Training: Can a flinch be unlearned?

C

Cullen

New member
Hi gents,
My wife and I are taking our CCW course in less than 2 weeks. I've been taking her to the range in order to teach her how to shoot well enough to qualify for her license. My own shooting is fine, but she's got a tendency to pull shots low, especially during the sequences when she has to shoot more quickly (3 shots in 6 seconds; ok, it's not "fast", but still...). Currently, she is shooting 174 out of 250 and 175 is passing. In the next two times we have to practice before the course, how should I instruct her in order to keep her from flinching and pulling her shots low and off target. If I can just get her on the target another couple of shots, she'll pass easily. Incidentally, I also think she'd enjoy shooting more if she became better at it, so I'm looking at this from a number of angles.

What do y'all suggest?

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Those who say Science disproves the existence of God understand neither Science nor God.

We scoff at honor and then are surprised to discover traitors in our midst - Edmund Burke
 
She should practice dry firing at home (ammo in the other room--triple check and then check again) and attempt to have the same body feeling at the range. Load in some dummy rounds when she is not looking. The dummy rounds will let her watch the front sight to see what she is doing to cause the low shots.

If she lets the recoil happen and tighten up on the trigger when almost down and aligned she will do well.
 
Well Cullen,

You've got your work cut out for you! A flinch is way too easy to learn and way too hard to forget. The type of flinch you describe is typical for a shooter who anticipates recoil and pushes forward as they jerk the last bit of the trigger stroke. The shorter and lighter the trigger stroke, the easier it is to overcome. You didn't mention the type of pistol she shoots but this is a very difficult problem to cure if the offending gun is a revolver, due to its long trigger stroke. It can be done in two weeks if the student is willing to commit some time and mental discipline.

Step one is to learn to concentrate on the front sight. She must think of NOTHING else except keeping that front sight in focus and keeping it in the center of the target while the trigger is squeezed. I don't mean just look at it, I mean CONCENTRATE on it to the exclusion of nearly everything else. She should strive to form a mental image of the front sight staying on target before, during and after the shot (follow through). She must use a firm grip, like a good stout handshake.

Next, the trigger is squeezed no matter how fast you shoot. NEVER jerk. Even rapid fire is a series of controlled squeezes of the trigger. Never try to force the shot. The shooter should not be able to tell exactly when the shot will break. If they do, they are jerking the trigger. Just apply pressure until the action clicks.

Set up a target in the living room or hallway and MAKE SURE THE GUN IS UNLOADED. Put on the exact same type of clothing, holster etc. that will be used for the real thing. Do everything exactly as you would when shooting the qualification. Even pretend to load - just don't really do it! Dry fire practice is actually better than live fire for overcoming this type of problem.

Start slow - aim and concentrate - squeeeeeze. See how long it takes to squeeze 3 shots the way I described. Then try a little faster but NEVER jerk and keep the front sight on the target at all times. Learn how long 6 seconds lasts and what the shot cadence is like for 3 shots in that time (it's really a lot of time if you use it).

When she thinks she has the routine down, try live fire with a 22 if you have one. Otherwise, use as light a load as you can find. If the bad habits come back, unload and dry fire some more.

This will really require some mental discipline and may never be totally cured. If a lapse occurs during the qualification she must be able to shake it off and renew her concentration. It's a mental problem and will require a mental solution. Frustration is not allowed.

Mikey
 
Your answer is lots of proper practice and make darn sure that she wears good ear protection. Check her stance and get her to use the same stance everytime. Find one thats comfortable. Both the Point shoulder and the Weaver are good. Perhaps the point shoulder will work best for a female, but try both. Somebody earlier suggested the training technique of "Ball and Dummy". Which is when the shooter has not idea whether her gun is loaded or not. Have her take her best controled shot and see if she dips the muzzle when the hammer falls, I'll bet it does. Also load a live round or two in with the empty chambers and don't let her look at the the cylinder to see if its loaded or not. I am a LEO Firearms Instructor, who teachs deadly force to civillians and a flinch can be overcome with training. Make darn sure that she is focusing on the front sight and not the rear sight or the target. Tell her front sight as she is making her trigger squeeze, to remind her to focus on the front sight, if she doesn't focus on the front sight, she's gonna miss. Also make sure that she not milking the grip as she squeezes the trigger. Tell her to let the gun surprise her when it goes off. Thats the way its susposed to happen, that way the hammer will have fallen and she won't have disturbed her sight picture. Make darn sure that she has a good high grip on the pistol, if she grips it low, the recoil is going to cause the gun to rear up more than if she grips it high on the back strap. Also have her take a normal breath and let half of it out. Have her shoot two handed, theres no reason at all to shoot one handed. I teach my Officers to shoot two handed if they are much further than an arms length away. This just about covers the basics. Good luck and both of you keep practicing. Oh and tell her that this cop said that he would rather teach ten women to shoot than one male. Because the women will listen to the instructor and are eager student and try to do as they are taught. If you aren't careful she might turn out to a better shot than you. While a lot of guys think that they are born pistoleros and don't pay attention and it shows in the final results. :)

7th Fleet... LEO Firearms Instructor

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SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL POLICE, KEEP THEM INDEPENDENT.
 
Ths is not hard to fix, but it will take some effort. First of all, if you are using a weapon that has a long and heavy double action trigger, get rid of it and get a Glock, a 1911, a Walther 99 (no more S&W guns should be bought), etc.

The flinch is a product of overly difficult triggers and the natural aversion to having an explosion go off in your hand.

You can get a more user friendly gun, and you can play a mental trick to avoid expecting the small explosion.

First, develop proper understanding of the fundamentals via consistent dry practice (10 minutes a day is fine until skills are set).

Go to the firing range when you will not be bothered by other gunshots and crowded shooting lines. Now at the firing range, load a magazine with 90% dummy rounds and 10% live rounds. Have her press while focusing visually on the front sight, and focusing her concentration on the front sight. She will get a dummy round nad the fundamentals will be reinforced. Have her cycle the action, ejecting the dummy and loading up the next one.

Eventually, a live round will be shot, and it will come as a complete surprise. By having her focus mentally on the front sight, she will not be thinking or expecting the little explosion which gives rise to the flinch. This is the big secret.

Also, select training ammo for this evolution that has low flash, and is not "full power". Eventually she will be able to graduate from paper ammo to meat ammo...I mean more powerful ammunition.

Good Luck!!

Gabe Suarez
HALO Group http://www.thehalogroup.com
 
Chief (7th Fleet), Gabe and others all offered good advice. I throw in my 1 cents worth and make it short.

Take a penny and place it atop of the slide and barrel. Squeeze the trigger. If the coin doesn't fall or shake off when the hammer drop, you're doing OK.
 
Flinch is more a result of muzzle blast than recoil. One thing I've noticed in 40 years of shooting is that flinch can change with age. I had it a time when I was very young and over came it in my 20's up to recent years. At 55 I now notice it seems to bother me a little. Not enough to worry about, but there. I take care in using good ear protection and getting a gun that FITS my hand etc. But if a shooter does a good job of hearing protection a lot of it will go away. If it still hangs around try making sure the gun FITS the hand.
 
Have her use earplugs AND muffs.

Dry fire with a coin or cartridge on the muzzle end by the front sight. Do it while watching TV, or riding in the car, just do it as much as possible.
Dry fire dry fire dry fire..............

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"All my ammo is factory ammo"
 
Lots of good answers here.
All correct - even +P's. ;)

Flinching can be a hidden problem that even some experienced shooters may not even be aware of if they have it.
Have a friend load your mags and have him mix in a dummy round every so often to keep tabs on yourself for both flinch and a stoppage drill.

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"I like the word 'indolence.' It makes my laziness seem classy." -Bern Williams
 
This is my trigger flinch cure.
Take a coin, I use a quarter, and place it on the end of the slide near the front sight. The name of the game is to dry fire the weapon without causing the coin to fall off the end of the barrel. It is an excellent feedback based practice routine. I have used it myself with very good results.

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BOYCOTT SMITH AND WESSON!!!!!
The only justice for a traitor is at the end of a rope!!!!
Off my meds (quit smoking), armed to the teeth, and loose on an unsuspecting society!!!
 
I had that problem, and this is what solved it.

I went to an outdoor range, and a few things happened. First, I was flinching on a 9mm, and my friend let me borrow his .45, and I shot about 50 rounds out of it. The other factor was that those around me were shooting anything from .308's upwards of 50 calibers. The 50 recoiled so hard that I could feel the air pressure pushing on my chest. It was scary at first, but after about an hour, I got use to it.

between shooting a bigger caliber, and having all this loud noise around me, I got desensitized to it.

Albert
 
I'm also bothered by flinching. When I dry fire at home, I don't flinch. On the range, I do. Dry firing has been minimally useful for me in getting rid of a flinch. (It's been VERY useful in getting a feel for the trigger.) Let's face it, it's not "natural" for an explosion to go off in your hands and to not react. Flinching usually occurs after the first few shots--the more shots the more flinching.

Three things help my flinch: (1) a 1911 with a short trigger--one that is light and smooth. Tripping the hammer with an even back motion (rather than the up and down motion of a conventional trigger) helps curb the tendency to jerk the gun down. (2) using narrow grips that fit my hand and (3) starting with lighter target loads and working up. Even though these things help, I still find myself flinching when I shoot a lot. The trick is to know when you are going to flinch and then compensate for it. You'd be surprised to see how consistent the flinch is. In my case, I aim higher and to the left (I'm left-handed). No one is perfect, and if you have to compensate a little, so what?
 
Good advice. Ditto on good hearing protection.
Another suggestion: A .22 pistol. Not loud, no recoil. Concentrate on sight picture and trigger squeeze for a few sessions, then work back up to the bigger pistol.

This works with rifles, too.
 
Lots of dryfirng helped me with flinch on a SW642.

[This message has been edited by 6forsure (edited March 23, 2000).]
 
HowardK,

Like many shooters I have bouts with flinch from time to time. Putting dummy rounds in the gun in unknown sequence allows me to practice not flinching with empty rounds and being surprised when the round is live. By the end of the day noise and recoil are incidental and I am firing like I did for dry fire practice at home.
 
If the other advice fails, try standing behind her and loudly but not screaming say," front sight - trigger pull - squeeeeezzzze." As for shooting faster put her into an isosoles stance as if she is exaggerating riding a horse (very bent knees, butt sticking far out, leaning forward) then hyerextend the arms as if she is trying to "push" the pistol through the target. Keep the shoulders in the ears and really stretch forward without being too offbalance. This will cause recoil to be absorbed by the shoulders and the muzzel will not flip up and back so much allowing quicker time back on target. If the recoil is too much for the shoulders, her caliber weapon is too big and she will not enjoy the shooting experience. I wish you and your wifr the best of luck. PS the coin on the front of the slide worked for me.
 
I just got back from the range today. I usually only go one Wednesdays, but this week I was pushing the gun down so much that I felt the need to vindicate myself. I did well today.

Anyway, the feeling when pulling the trigger should be just like making a fist. It helps to tighten the smaller fingers (pinky, ring & middle) because it's difficult to push down while those fingers are tense. Try it. Also have her get used to the gun coming up a bit when she fires. It's supposed to do that and is a sign of a good shot. Dry firing with the penny is good for smooth trigger pull, but it also teaches you that the gun should stay level when fired. It shouldn't.

Fixing this problem can make a massive difference in accuracy. I can shoot at least 5 rounds in 3/4" at 21 feet when I'm not pushing. If I am, I get 6 inch groups.
 
Double whatever hearing protection factor that she is now using.if you are using muffs only,try putting in ear plugs as well.most handgun flinches are caused by the noise factor.
 
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