Flinch

[peter nap]

I have no idea why, but at age 60 with many thousands of rounds of heavy recoiling ammunition under my belt,

I've developed a handgun flinch. I'm actually pressing the gun down causing the barrel to tip down.

Are there any quick cures or am I cursed?

[Angus]

Develop a trigger jerk and try to time them together so they cancel each other out...

Or just focus on fundamentals like you did early on, pull the trigger slowly so the gun goes off with a surprise break. I need a couple cylinders every range trip to work on my fundamentals before I start shooting worth anything.

[btroj]

Take some time to shoot low recoiling accurate loads. Focus on trigger control.
I have fired lots of heavy recoiling handguns in the past but still work back up to those loads if I haven't shot them in a while.

[waksupi]

I am a fellow sufferer, and have to use continual treatment for the condition. I bought a cheap air pistol, with an absolutely horrible trigger pull. I shoot this regularly, and it seems to make me concentrate on both the sight picture and the trigger pull, to manage a decent shot.

[fecmech]

I'm with you on this. I constantly fight a flinch and at times it gets so bad I can't pull the trigger and have to put the gun down and retry. I think it's our subconscious brain not wanting all the drama and blast in front of our faces, at least that's my theory. My brain has developed a cute trick in that I will almost always miss high when I flinch because I "heel" the gun in anticipation of the flinch. Now if it would just develop something to counteract the "heel"..................

[williamwaco]

You just said Handgun?

If it is a revolver, back down a little on load intensity and then leave one cylinder empty on each loading ( You MUST have the discipline not to look for the empty chamber or close the cylinder so you know where it is.)

To do this with an auto loader, you can have a friend load it single shot and hand it to you with the breech closed and safety on. Or you can load some dummy cartridges that will feed from the magazine into the chamber but will not fire. ( no primer or powder ).

Concentrate on being surprised when the handgun fires. You will notice that the flinch on the "snaps" will diminish quickly. ( but not immediately )

[22Short]

Lots of good advise above. No bad ideas at all. The best advice imho, the empty chamber, not knowing if the gun is live. As a test... then just concentrate on the basics. If that does not work shoot a gun like my 8 1/2 pound. 458 win mag. You will laugh at handgun recoil after that thing!

[felix]

Concentrate on the target, and make like there is a little man down there pulling the boolit through just at the right spot if and only if you can get it to him where he can reach it. If shooting off hand, then circle the spot where the little man is if using a scope, and just under the spot if using something like buckhorn sights. Idea is from Pat, my wife, who raised her NRA pistol competitive scores a good 10 percent in league matches. Mine rose a good 20 percent. ... felix

[MtGun44]

Buy an airsoft pistol, one of the medium-low cost ones, like a 1911 that you manually
rack the slide, and get the sticky target with it. Set up in the den or basement at about
15 ft. If you do your part, you can hit one of the plastic BBs with another if you don't wait
a few seconds to let it dribble down on the sticky target.

The barrel time is so slow on these that anything other than a great trigger pull will ruin
the shot, and they cost near nothing per shot and have no recoil or noise to upset your
concentration on trigger pull.

The sticky target catches the plastic BBs and they dribble slowly down the face into a tray at
the bottom. Super neat idea.

The gun and target plus a bunch of the plastic BBs should run well under $50 at a gunshow.

Bill

[peter nap]

Thanks everyone!

A lot of great ideas. The empty chamber is a really good idea. That's how I discovered I was doing it. I wasn't paying attention to how many shots and low and behold, I was almost leaning into the shot.

It's worse with single action revolvers, I think because of the slow lock time. I can't wait to see how it looks with one of my flintlock pistols.

It is nice to know I'm not the only one out there. Misery loves company I suppose.

The sad part is I've been shooting long range over sand bags and have shot some phenomenal groups at 100 yards, then I stand up and miss the paper altogether at 25.

[subsonic]

Check your hearing protection. I was using worn earplugs and getting new ones made a big difference. If you're not already, try plugs AND muffs. It's much easier to deal with the actual recoil than it is to deal with blast or flash, at least for me.

[peter nap]

Check your hearing protection. I was using worn earplugs and getting new ones made a big difference. If you're not already, try plugs AND muffs. It's much easier to deal with the actual recoil than it is to deal with blast or flash, at least for me.

Funny you should mention that Subsonic. I noticed my tinnitus is worse tonight and I realized the muffs I am using must be 40 years old now.

I ordered two sets of muffs:
Howard Leight R-01523 Leightning L0F Ultra Lightweight NRR 23 Compact Folding Earmuff

Howard Leight R-03318 Leightning L3 Shooter's Premium Earmuff

One for handgun and a more compact pair for rifle....and

Howard Leight MAX1 Earplugs Uncorded NRR33 Box/200 Count

It's stupid that I spend thousands of dollars on guns, loading equipment and components and am still using hearing protection I spent six bucks for when I was 20.

[Char-Gar]

Nobody is exempt from flinching, no matter how long he has been shooting. I think because we have been shooting along time, we forget to concentrate on the basics, Shooting is as much of a mind game as it is physical. We tend to get careless and over confident as the years carry us along.

I have been handgun shooting for well over 50 years, and still can't take the basics for granted. Do that and I will flinch.

1. Grip
2. Isolate the trigger finger
3. Sight picture
4. Breath control
5. Trigger squeeze

When I go back and concentrate on the basic, I can get control of the flinch. It also helps to go to a good 22 LR handgun for a session or two.

[HeavyMetal]

There are target out there that tell you why you missed the POA, each section has a reason for why the boolit landed there instead of in the center!

This might help you track down the what your flinch is or, more to the point, change your concentration from trigger to target which will cause the flinch to "Go Away"!

[bobthenailer]

I have been shooting in handgun shooting matches regulary since 1975 , and have done very well in all of games i chose to compete in . Ive never shot cowboy or idpa but almost everything else.
One thing different between a good shooter and mediocur shooter is the good shooter makes the same mistakes but less often and less severe than the mediocur shooter.
Its just about impossible to be perfect for every shot even though i try ! Ive been shooting 22 BE matches for 35 years and ive never shot a perfect 300 yet but i have managed to get quite a few 299/298 though and my hay day is over as im 63 & have more shake now .

[Char-Gar]

Age does take a toll on one's ability to shoot a handgun. I am 69 and have been shooting handguns in one type of competition or another for 50 years. I still shoot in a weekly 22 falling plate match. I can shoot as good as I ever could for the first half of the two hour match and then things go south. I start to get tired, loose concentration and in general finish in the middle of the pack, sometimes even lower.

I still enjoy shooting, just have to accept the fact that age does it's thing on older shooters.

[Mk42gunner]

I have no idea why, but at age 60 with many thousands of rounds of heavy recoiling ammunition under my belt,

I've developed a handgun flinch. I'm actually pressing the gun down causing the barrel to tip down.
Are there any quick cures or am I cursed?

Back when I was running range quals, this was called anticipation of recoil. Usually it was the he-man "I know how to shoot" people that did it and wouldn't listen to us. The typical point of impact was the ground fifteen yards in front of the shooter unfortunately the target was at twentyfive yards.

You have been given good advice, Ball and dummy drill or empty chambers work well, as long as you focus on the front sight.

Practicing with a .22 works too.

Identifying and acknowledging the problem are the two major steps to fixing any problem.

Robert

[Iron Mike Golf]

+1 on renewing and improving your hearing protection. Another +1 on that because you have tinnitus.

The ball and dummy exercise is a great way to detect flinch. I am not so sure it willon its own correct, other than making you aware you are flinching so you can concentrate of correcting. But you already seem to know you are flinching.

Getting the noise impulse tamed may fix things immediately. If not, then re-acclimate by shooting lower power loads and working up. Don't move up until you can keep both eyes open when firing. I sometimes need to re-acclimate to shooting 210 gr bullets over 27.5 gr H110 in my Redhawk when I have been away from that load for a while.

[peter nap]

+1 on renewing and improving your hearing protection. Another +1 on that because you have tinnitus.

The ball and dummy exercise is a great way to detect flinch. I am not so sure it willon its own correct, other than making you aware you are flinching so you can concentrate of correcting. But you already seem to know you are flinching.

Getting the noise impulse tamed may fix things immediately. If not, then re-acclimate by shooting lower power loads and working up. Don't move up until you can keep both eyes open when firing. I sometimes need to re-acclimate to shooting 210 gr bullets over 27.5 gr H110 in my Redhawk when I have been away from that load for a while.

I'm doing a little of all of the above and as long as I concentrate, it's better, but it's like I'm possessed and it wants to take over and flinch.

Mk42gunner nailed it dead on. That's exactly what I'm doing.

[subsonic]

Take your time and focus. Only fire shots where you do not flinch and stop shooting for that session if you cannot overcome it. Shooting more and flinching only teaches you to flinch more.

Drop down to a rimfire or dry fire for a while if you can't beat it. I was having a flinch issue a few weeks ago, but for me the hearing protection and having a stressful event overwith cured it. Being anxious or tired makes you more susceptable to flinching.

[white eagle]

forget about the flinch
think of the target

[Hammerhead]

I'm taking a break from centerfires for a month or so and focusing on rimfires and re-learning the basics to cure a flinch I've developed lately.
My flinch came on after I shot a box of factory 10mm ammo in my little Glock 29 instead of my moderate handloads.
Loading just one or two rounds in my Blackhawk helps (empty chamber drill), but dry firing does not.

[CLAYPOOL]

Use the best muffs you can buy AND the good ear plugs...the blast is what makes most people gun shy and dogs too..

[MtGun44]

Airsoft. Really.

Bill

[Markbo]

Dry fire practice?