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Flinching is being a major problem for me on the rapid fire stage of Bullseye shooting. Not that there are any competitions for it in the heart of Texas, but in the mock competitions that I do I feel it is the largest contributing factor to my low rapid fire scores. I don't flinch at all when dry-firing, I flinch about 50% of the time when firing a .22 and about 90% of the time with a .45.

Is this something that will work itself out? Is there anything I can do to go faster on the road to no flinching?

FYI, I do use both forms of ear protection.

It is the noise factor causing the problem. I used to use the same muffs I did for shooting sporting clays, Peltor 6s electonic and I thought htey were working fine.
One day I found my self not relly flinching but I could feel myself blinking my eyes when I was shooting my .45's at the indoor range. I switched to Peltor 10's and that solved the problem, if there were a lot of other shooters I used plugs also. Don't know what kind of muffs use use but the Peltor 10's are one of the best with about t 30 db reduction in sound, check into it and good luck.

All together my hearing kit provides just under 60DB of noise reduction.

Georgezilla wrote:All together my hearing kit provides just under 60DB of noise reduction.

That sshould get the job done, I know after I switched I noticed the difference. Of course I was not really flinching completely, just blinking my eyes. Might be recoil anticipation, you might try some lighter loads.

Just have to ask......are you sure it's flinching?

In my experience (which admittedly is not a ton) most people have far more issues with "trigger control" and they often self diagnose it as flinching.

Are you trying to "Snatch" bullseyes? (You see your sights (or dot) aiming right at the bull and you quick pull the trigger to try and snatch that bullseye) This is VERY common and results in horrid scores......trust me, been there done that.

If your not sure the best way to diagnose a flinch is to use some dummy rounds during your shooting.

Have a friend load your clip with one or two dummies mixed in. You aim and shoot. Concentrate on two things. 1) Pulling the trigger straight back so smoothly that it surprises you when it goes off. 2)Watch the sights on EVERY shot and when you get to a dummy round they should not move when the gun goes "click".

If it's a flinch keep working with dummy rounds mixed in and making sure you get a surprise break every time. DRY FIRE, DRY FIRE, DRY FIRE.

Adam, I do tend to jerk on the rapid fire stage, but I think thats because of the time constraint. Because of what I presume is flinching it increases the time I require to get my next sight picture. I am training for LEG matches so I am using iron sights which are way less forgiving than a dot. My first 3 shots are usually good but I either do not have time for the last 2 or I rush them and snatch the bullseye.

As far as the dummy round training, I have never done that on the rapid fire stage. However I have for slow and timed, and on those my trigger control was good -- no flinching on the dummies.

In my experience (which admittedly is not a ton) most people have far more issues with "trigger control" and they often self diagnose it as flinching.

Good point Adam. One thing I have noticed that has helped my shooting accuracy is a gun which suits my liking. I do believe anybody can learn to shoot "any" gun better, with training and practice, but a "good trigger" is invaluable to me. I really have to try hard, and concentrate on all the fundamentals, to shoot my Beretta M9 "somewhat" accurately, but it is somewhat simple to shoot my 1911 accurately. The difference, to me, is the trigger. On the 1911, the trigger is "sweet". On the Beretta I'm not comfortable with the weight, creep, feel, letoff, over-travel, or any other term you want to mix into the equation. Don't get me wrong, the beretta is a fine, proven handgun, and many people shoot it well, but many people don't like the trigger action on it and don't shoot it well. The 1911 has a trigger that almost everybody likes. I also shoot my S&W 686 to my liking. Again, it has a great trigger. For me, when I find myself concentrating to much on what the trigger is doing during pulling it, I have more time to think about bad things which create shooting flaws. I don't need any extra time to think about the "loud noise" that will be coming.
My 2 cents, Haka

BOM The Peltor 10's you are referncing are those the Peltor H10A. So far i have been renting muff's and glasses but now that i made purchase it is silly to be wasting money renting when the gun cost so much.

harper_07 wrote:BOM The Peltor 10's you are referncing are those the Peltor H10A. So far i have been renting muff's and glasses but now that i made purchase it is silly to be wasting money renting when the gun cost so much.

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?p ... ber=214443

These are the ones that I use unless just shooting small bore then I use the Peltor 6s electronic units so I can hear other people on the range talking.

Georgezilla,
Are you setting up your NAA (natural area of aim) to be centered on the x when the targets turn? If not, be very exact about setting up your NAA. then start taking up the slack on your trigger when the line caller says "Ready on the firing line".

That way as soon as the targets begin their turn you can break the first shot in the x. That also means you now have 9 1/2 seconds to shoot the remaining 4 shots. Plenty of time.

FWIW

Has anyone used Dry Fire Dummies like the ones below? Was wondering if this would work for dry fire practice on my Mark III

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?p ... ber=213850

harper_07 wrote:Has anyone used Dry Fire Dummies like the ones below? Was wondering if this would work for dry fire practice on my Mark III

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?p ... ber=213850

Those are "snap caps" and while good for dry fire practice they will not feed from a clip like a true dummy round.

Try these - http://www.rimfiresports.com/merchant.m ... ry_Code=DR

Another option is to load up several cases WITHOUT POWDER and do not remove the spent primer. Have someone else load your magazines so you have no idea whether there is a live round or a dummy under the hammer. I just did this with a student in my marksmanship class. I had told him about his flinching but he was skeptical about it. (I'm talking 2-3 rounds out of 6, on a 8 1/2x11" sheet of paper at 20') When he snapped on the dummy he dived off the paper so bad he had no problem believing what I had been trying to tell him. I had him do more dry firing drills.

Now if you're shooting 22, just buy Remington SV. It is by far the worst as far as % of duds of amy ammo I have ever tried. Very accurate in my Citation with the LSP bbl (<3/4" @ 50 yds), but I average a dud out of 10-20 rds.

FWIW

stork wrote: Now if you're shooting 22, just buy Remington SV. It is by far the worst as far as % of duds of amy ammo I have ever tried. Very accurate in my Citation with the LSP bbl (<3/4" @ 50 yds), but I average a dud out of 10-20 rds.

FWIW

ROFLMAO. I knew there must be some use for them.

Late to the thread.
George, a few months ago I suddenly decided to anticipate the shots and realized that I had spent an hour doing that. As soon as I realized I was doing it, I started focusing on the trigger and the flinch/anticipation went away.

That is true about the Remington SV, Stork. My NAA seems to be spot on.

Greener, shortly after this thread I started doing exactly as you suggest. I sorta just pretended I was dry firing and it all fell into place. I think I have finally overcome it.