[Breadfan]

Was at the range today and had a very, very good score. Shot from 25m and had like 10 out 15 rounds hit the black (precision fire).

At one moment while reloading, I slammed the mag in but forgot to rack the slide. I was aiming..aiming..and aiming..pull the trigger and...CLICK!

My friend who was standing beside me, told me I actually blinked while hitting the trigger. The gun didn't fire (of course) but I was totally unaware of my blinking untill he mentioned it.

I was kinda dissapointed I had this "problem", eventhough I had a really good day at the range..I mean, it's not like I's closing eyes, it's like tenth of a second when it happened so that's why (I guess) I was not aware of it.

Just thought I should share this with you..

 

[LewsTherin]

I'd say its not an issue if you can shoot like that. Just my .02

 

[gaowlpoop]

Sounds like a classic Pavlovian response to me.

 

[RogueXD]

I don't think most people know they blink. You can watch most people blink.

 

[sourpatch45]

it could be nothing or it could be your bodies anticipation to the bang.

when the gun didnt fire did you flinch at all?

 

[agalindo]

Sounds like a classic Pavlovian response to me.

MMMM pulling the trigger.

 

[freebyrd]

yup i blink when i fire no biggie

 

[Breadfan]

it could be nothing or it could be your bodies anticipation to the bang.

when the gun didnt fire did you flinch at all?

I don't think I did, but my friend who was done shooting and was packing his stuff said he noticed I blinked at the moment of (dry) firing.

At first I felt kinda bad about it but on the second thought, if I can consistantly shoot good, I shouldn't really worry about it. It happens in a moment and certainly doesn't affect my overall aiming and trigger pull technique. It's more like doing it 100% perfect and the blink thing just doesn't fit in there.

 

[tomfoolery]

I don't see a problem with it....as long as your shots are spot on.

 

[Lockednloaded45]

With scores like that, dont sweat it

 

[cdmorten]

I blink at all loud noises. We need a slow mo video of Rob Leatham to see if he does.

 

[DirtyHarry]

I used to have trainees perform an exercise on the range which immediately shows blinking or flinching problems and then helps to correct them. It also is a major exercise used in training for competition.

With the pistol and two magazines, load one mag with one round and the other empty. Randomly hand the trainee either a loaded, cocked, ready-to-fire weapon or an empty one and observe the shooter and the gun while they fire the weapon. (Alternatively you can hand the weapon to the shooter above their eye level with the slide locked back and have them release the slide before lowering the weapon if you prefer not to hand a loaded, cocked weapon).

If they fire the empty weapon a flinch or blink is readily apparent by watching the shooter and the gun. If they receive and fire the loaded weapon, observation of the shooter, the gun and the shot placement at the target will tell the story.

Not knowing when the shooter is receiving a live or empty weapon forces him/her to focus on the front sight and concentrate on maintaining perfect sight alignment while squeezing the trigger. The realization that the weapon might be empty forces them to work harder to prevent the "embarassing" flinch, however slight.

After performing this exercise for about five or six actual live rounds, a group will develop on the target. Repeated performance of the exercise (with fresh targets) will result in a very noticeable and dramatic tightening of the group.
​

The same exercise can be performed using some dummy rounds mixed with live rounds in a magazine, if dummys are available.

A blink during the shot would be a result of anticipation of the shot and needs to be overcome. A blink after the shot has been fired would be simply reflex reaction which would most likely not affect accuracy.

The above exercise might be well known here (I'm a newbie to the forum), but I thought I'd post it just in case it's not.

 

[dirty magazine]

I mix in a snap cap in a few mags when I'm at the range, but it's never the top round. It's similar, although I think the either loaded or unloaded thing might be a more efficient drill. I suppose I could just mix in more snap caps

 

[sloopy70]

It will affect you during highspeed shooting situations, like a USPSA match. Or a self defense situation... If your eyes are closed you CAN NOT reacquire the sites as fast as you will need to in a high speed situation. You can train yourself out of it as some people have stated. You should be able to watch the front sight rise out of the rear, and drop back down into place... If you haven't attended a USPSA match I highly recommend it...

 

[agalindo]

Yep, I can always tell when I close my eyes when shooting steel, I can't see the sight lift and come back on target.

 

[Amkus]

You're anticipating the bang. What's more hilarious is seeing someone's foot jump from the same thing.

 

[HTOWN stunna]

when i have a misfire or forget that there isnt one in the pipe i flinch and blink. lol what a wuss

 

[Breadfan]

Was at the range on sunday..yes, I DO blink in the exact moment of discharge. That however, doesn't affect my performance, at least when it comes to precision fire. Maybe rapid fire would require more eyes on the sights but I'm not too worried about it.

 

[DirtyHarry]

when i have a misfire or forget that there isnt one in the pipe i flinch and blink. lol what a wuss

It happens to everyone - you're not a wuss - you're just anticipating the shot.

If you practice the "dummy drill" technique outlined above, I guarantee you will be able to overcome much if not all of that flinch and blink, and your slow fire target scores will be significantly higher.