flinch

[jednp]

took my xd 40 to the range tonight.. I did OK.. had some decent shots, but when I inserted some dummy rounds I noticed I was flinching really bad. My lesson I took I did good with that and quit flinching during the rest of it. So what ideas does anyone have to work on ignoring the temptation to flinch, or anything else? I do notice that today for whatever reason my arms feel really worn out.. did before I even went to the range. Is it possible to reduce flinching by getting into better shape for grip/wrist/forearm control? I can see that I'm clearly flinching, but for some reason tonight I just couldn't get it under control most of the time. I shot about 250 rounds, and I'd say I hit at least half if not more close to the center, but lots were left or low left. Any criticism/comments or advice is greatly appreciated

[JHA XD40]

Use the search feature on this forum or search on google for dry fire drills. You've already got the dummy rounds, so all you need now is about ten minutes a day. From what I've found, dry firing is the best remedy for anticipating the recoil.

I don't know what to tell you about your tired arms though.

Good luck.

jonas

[Oni]

Make sure your not tired, angry, or frustrated when shooting and find a comfortable shooting style while keeping calm. Caffeine doesn't help

[jednp]

My whole body just felt wore out today, my hands and forearms felt really weird from shooting. I'm hoping most of the flinch was due to this, because I haven't been flinching really at all the last week. I am going to do exercises for my arms and grip strength though, I think I need it and it should help stabilize even more. anyway guess i'll just see how things go and post later when i find out.

[one-eyed-fatman]

I only flinch when my wife beats me. Don't flinch with guns at all.

[mcone]

Originally Posted by jednp

So what ideas does anyone have to work on ignoring the temptation to flinch, or anything else? ...at least half if not more close to the center, but lots were left or low left. Any criticism/comments or advice is greatly appreciated

Originally Posted by jednp

My whole body just felt wore out today, my hands and forearms felt really weird from shooting. I'm hoping most of the flinch was due to this...

Yes - the low-left hits are signs that you are flinching. It's a normal problem to overcome. Many say to dry-fire a lot in order to program your brain to not flinch. There's also technique refinement. That's part of my program.

However, in your case, I would say that you may be experiencing a stress from fear and/or excitement. When first starting the range experience a couple of years ago, I was pretty wound up (excited), and would get a terrible headache after the experience. That's a sign of hypertension for me. It was at those times that I also discovered that flinching was a huge problem.

This was my observation: Especially in the beginning, handguns created a reaction due to fear. The thing makes a terribly loud noise and sends a piece of metal flying out the end at high velocity. Then add to that the desire to be perfect out of the box. I had no idea how to accomplish that goal. So many unknowns and the inability to figure it all out created a lot of stress. New gun, new range, new everything.

So we have stress and fear, with reactive flinching. I started to concentrate on relaxing when shooting. When the trigger started to go back, I used to say one of two things to myself 1 - "smooth, smooth, etc., until the trigger pull would break. Or 2 - "The gun is my friend, the gun is my friend" (meaning it helps me - not hurts me).

I would rehearse this quietly while the trigger was coming back, and the result was pretty significant. Pretty soon I found that the fear and stress that I had experienced early on started to go away. My XD40 doesn't scare me any more at the range - and the accuracy is much-much better. Now my attitude toward the XD is that it's a faithful friend ready to help. But it took some time to come around to this attitude.

Now I still have to work on piles of technique, but the stress is gone. And I'm glad for it. Hope this helps.

-Mike

[mcone]

Originally Posted by one-eyed-fatman

I only flinch when my wife beats me. Don't flinch with guns at all.

So if my "fear" hypothesis is correct, which one do you fear more - your XD or your wife?

-Mike

[lk229]

There's lots of great tips on the forum for shooting techniques, but be sure to use good quality hearing protectors too. If you're anticipating the noise, not just the recoil, that might affect your shooting. I used to use headphone type protectors that were rated at 27 dB but switched to the soft foam inserts and as long as I get them in correctly, they seem to work much better for me.

[Oni]

I just recently noticed that you do have to install foam insert ear plugs properly to be effective. http://www.elvex.com/reusable-ear-plugs.htm

[InspectorNugger]

One thing that works/worked for me, whether it is handguns indoors or big magnum rifles outdoors was to double up on ear protection. I wear "in-the-ear" type plugs (foam or plastic) and also use a good earmuff-style protector over them. This drops the sound level dramatically. It made a big difference as my wife was getting into shooting. One set of ear protection causes her to flinch at other peoples shots in the lanes next to us.