Anticipating recoil of pistol...how to get past it

[P-14]

I've been working through a similar problem. What first convinced me of the benefits of dry fire was putting a snap cap on top of a magazine with five rounds below it. I would dry fire maybe a dozen or two dozen times, concentrating on keeping the front sights on target. Then I would rack the slide and fire the 5 shots (not quickly or anything). Those five shots were remarkably accurate compared to my previous shots without dry fire practice. So with enough dry and live fire practice, it'll become natural.

So now I never take a trip to the range to practice without including dry fire.

Exactly. The cure to "flinchitis" is dry firing mixed with live firing. Occasionally, I'd get flinchitis with the .44 magnum. I'd put 5 empty cases in the cylinder and one live round at the range. Then, I'd spin the cylinder and fire 6 times as if all were live. It was amazing to see the barrel drop on the first "click" because I was anticipating the bang and kick. It fixed it right away.

 

[Zombieoutfitters]

I particularly like the rapid fire phenomenon you are referring to. That is a handy trade off, but understand accuracy is something we all strive for under as many circumstances as possible be they slow fire, target, defense, rapid fire...we all want the bullet to go where we intend it to.

I've been shooting almost daily for 2.5 years. I started with target then moved on to defensive...but all recreational, nothing competitive except of course trying to out-do myself. But I've come a long way so I don't speak out of my ass, rather from some humble but practical experience.

My first piece of advice would be when you practice take your .22 and your higher calibers. When you do a set shoot 10 rounds of .22, then follow with "X" rounds of a higher caliber. Then go back to the .22 and then the higher caliber, etc, etc, alternating between guns each set. Practicing this technique with the varying calibers during the same range session exercises your skills and will help reveal things like flinches, subtle squeezes, anticipation, etc...and if you can spot them you can fix them.

Nothing is more frustrating than picking up a gun and being spot on, then taking another gun to the range or trying a buddies and being useless. There again, there is nothing more gratifying than being able to pick up just about any gun at any time and be confident you will be within "X-th" of an inch from the intended target.

I find that when I practice with multiple calibers each time I shoot, I am more versatile b/c I am used to the change in applied pressure and firearm feedback it takes to handle varying calibers with accurate results. You won't worry that you "always shoot 9mm so how will I be with a .44", you'll just focus on technique b/c you are used to changing calibers. Every time you change a caliber your whole approach shifts to compensate for the change in force, it's a physical reality...doing that more often = more consistency in your shooting b/c you are used to adjusting your technique on the fly. This not only helps you to be more versatile it helps you to be more CONFIDENT with any given caliber. Confidence plays a strong role.

If you have a severe problem you need to spend a LOT of time and focus on SLOWING DOWN. This problem you are having is a fundamental, basic problem. When you shoot focus on the fundamentals of Stance, Site Alignment, Breath Control, Trigger Squeeze and Follow Through. Address each of the 5 fundamentals individually and do not proceed to the next step of firing until you have completed the prior step as perfectly as you can.

What I mean is don't just say "oh yeah, I got the gun, lift it up then breath out and squeeze." Actually address each step individually. It takes all 5 of them to come together for you to pull off an accurate shot.

Right now it sounds like you are hung up on the trigger squeeze, and probably not paying enough homage to the other 4 steps. Ironically you NEED ALL YOUR FOCUS on the trigger squeeze, but not without ALSO addressing the other 4 steps.

When I have a flinch creep back in what helps me is to address the 5 steps, then when it comes to the trigger squeeze I mentally "freeze" in that moment. All I concentrate on in the world is keeping EVERYTHING ELSE FROZEN and making sure the only thing that moves is the trigger finger.

You want that trigger finger to bend at the 2nd joint from your finger tip. The first joint remains locked and the trigger is sitting right on the mid point of your finger pad. Sit there now and practice...stick out your hand like you are going to shake hands. Now bend JUST your trigger finger at the second joint until it makes a perfect 90 degree angle...then pull some more...that is YOUR ideal trigger squeeze. Nothing else moves but THAT JOINT. Practice that a bit until you get some muscle memory - this will definitely add some crispness to your trigger squeeze. If you can focus on JUST THAT while doing all other 4 fundamentals you will get your accuracy.

From there you can move on from the flinch and work on other goals like defensive shooting, rapid fire, other calibers, other guns, etc...

Also check out the Todd Jarrett pistol grip lesson on this page. Without a solid grip you are shooting in the dark (hahaha). Before I saw this video I would improve then lose it, then get good again and lose it in a frustratingly random fashion...this grip lesson should help take that much frustration away and then the rest is up to you:

http://www.zombieoutfitters.net/zombiegallery.html

Good luck!

 

[Stee]

Zombie-- Todd Jarretts video is top shelf, what I got from it was it was so solid that after recoil I came right back to sight alignment.. it was an unreal experience for me.. i was like.. what just happened?

 

[Zombieoutfitters]

Zombie-- Todd Jarretts video is top shelf, what I got from it was it was so solid that after recoil I came right back to sight alignment.. it was an unreal experience for me.. i was like.. what just happened?

No kidding right? I have found that when I focus on that aspect I find myself shooting faster and faster blowing through a clip...then I look up and I'm like "holy shit...where did that come from?". I just went with the momentum and landed a 1-2" group at 35' with the .22. It's one of the best videos I've ever had the pleasure of sharing (and using). Every time I watch it I pick up something new.

 

[Stee]

I was shooting ppc and scoring ok, nothing super but the last six times I shot it after working on my new grip I averaged 495 out of 500.. had a ragged 2 in group and a couple nines that was just me.. but with the Jarrett grip I have become a shootin machine.. it helps on the mental aspect also, now I focus on the last shot and they usually go right on top of that.

 

[Sbh87]

What I would say has already been stated here in different ways so I will just say take whichever suggestions that seem to work for you and practice them and over time you will get better.

 

[Jose]

I'll give you one of mine to shoot. Put 5 rounds through it and a 9mm will never make you flinch again.

Hell yeah! Instant cure.

 

[Roadblock]

Thanks everyone! I've gotten some great suggestions and will see what works.

The irony is that I also shot a .45 and .44 mag the same day- but only a few times; and had no such issue with either. Actually, I never really have this issue with revolver of any sort for some reason...

Ah well, good reason to practice and work on fundamentals. Thanks folks.

 

[Business]

get a revolver randomly load a few round and spin it. you'll never know if a bang or a click is coming

 

[noelephant]

A few suggestions:

- Ball and dummy. Have a friend load your handgun with either one round or no rounds without telling you which it is. Take the handgun and fire at a target. This will show you your flinch.

- Squeeeeeeze the trigger. You may not be able to anticipate exactly when it is going to break. This should reduce flinching.

- Dry fire practice

- Practice with a .22

 

[bumpbailey]

I do the same thing sometimes when shooting an unfamiliar gun. This works for me; I put an empty cartridge on the slide, near the front sight, and practice dry firing so the brass does not fall.

 

[Glock23ONME]

Im glad i caught this post ... Last night i was at the range and im just 21 this year Living in mass and i got my first glock. My shooting was getting progressively worse from when i started. An old timer came up to me with a few tricks i couldnt believe the results. First he took my mag into another lane with one of my trusted friends and mixed in a couple blanks so quickly we realized i was anticipating the kick of my .40 when i pulled the triger thinking it was going to slam back and nothing happend. So he tells me to aim and as slowly as possible start to pull the trigger back and count in my head 1-10 before i knew it the gun was fireing with out anticipation and i was dead on i mean i went from off the paper to dead on.... i would def recomend the slow pull with a 1-10 count so it fires at different point each time to help you drop the habbit... if you dont believe me ask "the Old Guy" he was there

 

[GaryCS]

When I have a flinch creep back in what helps me is to address the 5 steps, then when it comes to the trigger squeeze I mentally "freeze" in that moment. All I concentrate on in the world is keeping EVERYTHING ELSE FROZEN and making sure the only thing that moves is the trigger finger.

You want that trigger finger to bend at the 2nd joint from your finger tip. The first joint remains locked and the trigger is sitting right on the mid point of your finger pad. Sit there now and practice...stick out your hand like you are going to shake hands. Now bend JUST your trigger finger at the second joint until it makes a perfect 90 degree angle...then pull some more...that is YOUR ideal trigger squeeze. Nothing else moves but THAT JOINT. Practice that a bit until you get some muscle memory - this will definitely add some crispness to your trigger squeeze. If you can focus on JUST THAT while doing all other 4 fundamentals you will get your accuracy.

I wanted to emphasize this. The common wisdom is that you need to focus on the front sight exclusively. This is only useful if you already have a consistent, good trigger pull down to second nature. I've been shooting my P226 in 9mm for about 2 years now. I kept trying to focus on the front sight and I couldn't figure out why I was so bad with that gun. I started dry firing it and went to the range once and took this step-by-step approach. When it came time to pull the trigger, the only thing in my mind was visualizing that joint and the straight trigger pull. If you focus on only moving your finger, it's much easier to get a consistent trigger pull. You'll start to realize what you're doing differently between shots that's causing the gun to jerk.

Even when things start going well, keep focusing on your finger. The temptation will be to speed up, but you need to take a mental step back and force yourself to think about your finger. After you've done this effectively several hundred times, then you can start focusing on the front sight and the trigger pull should just happen. Obviously in a practical shooting situation, you need to keep your mind on what you're shooting and what's behind it, and not on the mechanics of your trigger pull. It's a good place to get to eventually, but not everybody can start out there.

Lastly, remember that everybody's going to learn differently. Just because this approach worked for myself and Zombie, it doesn't mean it's going to work for you. It's just another suggestion that other people have found effective. If you're still really struggling, try something different, or try and seek out some classes or 1-on-1 instruction. Pistols can be a pain to learn, but once you can reliably make the plates go "TINK!" it's great fun.