Do You "Blink" as you fire a shotgun

Look for the smoke. If you don't blink until after the smoke (or as you see a casing eject from a semi-auto) then the bullet is already gone and nothing you do can change its trajectory.

I blink most every time, but I try to delay the blink by watching for the smoke/casing. That helps a lot.
 
Thanks for the thoughts guys...

Its an involuntary blink ...and it does seem to be worse as I get tired during the day / or if I had a long drive to the club .....( so resting my eyes between rounds / going to dark glasses, etc might help ).

I can also see dry firing might be a help to train my subconscious out of that reflex ...especially on my defensive handgun shooting.

Taking a "business" approach to my shooting / vs having fun is probably part of what will help as well ....and sometimes I do / and sometimes I'm just going thru the motions ...

I've consulted a couple of certified shotgun coaches ...and I'll wait to see what they have to say as well.
 
do you tighten both butt cheeks / or only one side ..../or do you alternate ...as you scrunch up your eyes Brent ....:rolleyes:

( and quit laughing darn-it ) ....old guys, with bad eyes ...deserve a break :D
 
LOL!!!! I got the old eye syndrome... I wear "Deer Goggles" to hunt with...

I think I blink with everything over a .22...
Brent
 
I try to shoot with both eyes open, makes for better results. But this could be something involutary you just never noticed like blinking when you sneeze.
 
Yes, its involuntary ....and you're right, I never noticed it ....and still can't really tell when I'm doing it ...

Yes, I have always shoot shotguns and handguns with both eyes open ...for 50+ yrs ...
 
I have no idea how long I've been doing it .....or if its related to my "poor eyesight issues" over last 2 or 3 yrs ......

" but I'm going to beat it " !!
 
I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV, but I would like to ask you one question.

Are you easily startled by loud noises or bright flashes? I ask because if so it may be hard to beat the blink. The blink is an involuntary reflex from your brain to protect your vision.

I did it when I was young, I have worked for a long time to beat it and finally managed to do it, how, you ask.

It is a mindset, you have to train your mind to accept the fact that every loud noise you hear is not out to get you (I know, sounds dumb) But I am at the point of being able to keep both eyes open no matter what I hear or see, And have been there for years, (I am 56 years old) I have been a mechanic for almost 40 years, so I have an almost never ending supply of loud noise to practice with.

You probably have been blinking all of your life, but with declining eyesight it becomes more noticeable due to the extra time it takes to refocus after the blink.

Here are a couple of tricks to possibly help retrain your brain, Have a friend or relative come up behind you and clap thier hands or slam a book on the table, maybe trigger a camera flash from behind you, keep this up at irregular intervals when you are NOT expecting it, also when you are shooting, apply the follow thru suggestion that was mentioned earlier, WATCH the bullet go into the target (the same way you would watch a bowling ball strike the pins) don't assume it will hit the bull, MAKE it hit the bull, guide it with your eyes, ( I know it really won't work, but it will help you keep your eyes open).

Long winded I know, but fi it helps I guess it was worth it.

Good luck in your battle
 
Thanks, it is worth a thought ....

No, I'm not generally easily surprised ...so I think its evolved over time / and has probably been made worse because I shoot handguns at an indoor range a couple of times a week ( and often there is some moron in there shooting a tactical shotgun / or a .308 or something obnoxious at a 25 yard indoor range ).... and making my teeth rattle ...

I use molded ear plugs / and I wear electronic muffs over them --- but I'm going to start using a denser set of muffs over the ear plugs ---and it might help.

I did hear from a shooting coach last nite --- and this issue does seem to come up for a lot of us as we get older. He thinks doing a lot of dry firing at home ( which is really boring..) may help ... / and he even suggested keeping my eyes open in the shower and splashing water into my eyes ...which I thought was lame ...but he may be on to something.

I shoot a variety of handguns / from 9mm to .44 mag .... / but competitively, I shoot a full sized 5" barrel 1911 in 9mm most of the time and I'm even blinking with the 9mm... So its going to be an adventure to get rid of this issue ( if I want to get better and faster with my handguns ). My standard time on a "Bill Drill" - draw gun from holster and fire 6 rounds at 10 yds ( with all A zone hits on IPSC target ) is no more than 4.5 sec ( 2 sec out of holster to 1 shot / then 0.5 sec splits thru 6 rds ) which gives me a max of 4.5 sec .... and if I can't keep my eyes open / and focused on front sight - then I toss one or two rounds out of the A zone ...even though I can do the drill under time ..../ if I can force my eyes to stay open -- I'm easily on target and under time. It makes a difference...

On shotguns ---- when I blink ---- I have trouble acquiring the 2nd target in a true pair on a skeet or sporting field ....

I want to fix this, if I can ........but at some point / and I am 60 yrs old / ...all the shooting I do is strictly for fun too. I'd like my Skeet scores to go back up to a 96 average ...but a 92 doesn't make me crazy either ..( 4 rounds of 23's ) .../but I've talked to 50 shotgunners / and some handgun guys in the last week ....and 90% of them had no idea they were blinking ( and most of them are ..) so its a bigger issue than I ever realized - especially for most of us over 40 yrs old ....
 
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I think I blink with any gun I shoot, be it rifle, pistol or shotgun; probably even my air guns-and, I'm a pretty decent shot. :o Probably best if you don't, though. :mad:
 
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