KILLING A BAD HABBIT? - XDTalk Forums - Your HS2000/SA-XD Information Source!

xd45acp4life · 03-29-2006, 11:39 AM

How do I learn to not blink right before I pull the trigger. My wife does it really bad. Last weekend she was resting the gun on on the tailgate of my truck (it was let down) and when she closed her eyes before she pulled the gun pointed down and she killed the dirt about 5 ft. in front of us. Almost put a round thru the tailgate.

Any advise would help! THANKS!

bcjames · 03-29-2006, 11:51 AM

I would suggest lots of dry-firing (to break the association of the trigger pull with a loud noise and recoil and all that) and maybe better hearing protection to create as little noise as possible. And definitely wear eye protection if you don't. Though if her eyes were closed long enough to drop the barrel that much, it might be more than a pre-emptive flinch.

wJAKE19 · 03-29-2006, 11:51 AM

LOTS of DRYFIRE practice...

bcjames · 03-29-2006, 11:57 AM

Oh, and for the record, I thought this said "killing a bad HOBBIT" at first, and I was going to suggest using a gun.

mr0w1 · 03-29-2006, 12:05 PM

I'll just reiterate what's been said:

1) Dry fire. Lots of it. SAFELY though!!! No ammo anywhere near by. Check, double check, triple check. If you set the gun down to do something else, check again.

While dry firing, THINK about what you're doing. THINK, "sight alignment, target, focus on front sight, squeeeeeze the trigger CLICK!" Just pulling the trigger over and over again doesn't do any good. You've got to build muscle memory -- associate actions (trigger pull) with thought processes (sight alignment) and get to where they happen automatically, without having to think about it.

2) Double up on ear protection and eye protection. If you're not worried about hurting your ears or your eyes, you're more likely to focus on the subject at hand.

3) Look into getting a .22lr handgun. Lots of shooting for little money. Still have the boom, but it's not as loud. Still have the recoil, but not nearly as much. A $10 brick of 500 rnds of .22 will go WAY further towards making you a good shot than a $10 box of 100 rnds of 9mm.

It sounds to me like your wife is flinching hardcore -- a flinch is a sign of fear (not necessarily the bad kind of irrational fear, but the self-preservation type fear -- fear isn't a sign of weakness -- I flinch sometimes myself, and I've been shooting for years). Fear of the boom, fear of the recoil. Fact is, there's nothing natural about shooting a gun. You're holding a device designed to contain a small explosion of sorts (not really an explosion, but close enough) at only arms length from your face. If there's anything LESS natural, I'd like to hear it.

How do you get over this fear? Shoot. A lot. Re-train your brain to NOT associate the *boom* with danger.

Lucky for you, the cure is more shooting, and maybe another gun. Consider yourself very lucky.

wJAKE19 · 03-29-2006, 12:05 PM

Damn hobbits anyway... there so small and fast you have to lead them a good foot or more.

xd45acp4life · 03-29-2006, 12:21 PM

VERY good advise and very well stated. I will get some ear plugs to go under our ear muffs. I never thought of these types of things so I am glad I asked. I am also sure I am not the only one on hear to have such a problem. Thanks again mr0w1!

mr0w1 · 03-29-2006, 01:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xd45acp4life

VERY good advise and very well stated. I will get some ear plugs to go under our ear muffs. I never thought of these types of things so I am glad I asked. I am also sure I am not the only one on hear to have such a problem. Thanks again mr0w1!

No prob.

You're surely not the only person here w/ flinching or eye closing problems. I found myself doing it just the other day, in fact. Started off fine, but by the time I got to round 400 or so (combined .40 and 45acp), my hands and knuckles were starting to hurt, my wrists were tired, and I was beginning to flinch. I just finished off the box I was working on, cased them up, and broke out the .22lr. I just decided that if I couldn't shoot decent any more, no sense in burning up the ammo. So I just unwinded w/ the .22, took some pics of the giant piles of brass I made (

) and called it a day.

Anyway, that's why we're here -- to help each other out and be sources of ridiculous entertainment for each other. :P Don't be afraid to ask any question (at least, any question except "Is 9mm or .45 better?")

jednp · 03-29-2006, 03:46 PM

One thing I found that helped my gf with her flinching and fear of pulling the trigger, was to talk to her and keep reminding her to concentrate and keep that sight in her focus.. kept talking to her, and she pulls the trigger and is fine. It keeps her mind off the fact taht the gun is going to go boom, and isn't as scary as she thinks it is.

PeninaD · 03-29-2006, 03:49 PM

Would mixing snap-caps and regular ammo in a mag work as well for the eye-closing as is does to teach not to flinch?

03-29-2006, 11:39 AM	#1
xd45acp4life XDTalk 100 Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: vegas Posts: 357	KILLING A BAD HABBIT? How do I learn to not blink right before I pull the trigger. My wife does it really bad. Last weekend she was resting the gun on on the tailgate of my truck (it was let down) and when she closed her eyes before she pulled the gun pointed down and she killed the dirt about 5 ft. in front of us. Almost put a round thru the tailgate. Any advise would help! THANKS! __________________ winchester defender 12g., taurus 38, SA XD45ACP service w/ dawson adj. & Springer Precision 3# trigger, xd 9mm sc bi-tone, S/A 1911 loaded, xd9 tactical (wifes) Kel-tec SU-16, Kimber G/R, 06 TRP RRA AR-15!

03-29-2006, 11:51 AM	#3
wJAKE19 XDTalk 500 Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Belding, Michigan Posts: 520	LOTS of DRYFIRE practice... __________________ ~JAKE

03-29-2006, 12:05 PM	#5
mr0w1 XDTalk 2K Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 2,533	I'll just reiterate what's been said: 1) Dry fire. Lots of it. SAFELY though!!! No ammo anywhere near by. Check, double check, triple check. If you set the gun down to do something else, check again. While dry firing, THINK about what you're doing. THINK, "sight alignment, target, focus on front sight, squeeeeeze the trigger CLICK!" Just pulling the trigger over and over again doesn't do any good. You've got to build muscle memory -- associate actions (trigger pull) with thought processes (sight alignment) and get to where they happen automatically, without having to think about it. 2) Double up on ear protection and eye protection. If you're not worried about hurting your ears or your eyes, you're more likely to focus on the subject at hand. 3) Look into getting a .22lr handgun. Lots of shooting for little money. Still have the boom, but it's not as loud. Still have the recoil, but not nearly as much. A $10 brick of 500 rnds of .22 will go WAY further towards making you a good shot than a $10 box of 100 rnds of 9mm. It sounds to me like your wife is flinching hardcore -- a flinch is a sign of fear (not necessarily the bad kind of irrational fear, but the self-preservation type fear -- fear isn't a sign of weakness -- I flinch sometimes myself, and I've been shooting for years). Fear of the boom, fear of the recoil. Fact is, there's nothing natural about shooting a gun. You're holding a device designed to contain a small explosion of sorts (not really an explosion, but close enough) at only arms length from your face. If there's anything LESS natural, I'd like to hear it. How do you get over this fear? Shoot. A lot. Re-train your brain to NOT associate the boom with danger. Lucky for you, the cure is more shooting, and maybe another gun. Consider yourself very lucky. __________________ guns.freaksho.net - My awesome gun website! More guns than ever! (Last updated: July 24, 2006)

03-29-2006, 12:05 PM	#6
wJAKE19 XDTalk 500 Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Belding, Michigan Posts: 520	Damn hobbits anyway... there so small and fast you have to lead them a good foot or more. __________________ ~JAKE

03-29-2006, 12:21 PM	#7
xd45acp4life XDTalk 100 Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: vegas Posts: 357	VERY good advise and very well stated. I will get some ear plugs to go under our ear muffs. I never thought of these types of things so I am glad I asked. I am also sure I am not the only one on hear to have such a problem. Thanks again mr0w1! __________________ winchester defender 12g., taurus 38, SA XD45ACP service w/ dawson adj. & Springer Precision 3# trigger, xd 9mm sc bi-tone, S/A 1911 loaded, xd9 tactical (wifes) Kel-tec SU-16, Kimber G/R, 06 TRP RRA AR-15!

03-29-2006, 11:51 AM	#2
bcjames XDTalk Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 69	I would suggest lots of dry-firing (to break the association of the trigger pull with a loud noise and recoil and all that) and maybe better hearing protection to create as little noise as possible. And definitely wear eye protection if you don't. Though if her eyes were closed long enough to drop the barrel that much, it might be more than a pre-emptive flinch.

03-29-2006, 11:57 AM	#4
bcjames XDTalk Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 69	Oh, and for the record, I thought this said "killing a bad HOBBIT" at first, and I was going to suggest using a gun.

03-29-2006, 03:46 PM	#9
jednp XDTalk 4K Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Omaha, NE Posts: 4,691	One thing I found that helped my gf with her flinching and fear of pulling the trigger, was to talk to her and keep reminding her to concentrate and keep that sight in her focus.. kept talking to her, and she pulls the trigger and is fine. It keeps her mind off the fact taht the gun is going to go boom, and isn't as scary as she thinks it is.

03-29-2006, 03:49 PM	#10
PeninaD XDTalk 100 Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: PA Posts: 216	Would mixing snap-caps and regular ammo in a mag work as well for the eye-closing as is does to teach not to flinch? __________________ XD9 Service Marlin 336 Marlin 22mag

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