excellent idea of what the gun is actually doing, how you're gripping it, and how much it moves when the trigger is pulled. Once I knew what the gun was actually doing, I was a lot more comfortable squeezing the trigger and shooting because I knew it wasn't all that bad and wasn't really moving that much.

 

[mchlwise]

...unless you're superhuman your sights will be moving around significantly while you squeeze (when shooting unsupported). People just aren't that steady. What amazes me is how when I'm shooting correctly my shots are much more tightly grouped than I would expect from the way my sights wander around.

:lolbang: Aint that the truth.

I don't know where I learned it, (probably when I was a boy first learning to shoot) but with the way the sights wander around, I have a tendency to try to make it a matter of timing more than a matter of steadiness.

There's such a small window when the sights are just where you want them to be, it's hard not to try to yank the trigger right then. :nilly:

 

[Rugerlover]

try wearing earplugs AND earmuffs.

I flinch when I start shooting a new gun. When I get used to it, I'm usually fine. Also, I flinch when shooting one of my old guns for the first time in a long time. I've been going to the range more lately. The only way to get over flinching is to get used to shooting.

 

[MarshallDodge]

This has always been an interesting issue to me, because unless you're superhuman your sights will be moving around significantly while you squeeze (when shooting unsupported). People just aren't that steady. What amazes me is how when I'm shooting correctly my shots are much more tightly grouped than I would expect from the way my sights wander around.

I am not superhuman, I just practice a lot. 8)

I shoot at least 2000 rounds of centerfire pistol per year and many bricks of 22. This is not meant to brag but these are the results of practice:

25 feet, five shot groups, target ammo

As you can see from the bottom left target that I anticipated a little bit. :lol2:

A good trigger helps a lot, one of the reasons I really like a 1911. I have been practicing double action shooting on my revolver and I don't get nearly the same results as above.

 

[tapehoser]

My problem is not flinching. I had a great coach who taught me how to shoot and use great breathing and trigger control. MY problem is that with repeated handgun shooting, over an hour or two, my arm starts to shake. It's either shaking in anticipation of the beating it's taking, or from the actual beating.

Guess the only cure for that would be to shoot more. Lots more.

 

[Rugerlover]

My problem is not flinching. I had a great coach who taught me how to shoot and use great breathing and trigger control. MY problem is that with repeated handgun shooting, over an hour or two, my arm starts to shake. It's either shaking in anticipation of the beating it's taking, or from the actual beating.

Guess the only cure for that would be to shoot more. Lots more.

That's just muscle fatigue. Do some bicep curls and tricep extensions. Upper body strength is your friend. (I know, I was shaking like a leaf after 1:30 of shooting on Sunday.)

 

[DeeJay]

...unless you're superhuman your sights will be moving around significantly while you squeeze (when shooting unsupported). People just aren't that steady. What amazes me is how when I'm shooting correctly my shots are much more tightly grouped than I would expect from the way my sights wander around.

:lolbang: Aint that the truth.

I don't know where I learned it, (probably when I was a boy first learning to shoot) but with the way the sights wander around, I have a tendency to try to make it a matter of timing more than a matter of steadiness.

There's such a small window when the sights are just where you want them to be, it's hard not to try to yank the trigger right then. :nilly:

Early in my shooting carreer, on of the finest shootists I have known told me that if I maintained joint tension but relaxed unnecessary muslces while paying attention to the front sights, I would notice that if allowed the muzzle of the weapon would be moving in a tight horizontal figure eight. For me and the majority of the folks I have coached, that is exactly the case. If you recognize this after learning breath and trigger control, you will find that the weapon will fire most often on the downward return to center. Your brain will sub-conciously make this happen with practice.

 

[Guest]

Well I ain't going to teach you to shoot but I can help.

Shoot frequently is the best; I put about 2k rounds a month down range, I don't flinch. A trick I learned also works real well: get about 20 snap caps and at least 3 magazines. Load snap caps with live rounds randomly in all of your magazines; or better yet have someone else do it (you must not have any idea when a snap cap is in battery). It also helps to have someone watching you that will heckle when you drop the muzzle on a snap cap.

 

[L'attente]

The heckling isn't a problem, either from relatives or from myself... :lol2:

 

[Guest]

The heckling isn't a problem, either from relatives or from myself... :lol2:

Well I certainly know that. A few weeks ago I went rabbit hunting with my father. I got 5 in a row on the move then missed one that was standing still about 40 yards away. My father retold that story about 20 times in the next few days, he even told a gas station attendant.

 

[L'attente]

:lol2:

now that's gotta make ya feel good...