HELP, I flinch.....

[Valv]

Just bought a new gun and found out.....I flinch when I pull trigger.

I tried many times, relaxing, keep breath, aim, squeeze, and...flinch/BAM.. I did it again, flinched.

I know it sounds silly and possibly dumb, but is there anything to help with this ?

Maybe I have to go through many rounds, if this the case I will have to take trips to the range on a regular basis.

This is terrible, I never had it before, and I am not happy.

[BryanL]

Sorry Valv but I think it is a complete lost cause. Your only real option is to give your new gun to a fellow fishing minnesota guy. I do know of one who lives very close to you who lives in New Prague. But seriously, are you flinching because you are anticipating the kick? If so there are rounds you can use that provide less kick. You can also get a dampener that fits on the but of your gun to cut down on the kick. I mostly hunt with bow and arrow and when I started to jerk my release and pull off target it was because I was using my index finger too hard. What I have started to do is to put my index finger on the trigger and then slowly squeeze my back muscles to pull the trigger. This makes it much smoother. In addition you are not mentally saying "pull" in your head. The trigger just goes off when the back muscles have slowly contracted enough to pull your trigger finger far enough. I really don't know if this style of shooting carries over from bow to gun or not, maybe someone else can chime in.

[Eric Wettschreck]

I used to have this problem, here's what I did.

I went shooting a bunch of times with a friend of mine. He stood behind me and handed me my rifle. Sometimes it was loaded, sometimes not. I didn't know until I pulled the trigger. So, I really didn't know if a kick was coming. I did this at first to find out if I was flinching or not. This showed me that I was, and it also helped me correct it.

Good luck

[ddsbyday]

The Mayo clinic did a study on this using golfers. In golf its called the yips. They did find that it can be a neurological problem for some people. 2 possible solutions. 1. Go to the range with a buddy and have him load your firearm with a single round. Sometimes he puts a shell in and sometimes he doesn't. You will never know when there is shell in the chamber. Sometimes a dryfire sometimes a shot. You may be able to loose the flinch on range.(pressure shots in the woods may be different,you will just have to find out)

2. Learn to shoot left handed. For some reason this usually works. Good luck.

[mechanictim]

A flinch can be caused by two things, the most obvious is the anticapated recoil hammering your shoulder and the other being the anticipated muzzle blast ringing your ears. To cure the first you need to learn to control your trigger finger so that you slowly add presure with your finger untill the trigger breaks. The breaking of the trigger should come as a complete surprise if your doing it right. You should be thinking to yourself that you missed cause you were not expecting the gun to fire when it fires. A good way to practice trigger control is with a 22 rimfire, you know it won't hurt and you can concentrate on adding pressure to the trigger till you get surprised by the gun going off. You also need to make sure that you are using good form for shooting with stock firmly into your shoulder and your cheeck firmly pressed to the stock. To cure a flinch caused by muzzle blast invest in some good hearing protection. A good set of well fitting muffs and some properly fitted foam ear plugs used together will make any gun much more pleasant to shoot. If you have been shooting and leave the range with a ringing in your ears that goes away after a few hours you need to upgrade your hearing protection immediatly before that ringing becomes permanent. Since your 243 is not known for shoulder ripping recoil I suspect you are anticipating the noise and that is why you are flinching. If it is the recoil it is probably because of the number of rounds being fired, if you are going to use more than a box of ammo per range trip a shooters pad that you wear on your shooting shoulder might help. I have a Past recoil pad that i use when sighting in mag rifles and slug guns that works well. You could also try a padded cheek piece that fits on your stock.

Good hearing protection, a slow steady trigger pull, and a little padding and most people can handle even a 12 gauge slug gun with no flinch

[icehousebob]

Valv, I've had to watch out for flinch for years. Here's my cure.

#1 Get a good pair of ear protecters and use them when target shooting. The noise is a big part of the flinch. They're not as needed for hunting, since you concentrate on the target then.

#2 When you go to the range with a centerfire, bring along a .22 cal of similar shape and sight type. After a few rounds of the big gun, switch to the .22 so you can concentrate on hold, sight picture, and trigger squeeze. Never shoot more than three centerfire rounds in a row.

#3 If the gun is a big kicker, do not shoot it from a sitting position, because you lean into the gun and absorb all the recoil. Instead, stand and steady the gun against a post or tree so your body can roll back with the recoil and not take all that kick to your body.

#4 Learn when to walk away from the range,don't make the sessions too long and abusive.

[gonefishin11]

The biggest thing that has helped me not flinch is trying to watch where my bullet hits. This especially works when actually shooting animals. Watch the bullet hit your target or the vitals and it will help you stay steady and keep your scope where it needs to be.

[Valv]

My gun is a .243 and I'm using 55gr bullets, there's practically no kick and I use ear plugs.

Thinking about this I am sure it has just developed and I created myself when last month I practiced shooting with my 12 gauge, 3.5"magnum BB shots. I went throug almost a full box (and I had 2 more). These things pack a punch and I had a sore shoulder for few days (in fact if anybody wants these ammos, come and get them they are free), and once I wached myself on the nose with my hand holding gun not quite right.

I like the idea of a second person loading gun, and since I bought an Accutrigger Savage I just set it to the lightest setting, so I don't have to "squeeze" much it will almost go off by itself.

Thank you for your help, it's really appreciated, to me it is like going fishing with all the "hardware" but have no hooks....

[ddsbyday]

Having someone else load a shell works for people that don't think they flinch too. Just try it sometime. Its a good drill for everyone.

[icehousebob]

Valv, there's one more thing you might try. Buy a .243 snap cap at the gun store. That's a fake cartridge that lets you dry fire your gun without hurting the firing pin when you pull the trigger on an empty chamber. Have the gun setting safe but handy somewhere by a window and a couple times a day, pick it up, aim at some mark out the window, and dry fire practice, concentrating on aim and trigger squeeze. Do this for a few days before going to the range again for live fire. It helps you get used to the feel of the gun trigger and scope and lets you concentrate on something other than noise and recoil. Good luck.

[Rost]

Valv-

I say just keep shooting. The more rounds you put through that gun, the more comfortable you'll feel pulling the trigger.

[almostthere!]

The trick is to not anticipate the shot but to keep it a mystery. This way you will never know when the shot is going to come until it is way too late and the bull has been punched. You will also need a soft, crisp trigger. I forgot which make your 243 is but I hope it is either a tikka or a savage. Try lowering the poundage of your trigger pull and clear your mind of the shot if possible. If you can not clear your mind of the shot, think happy thoughts. Then BAM, too late the bull has been hit.

Is it really a flinch or is it a push. A flinch is an anticipation of either the punishing kick or muzzle blast of a firearm. A push is when some of us want to help the bullet or arrow go faster to the target by pushing the gun or bow: you will see this often in action movies.