Flinch test...inadvertently

[reinert]

Went out this morning to shoot my 6MM Rem., and had it set up on one of the benches at our local range, while using my Caldwell rest system. I put a round in the mag, closed the bolt, and took the shot. The shot broke, with no cartridge being fired; just the audible click. Hmmmm... I opened the bolt, saw my round still in the mag well, and realized I didn't have the bolt back far enough to catch the case head when I loaded the round and closed the bolt before firing. Aha! Jacked the round in, and took the shot...all's well.

What I did learn on that "dry" fire, is that when my empty chambered shot broke, both my eyes were open, I had the bull centered quite well in the hairs, I didn't blink, and most of all, I didn't FLINCH one bit. Before I even wondered about the round not firing, and for what reason, I gave myself a bit of a kudos for doing a shot the way it was supposed to be done, at least by my standards. I shot five, at 100yds., and the group was just right at 1.5." Not great at all, but I was happy with it this morn, mostly with my surprise "dry fire."

Both my sons learned to shoot a high-power with that same 6MM, and I would do the single shot thing, loading for them while coaching. And yup, sometimes I'd not load a round to see if they would flinch or not. That old trick is still a valid one, even if you inadvertently do it to yourself.

 

[FrankenMauser]

It's always embarassing, even when by one's self, to inadvertently/accidentally discover that a flinch has been developed.

I'm surprisingly consistent and willing to take a beating with most of my rifles and shotguns (even the nasty ones), and certain handguns. (I'm not much of a handgunner.) Even when I do testing that involves letting the rifle free-recoil for 1/4" to 1/2", I'm usually quite happy with my self control.
But the snake does poke its head out once in a while, and bites when it isn't expected.

A few years ago, I was shooting a mixture of home-brew shot shells and (relatively pleasant) 310 gr cast bullet loads in my .44 Mag Super Blackhawk. On one round, I pulled the trigger, and... weird, soft click ... but a massive flinch, made worse by holding the revolver up in case it was a hang-fire. Finally, I shook my head in humiliation (even though no one appeared to see it), and then discovered that the revolver had failed to fire because a shot load had dislodged during firing and a few pellets made their way into the action - one somehow riding upwards and blocking the transfer bar.
...Lots of dry-fire practice and a couple hundred rounds of slow, deliberate, practiced live fire took place after that one. (And after a detail strip and deep cleaning, of course.)

Not long after that, I was out screwing around with a post-'83 Marlin 336 in .30-30.
I was shooting some funky loads in it, so the rifle and ammunition got passed around the people I was with, as I explained what was going on. Some one handed one of the rounds to me, along with the rifle, and suggested I try smacking an impromptu target that was at about 300 yards.
Aim.
Steady.
Squeeze.
CLICK--FLINCH!

Some one had turned the safety on. And since I do not use safeties on lever guns, I never even thought to check it.

The incident with the 336 still got worse, though. The next round fired was experimental and decided it wanted to lodge a bullet 9 inches down the bore...

 

[reinert]

When I was in High School, I worked at a trap range (it was also a hunting dog training kennel, too) with school buddies in the summers for a couple of weeks for some extra dough. The first year anyone worked there, you had to sit in the "house" and set birds for the shooters. These were state shoots back in Minnesota, and those shoots were big deals back then with lots of shooters from all over, and from other states, too. Though you did get a break every so often, you had to sit and watch that automatic thrower come around, load a bird (two if it was doubles) and get you hand out of the way before whoever out there at the time said, "pull." Sometimes there was a cadence to the thrower/shooter you could kind of follow (thankfully, the thrower never did get my hand). That job kinda sucked, but it was some extra $$, as I said. Some tips, too...

The second year, you were qualified to be a scorer, and you got to sit under an umbrella, in a high scorer's chair and "pulled" and kept score; you had to be on the ball, or you were in the house once more. I never did have to go back to the "house."

When you were a puller, you had to listen for the shooter to yell "pull," then hit the thrower button immediately, watch and have your maker on the right spot for the right shooter to immediately mark score before the next shooter yelled "pull." Everything happened really fast, and if you messed up judging hit or miss, you were straightened out in a real hurry. It didn't happen very much at all, or you lost your job...and you were back in the "house."

As a puller, and while this thread is about flinching, I saw some of the most horrendous flinches on those stations that I'm sure I'll never see again. If a shell didn't fire for whatever reason, some of those shooters would actually take two, three or four steps forward to catch themselves before running their high-dollar trap gun barrels into the sod in front of them. Those same shooters were excellent shots, too; they either never did miss a bird, or in a run of 25 birds, they MIGHT miss one, and that would really burn them up if they did. Point is, they had that flinch built right in to their own shooting method. I also did see a few shooters who never flinched a bit; just lowered their shotgun, opened the breech, checked and cleared the gun and never waivered. I honestly don't remember if they had another chance on another bird, or if was considered a miss. That was a long time ago, and a good memory from my "kid" days.

 

[JohnKSa]

Those same shooters were excellent shots, too; they either never did miss a bird, or in a run of 25 birds, they MIGHT miss one, and that would really burn them up if they did. Point is, they had that flinch built right in to their own shooting method.

This is why it can be very difficult to convince a person they are flinching. A flinch can be surprisingly consistent--to the point that the shooter has a hard time believing they could be flinching and still shooting as well as they are.

 

[Metal god]

This is why it can be very difficult to convince a person they are flinching. A flinch can be surprisingly consistent--to the point that the shooter has a hard time believing they could be flinching and still shooting as well as they are.

I have "at times" a HUGE flinch . I remember the first time I shot my buddy's M1 grand I flinched so bad I almost had to take a step forward to catch my self from falling forward . I have a flinch when shooting both rifle and pistol but some how still shoot really well .

I have noticed that I flinch more when shooting a new gun/caliber for the first time . The other time I've noticed a flinch is when the rifle does not fire as in the trigger never pulls or hammer never falls . In those instances I really seem to flinch . EXAMPLE - trigger pull much harder or longer then I thought it would be or forgot to cock the hammer type of thing.

I have often wondered how I can shoot so well knowing and seeing these flinches I've done . I've just assumed that the flinch is actually just after the guns have fired because the flinches I've noticed most happen when I was unable to actually fire the weapon . Because I have thought the chamber was loaded and pulled the trigger only to hear the click and did not flinch . So I've been a little confused know I have this flinch but not always noticing it but still shooting pretty darn good .