Bad pistol shot, maybe flinch

[Dirty_Harry]

I have for most of my life shot just long arms. Not to toot my own horn, but I am an excellent rifle shooter, and skeet shooter. Recoil does not bother me (I am '6"4 and 280 lbs)

I have recently gotten into Pistol shooting with my best friend, and I have developed a shaky hand/flinch. All of my groups are to the left, and I can't hit very well at 25yds.

Help!
Thanks in advance.

 

[Majic]

Start doing a lot of dry firing and put the centerfire handguns down and shoot exclusively .22lr handguns until the basics are mastered.

 

[croyance]

Some people start at shorter ranges and work their way out. Hey, supposedly with archers some began at point blank range.
If I understand the mechanics of riflery, you are catching most of the recoil on the shoulders, but now you are getting it in your hands. There is a difference there. I've seen large people have trouble with recoil and small people not - it isn't about size.
Dry fire practice (snap caps and a lot of 'redundant' chamber checking please) over and over. Rimfire or airgun at the range. Check your mechanics too.

 

[tony pasley]

start close and try just using your front site and not try aiming like a rifle. second don't expect the point of discharge that is what usually makes a person flinch. .22's can help but too offend a person will still expect a hard recoil and you still flinch relax and just enjoy learning the basics and the range time and fellowship of other shooters

 

[hoghunting]

Pulling your shots to the left can also mean you have your trigger finger too far into the trigger guard. You need to use just the pad of your finger from the tip to the 1st joint, not the joint itself.

 

[maas]

what cal are you shooting. if its a loud cal (.357) you might want to use plugs and muffs. some people relate noise to recoil.

 

[skeeter1]

Speaking of dry-firing, someone on one of the forums suggested putting hot glue into the empty primer holes of empty brass to make your own "snap-caps." That struck me as a good idea.

 

[GoSlash27]

My advice is to start out very slow. Add pressure to the trigger as slowly as possible so you can detect any flinches. They'll go away on their own.

 

[Jayb]

Start shooting from the bench.....
get your grip, and obtain sight alignment....

THEN..... slowly let your eyes drift shut....both of them

Now concentrate on sqeezing the trigger.. until the trigger breaks. Small groups are not the objective here. Start shooting at an 8.5" x 11" sheet of paper.

With your eyes closed, your brain isn't distracted by visual stimulii, and by concentrating on the trigger squeeze, you'll be less likely to jerk it. I've taught many new shooters this way, and while it doesn't work for all of them, it does work for most.

This analysis target may be of interest to you.
http://personal.swayzee.com/jayb/analysis.jpg

Try it and let me/us know how it works out.

 

[Javelin Man]

With the shaking, I'm thinking fatigued shooting hand. You may be a large, strong man, but perhaps the trigger finger isn't up to long stretches at a range. You'll notice it after about 20-30 rounds with a DA trigger, maybe never with a SA trigger. Lots of dry firing with snap caps or finger exercises.

 

[Mikeyboy]

Dirty...I was in the same boat when I started shooting pistols. I had little problems with a 30/06, but I would flinch shooting 9mm. Makes no sense, but are you shooting indoors??? I realized that shooting rifles most of my life outdoors the move to shooting pistols indoor made me jumpy. everything is louder, eveyone in closer together (I always seem to get some guy shooting a .44 or a .50AE next to me). Try going to an outdoor pistol range if this is the case. Straight up if your right handed, your pulling left (and let me guess a little high) because you are flinching. Don't worry, I did the same thing. The advise I followed from friends and some from people on this forum is to relax, perhaps wear ear plugs and muffs, dryfire, and keep praticing. You will see a steady improvement.

 

[Nagano21]

Get yourself a revolver. Have someone else load it for you. The catch is have them load only half of what it can normally take (so if it is a 6 gun, load 3 rounds). Have that person load it so not all the bullets are next to eachother, but maybe 2 of them are. Next have them hand you the gun, and pay close attn to how you are reacting b4 and after u pull the trigger. So say you shoot and ur first shot a round goes off, u dont know if another one will or not,so u are naturally going to react prior and post trigger pull, and sometimes with this technique you can see which way you mussle goes, and you can use that to change how you r shootin. Worked really well for me.

 

[solz56]

Work on your grip and trigger pull. If you're hitting down and left, you're tightening your grip just before the gun fires. Work on pulling the trigger straight back with constant grip, don't anticipate the bang. And, look through the muzzle flash. I find that when I see the muzzle flash, I hit right where I'm aiming because I didn't flinch. When I flinch, I don't see the muzzle flash because I blink right then.

At least practice is fun!

 

[Socrates]

Hmmm. Sounds like you might have the very large hands, standard grips are too small problem. Wrap cloth, tape, anything around your grips to build them up, so that you can hold the gun without having to strangle it. Then give it a try.
Also, the trigger on your gun could be too heavy. I have an FA that, with a 5.2 pound factory trigger was near impossible for me to shoot, combined with the grips being too small, and the caliber a bit on the heavy side.

Sounds like you need to make a trip to the gunsmith, having the trigger pull checked, and the grips fitted to your size hands.

S
PS
22lr are made for dealing with flinches. Get a decent 22lr, and shoot with that until you start hitting your target. Then go to a bigger gun. If you start missing, go back to the 22.
It's really funny, but your brain, and muscles, will do the same mistake with the 22lr that you were making with the bigger gun, but, with the 22lr, you can really see what it is.

 

[hsim]

Start shooting from the bench.....

If you are new to pistol shooting this is the best way to start. Depending on who you ask, they will tell you sight alignment, sight picture, breath control, trigger control and follow through. These are you 5 basic fundamentals of pistol (any) shooting.

I will say that of your 5 basic fundamentals, your trigger control is the most important. Starting off the bench will help you control sight alignment, sight picture and follow through, leaving you only two to concentrate on.

I would also highly recommend that you shot no more then about 150 - 200 rounds at a time, you can shoot more in a day, but take a break after about 150 - 200 rounds. If you are concentrating on your fundamentals correctly, you should feel mentally exhausted after this many rounds. If you don't, you're not concentrating hard enough.

As for dry firing, this is an excellent way to build muscle memory. I also find that a hand held spring trainer works wonders and doesn't get you strange looks whilst you are at your desk at work

You should then work on your stance, Weaver or Isosceles. Both have their merits and weakness. There is no magic answer, you have to find the one that works for you. Recoil is generally transmitted to your legs, not your hands. With either stands, your legs should be about shoulder width apart, and bent (slightly) at the knees. This will absorb the recoil. Your wrist should be locked and with the shot, should transmit the recoil to your arms, shoulder and upper torso with your knees acting as shock absorbers.

All this is assuming that you have the correct grip applied. Be patient, it takes time and above all practice.

Good luck

 

[Bullrock]

I agree with "Start shooting from the bench" Whenever I get a new gun I always bench test it first. It tends to remove the anticipation of BANG which IMHO is the underlying cause of flinching.

 

[cje1980]

All of my groups are to the left, and I can't hit very well at 25yds.

Well there is your problem. A beginner to handguns should not be shooting at 25yds. I usually start people out at 5-7yds and I've seen some even miss paper at that range. It takes one heck of a shot to even shoot any type of group at 25yds. Most people's groups at that range are just splattered all over target. It looks more like they have been shooting at it with buck shot.

 

[razorburn]

I had the exact same problem posted up a couple months ago. Fantastic rifle and bow shot, terrible pistol shot. It was a flinch, a bad one. My hand lets the gun wobble immediately following when the trigger breaks. It helps somewhat to pull the trigger very slowly. Dry firing helps, but actual firing time with a low power gun is much better. You shoot differently knowing you're dropping the hammer on a snap cap than when you expect the gun to react when the trigger is pulled. A low powered air pistol is what I've been using in the house. I was at 4-5 inch groups at 15 yards, now I'm at 3 inch groups at 25 yards shooting the .38's out my .357 magnum. I've still got a bit of a flinch with the .357's though, but I hope it'll go away after some more shooting.

 

[swampdog]

22lr are made for dealing with flinches. Get a decent 22lr, and shoot with that until you start hitting your target. Then go to a bigger gun. If you start missing, go back to the 22.

Good advice.

You didn't say what type of handgun you're using, but if you are going to buy a .22, I'd get one similar to the big bore you've got. If you're using a revolver, get one with the same action and barrel length. If your using an auto, you might be able to get a .22 conversion. It will make a difference.

Have fun and practice, practice.....

 

[topspin43]

Send me all your handguns immediately.

Stick to long guns.

I'd really appreciate that.