I need to cure a flinch.

[AK103K]

Not necessarily true. I have a number of guns, including Glocks, H&K P7M8s, a couple of Kahrs, a Springfield XD and several high grade 1911s that came with perfectly satisfactory triggers right out of the box.

Its been my experience that most all the stock triggers are fine, right out of the box. These days, its a rarity when you get one that isnt, and its been a very long time since I can remember when it was I last had to deal with one. Late 80's, early 90's anyways.

......Airsoft appropriately used is a very useful teaching tool.

Absolutely.

 

[HiBC]

IMO:
Ball and dummy is really useful to convince someone they have a flinch or accept your flinch;going from unconscious to conscious incompetence.
It might be useful as a pop quiz to measure progress.I'm not sure it cures.Its a step.

For a long time my "do everything" handgun was a RSB .44 Mag.

I developed two bad habits.

1)Recovering from recoil starting at the trigger break.I was dropping the muzzle during lock time and ignition.

2)Its fun to see the can jump!!I can't do that with a darn recoiling 44 in front of my eye,so my focus would shift to the target.

For me:Focus on calling each shot.Unless you see the sight pic on the target until recoil moves the gun,you flinched.
If you can hold the focus on the sight and call the shot,you did not flinch.
The tool for the cure...the "perfect practice" Frank mentions,is sight picture focus and follow through.

Now,to get past shifting to target focus at the shot,to see target reaction..paper is a non reactive target.Its one tool.Shoot a shot,call it,look with a spotting scope if required.Training muscles to do it right one shot at a time.Rapid accurate fire is being good at recovering the sights and shooting one shot at a time quickly.I'll modify that a bit.Up close,looking over the gun at the front sight as a shotgun bead... grip and wrists..."return to battery" counts.How that is done may play into your muzzle drop.Wrists,elbows...


Next step,to not watch target reaction,focus on the front sight.Find it as it falls back in the notch.Sight's in the notch?press the trigger,keep watching the sight.

IMO,curing flinch is about disciplining the eyes to focus on the sights and follow through.

 

[aarondhgraham]

You might chuckle at this,,,

You might chuckle at this,,,
But I'll toss it out there for grins.

I wonder if a session with a hypnotherapist could help.

Not just any old hypnotherapist,,,
But one who specializes in athletic training & motivation.

Hey, it could help.

I smoked cigarettes for 44 years,,,
One hypnotherapy session back in August of 2009,,,
Cured an addiction/habit that hasn't bothered me for over 5 years.

I know that pro athletes employ their services,,,
It makes me wonder if any of our competitive shooters use them.

Aarond

.

 

[skizzums]

I noticed how bad of a flinch I have with my mosin nagant, I have been working on it the last few weeks, I think I have all but gotten totally rid of it. I just had to slow down and actually remember that I have a flinch before I shoot. take a deep breath and concentrate on my follow-through and try to think about the flinch and to steady through it. after about 50 rounds of really concentrating on it, I think I have gotten past it.

 

[45Gunner]

The oldest pistol shooting advice is still the simplest: Concentrate on the sights and squeeze the trigger.

Flinching comes from anticipating the shot/recoil. If you aren't sure when the shot is going to go, you can't anticipate it.

The simplest and best advice. Muzzle breaking down is anticipation of the trigger break. Concentrate on the front sight and SSSSQQQQUUUUEEEEEEEEZZZZEEEE the trigger.

 

[psyfly]

Spats:

Single example only and offered as such, but maybe helpful.

I once developed a flinch. I tried an experiment similar to that mentioned by a couple of members above in this thread.

I took my S&W Model 66 and had my 9 year-old son stand behind me and load it, his choice, with a minimum of two and a maximum of four live rounds of either .38 spl or .357 magnum in any order of his choice.

I no longer remember how many times this was repeated, but it was all done in one maybe 1/2 to 1 hour session.

I have never had a recurrence of the flinch and the aforementioned son just turned 41 last August.

YMMV, but it's an easy fix if it works for you.

Will

 

[waveslayer]

Dry practice, dry practice, and dry practice

 

[motorhead0922]

Watch for muzzle flash.

 

[psalm7]

Most of my shooting is long range Sniper rifles and some combat Hang Gun . What I have noticed is when a flinch starts to creep into my shooting its when a lot of thoughts rush in like will I make a embarassingly bad shot or in the case of my heavier hitting calibers expectant recoil and I flinch . My cure is as trained get into your shooters bubble and block out the thoughts and shoot like you train . Carlos Hathcock recomended lots of dry fireing , I do some but its not a regular pratice for me .

 

[WVsig]

You'll want to be able to perform the fundamentals reflexively, on demand without conscious thought. You do that by practicing them slowly to develop smoothness. Then smooth becomes fast.

Remember that practice doesn't make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect.

Practice also makes permanent. If you keep practicing doing something poorly, you will become an expert at doing it poorly.

This is the best statement in the entire thread. Lots of great suggestions but this point cannot be stressed enough. This statement is true for all forms of practice not just shooting.

Picking a regiment or a system of practice it a huge part of "perfect practice" There are a tons of them out there and if done right you can really improve and eliminate errors and become more proficient.

I would also suggest that you have someone watch and correct your practice if you can. Think of how much more effective a practicing Golf with and swing coach is then practicing without one. You as the participant cannot always identify what you are doing right and what you are doing wrong. As your practice get better you can do it more independently.

I personally find that I and other people flinch at the range when they are trying to make that perfect shot and holding waiting for that perfect sight picture anticipating that bang and that wonderful dead center hole which surely is to follow. This is why I think many shooters flinch less at speed then slow fire. Going back to Golf its like looking up to see where the ball went off the tee before you finished your swing.

Here is a link to a good practice regiment for dry firing from Sig which might serve as a good starting point. I like this one because it is not just static dry firing it incorporates drawing the gun, reloading and even movement. Training time is short and varies from day 1 to day 5. It allows you to stay focused on the training without getting bored or fatigued. Good luck

https://www.sigsauer.com/upFiles/CmsContent/documents/Dry Practice_FINAL.pdf

 

[str8tshot]

This is an old article, but Ron Avery really breaks down the components of a flinch. I notice a bit of anticipation when I am trying to make very precious shots; this article helped me identify the type of "flinch" and gave a bit of insight into how to reduce the "mental tension" that builds up when looking for that perfect shot.

http://www.policeone.com/police-pro...rcoming-the-flinch-response-Let-recoil-happen

 

[44 AMP]

I have a flinch in which I "push over the top" just before the Moment of Bang, causing me to shoot low.

Lots of people with some good advice on how to fix your flinch. Some of it might work for you.

I'm going to tell you how to fix your problem, and its simple.

AIM HIGHER!


(I'm actually serious)
Fix your flinch, or compensate for it. The important thing is the bullets go where you want them to go. Technique is less important than down range results, isn't it?

It is for me. But then I'm one of the people who sees the sense in the phrase "if its stupid, but it works, its not stupid"....

Good Luck!

 

[Barnacle Brad]

Is this a problem all shooters deal with to some extent? I am prone to jumping the trigger and I know I am going to do it unless I really concentrate on the mechanics of the shooting process. For me it helps to have light trigger pull so that I can begin to squeeze and have it break at a point where I am surprised. It is one hundred percent mental, ten percent the gun, and takes a hundred and fifty percent concentration on execution. Acknowledging and addressing the issue is key to overcoming it. Fortunately it means more time at the range shooting. Winning!

 

[GJSchulze]

Any good instructor will tell you to learn the right way and not to compensate for it. If you learn to shoot properly you will be more consistent. If you compensate you will continue to have problems that will make you inconsistent.

 

[davem]

The heavy trigger can cause you to pull your shots if your finger isn't going straight back. That requires training in moving the finger correctly. To me a flinch is related to recoil- if that's the issue then move up not down. Go shoot some 44 mag out of a 4" barrel revolver for a while until you get comfortable and then go back to the Glock.

 

[jimbob86]

Dry practice, dry practice, and dry practice

I'll go you one better: Do the above, every day, with a Nagant Revolver.

Working out with a clunky 20 pound DA trigger will make everything else seem like warmed butter.

 

[Nnobby45]

Dry practice, dry practice, and dry practice

Nope. Nobody flinches during dry fire practice. It teaches you HOW you're SUPPOSED to do it. You still have to apply what you learned during shooting. That's not automatic.

There's flinch flinching and there's pushing forward with the hand to meet the recoil. They're different. It's possible to shoot with the latter and still shoot fairly well, but not shoot at your best. The first is fatal.

The principle that you concentrate on front sight as you coordinate trigger pull is that you can only concentrate on one thing at a time and can't anticipate recoil. Hence, no flinch. Simple in principle, but you have to work on it.

 

[JohnKSa]

Is this a problem all shooters deal with to some extent?

Yes. Some have more trouble with it than others, but I've never run across any shooter who was totally immune.

Nope. Nobody flinches during dry fire practice. It teaches you HOW you're SUPPOSED to do it.

Dry fire helps build proper technique and habits. While it's true that flinching in dry fire practice is uncommon, that doesn't mean dry fire isn't a valuable way to help deal with flinching. It takes more than dry fire to completely solve the problem, but dry fire is very helpful.

 

[hot chili powder]

Flinch cure...maybe

All good replys and certainly good advise. Here's mine: Use ear plugs AND muffs when firing live ammo......really makes a difference. The muzzle blast is what most shooters really fear and doubling up on ear protection can really help with flinching.

 

[4V50 Gary]

One non-gunny solution

Take up archery with a recurve bow.

A bow requires more follow-through to be successful.