[John sukey]

I don't have to worry about flinching. The gun sits on a 45 pound tripod and with a 250 round belt, I will hit what I aim at most of the time.

[yumarick]

Greg,
I teach my students trigger pull with a different method than some use. I have them concentrate during all firing, especially dry firing, on pulling the trigger slowly and smoothly all the way to the mechanical stop, and not think about when it is going to go off. Put a dime on the barrel and do the practice, with the follow-through all the way to the stop, until you can keep it easily balanced. As you pull, you don't ease up on the trigger until you actually feel the resistance of the trigger stop. And yes, depending on caliber and barrel length, you can have issues with not using a strong enough grip or wrist lock.

Rick

[sigp250]

Originally Posted by greg

Thanks for all the help. I'll try some of these things next time I shoot

Greg,
Since 5-30 when you first posted your message, how much have you practiced?

You have some good suggestions here. Try to apply some of the suggestions next time you practice. See what works best for you.

Muscle memory is learned by training much like going to the gym on a regular basis.

Practicing often is important. 50 rounds three times a week is probably going to do more for you than 200 rounds once a month.

[joshfireart]

nice topic. practice dose not make perfect. Perfect practice MAKES PERFECT .The wall drill is perfect practice. dont over do your range time because you can build moor bad habits. Shoot close range and build from there. shooting is a HEAD GAME............

[Jpyle]

Originally Posted by VR4

Greg, this is what I do. It's called wall drills. I will find a wall with nothing on it and with end of the gun 1 inch away from the wall I cock the hammer and as I'm squeezing the trigger I watch the front sight to see if it moves.

If it is pulling the sight left or right reevaluate how much of your trigger finger is in the trigger guard and adjust. You should be using the pad of your trigger finger.

Another thing that can cause this is when you are pulling the trigger you are also squeezing the rest of your strong hand fingers. Learn to move your trigger finger only. Practice wall drills everyday and you will build the muscle memory.

I do a similar drill using a cheap, i mean really cheap, laser. I zero it to put the dot right on top of the front sight and point it to an empty wall, after clearing the weapon, loading in a snap cap and dougle checking that the gun is unloaded. When I pull the trigger I look to see how much the dot moves on the wall. The direction of movement helps me diagnose any potential grip or triggering issues similar to the miss chart below:

[ET1]

Trigger control seems to be the hardest thing to master. I started shooting young and quickly learned that I lost my allowance to my brother if I flinched because we bet on everything we did.. I hated watching my brother spend my allowance and worked for a solid summer to control the kick from my guns. Money is a powerful incentive. Every time you miss the bullseye from 20yards donate a dollar to the NRA. I bet you get better real quick.

[gatopardo]

Flinching is a natural nervous response or reflex to an acquired fear.

How to avoid a flinch while shooting?
First off the flinch can be timed to the systolic and diastolic cycle, or, the heart beating which understanding is primordial especially for tactical shooters, and is intensified while we inhale or we can relax it when we exhale.

Control the annoying reflex this way:

Count mentally and do the following:

ONE, hold your weapon pointing to the front and down at aprox 45 degrees below your sight level, next to you chest cavity, the trigger finger extended along the barrel.
(In a real situation, this position keeps an assailant from grabbing your sidearm, while you can use the other hand to deflect any attempt)

TWO, raise and extend your weapon, present and acquire the target, while inhaling.

THREE, while you exhale, press the trigger in a deliberate manner.
If you exhale and didn't fire your weapon inhale again in the same position and while exhaling fire your weapon.

While you practice this controlled way, something curious happens,
you'll notice the flinch appears when you are not pressing the trigger, as soon as you present your weapon
(the trigger finger twitches and the gun moves to either side), which means you are, while exercising this manner, creating a new timing, a healthy one, different of that of the flinching reflex which was "learned" inadvertently.

[zhuk]

Originally Posted by Jpyle

I do a similar drill using a cheap, i mean really cheap, laser. I zero it to put the dot right on top of the front sight and point it to an empty wall, after clearing the weapon, loading in a snap cap and dougle checking that the gun is unloaded. When I pull the trigger I look to see how much the dot moves on the wall. The direction of movement helps me diagnose any potential grip or triggering issues similar to the miss chart below:

Great advice Jpyle...can't wait to finally get my gun in the coming months to give this a go. Can I ask though; what kind of laser are you talking about? I think most except the weakest kind are illegal here (yeah how surprising lol)

[opaww]

I use a Walther P22 for trigger control and traget practice to hone skills, and its cheep to shoot. Very little recoil and you get used to it, forgetting about recoil when you shoot your carry pistol.

[Jpyle]

Originally Posted by zhuk

Great advice Jpyle...can't wait to finally get my gun in the coming months to give this a go. Can I ask though; what kind of laser are you talking about? I think most except the weakest kind are illegal here (yeah how surprising lol)

Just a standard rail mounted lasersight I got on e-bay for about $20.