Ok guys I am just wondering ,and be honest .
How many of you have or worked thru a flinch due to all the high recoil rounds you shoot.

Years back I started to have problems every once in a while .
So I now limit the range time with the big stuff ,using it mainly for hunting.
I just never want to get as bad as a few that can't even pull the trigger.

Johnch

I sure have gotten a bad flinch before! took a lot of work to get rid of it

It is important to limit the number of heavy recoiling rounds in a day, because recoil is cumulative. Even shooting too much .308 could give you a flinch.

However, the most important behavior in order to avoid developing a flinch is intense CONCENTRATION. If you concentrate, and make your body do what it is supposed to do, you will not flinch.

Ditto what 500 said !!

To add to what .500 said, standing over sticks will help you a bit regarding warding off a flinch. Benching a heavy caliber is probably the wost thing you can do, anyone no matter how well seasoned will develop a flinch after too many rounds have been fired in too little time. Try firing at objects like milk cartons and the like,it sounds stupid but its part of training your mind and having fun at the same time. Firing at bullseyes tenses up your body and lets the mind get ready for the impending recoil. Animal targets help some people get by this problem, as .500 said concentrate on the animal not the recoil. Hope this helps you out.Charlie

John,
i feel that a flinch, like how you handle recoil, is a mentally CONTROLABLE event... but, like a fart, there's only soo much you can do!!!

I got scope cut TWICE in a week... so I took the scope off, and it was 4 months of shooting one a week, with THAT gun, before I got rid of that flinch... i could shoot my other guns fine, just not that one.

...btw, having a Y in my right brow is a strong reason why i built the stock machine.

Working through or even TO a flinch involves alot of reloading and working loads up... the 500 jeffe is what got me to ignore (BS.. being macho.. recoil hits me TOO) recoil by starting at an about 80% load, getting used to that, and then working up a grain a range day, until i got to factory loads...

it does take training, mental discipline, and desire to get through it...

some ofthe things I have found is
1:never shoot a hard kicking rifle from the bench this will give you a profound flinch
2: when you notice you are flinching, STOP... decide if your mind is right and if you can set yourself to do it it, if so then
3: DRY FIRE at least 5 shots for every live round until you are extremely comfortable
4: Bring the rifle back on target while recovering from recoil..(followthrough). I think this what makes me look like i just suck up recoil... my body has a command to finish after the shot, not just react to the shot
5: get you a SIDE STROKE pellet rifle (a pump actualy will cause your shots to wander) and setup some paperplates in the back yard... and shoot a box of pellets a month

jeffe

the other thing to try is caswells lead sled. It works very well

quote:

Originally posted by 500grains:
It is important to limit the number of heavy recoiling rounds in a day, because recoil is cumulative. Even shooting too much .308 could give you a flinch.

However, the most important behavior in order to avoid developing a flinch is intense CONCENTRATION. If you concentrate, and make your body do what it is supposed to do, you will not flinch.

Well said 500 grains.

Jeff Cooper quoted Fred Wells (or was it Frank?) as saying that recoil tolerance was 85% mental.

What is the remaining 15%? Physical Technique and a little padding (butt pad) to go with the mental control.

Flinch? Who, me? Never!

Good advise so far. It is mostly a mental exercise.
The only time I started flinching was when I decided I needed a 44 mag as my first handgun (The dirty Harry phenomena). I discovered that recoil, for me is not much of a problem it was the blast, specifically the blast that hit me in the face and eyes. I always where glasses (can't see without them) but that puff of air in my eyes was making me close my eyes before the shot.
Jeffes practice of reacquiring the target immediately after the shot goes a long way to not allowing your body to flinch.
Also, always take a 22 rf with you when you shoot the big stuff. Take a few shots with your cannon and while it cools pick up the 22 rf and shoot a few. If you start a flinch stop for the day. If you keep going it will only turn the flinch into a muscle memory response. It will be a lot harder to get rid of that.
John

I bouned my thumb off my nose making a shot on an impala with a very lightweight 375, the PH laughed his ass off and then said, I do that sometimes to. I had a B&L scope with no eye relief that I have now replaced, but I was so excited I didnt know I had my thumb sticking up in front of my nose. I thought my nose was broke, I hadn't taken a lick like that sinse my football and bar fighting days. My wife the tackers everybody was laughing at me.......but I killed the Impala, he's on the wall.

You get hammered on the nose or scope to the eye, it can make a guy a little jumpy for a while.

I am pretty recoil resistant, but I developed a real issue with one of my rifles a few years back. This was specific to one rifle only and the problem was the eye relief on the scope was too short and I tend to be a crawler on the bench ( glasses related I suppose ). Anyway it would ring me slightly every shoot, hit my glasses and three shoots later I had a headache like all hell, other guys who were glasses can attest to a good slap into your glasses and what it feels like.

Anyway I kept shooting this and other rifles, but with this rifle my subconcious was smarter than the reast of me and I developed a nasty flinch, but only shooting this gun. I finally got the eye relief issue worked out but every time I shoot that rifle I still flinched bad. I should note this was mostly bench related.

Long story short I finally just put the rifle back in the rack for a long sit, for a couple of seasons, in the mean time I worked up some not so magnum loads. When I picked it up again I shot the lesser loads exclusivly for the first few range sessions. Then started back into the full house loads.

I have it all worked out now, its hunting rifle, not a bench rifle and it is still a chore to do load development of any magnatude, fortunately that has all been worked out long ago, but I was considering doing another attempt at some lighter bullets if I get the time this summer.

Funny part was, all the while I was having issues with this gun, I was shooting bigger and equally recoiling rifles and I was having no problems.

In simple set the rifle down for a bit, and work up some milder loads, and work back to the full house loads. Once you have a couple of range sessions with the milder loads under your belt, start shooting mostly the milder loads and take only 3-4 shots in that session. Work on the mix until your shooting mostly hot loads and you should be back on track.

These big bruisers are hunting rifles not bench guns, after you have let your rifle set stay off the bench for a while. If you must put it back on the bench use a sled or sandbags to work out your problems. Standing and unsupported are the most forgiving positions, and that is what I would recommend for a while. Remember your working on retraining your subconcious, and that takes a while, and you want to avoid repeating and reinforcing the action that got you flinching. I also recommend shooting another heavy recoiling rifle both during the wait period and while your working back into this rifle.

And remember there are some people that are just recoil shy, you could be one, I have seen shooters that never really overcome the problem, but work can increase the threshold a little, but I have seen seasoned shooters that top out at around a 30-06 and that was a lot of work on there part.

Another trick is to change the type of recoil, 30 mags typically have a sharp, quick recoil. Playing around with a 45-70 while change the sharp jab to a slower push which helps some.

I second something Jeffe writes above.

I leqrned a technique from John Gannaway when he was the range officer for a rifle course I took at Gunsite. John teaches that you take perhaps 5 to 10 snap shots as dry practice (a Gunsite technique for mounting and firing off-hand that emphasizes speed of shot delivery) after shooting a heavy rifle. He says that the dry practice, no-recoil event "resets" your nervous system to a no-recoil expected condition.

I recommend it as I don't flinch shooting the heavies following this teaching. Neither do other people I have passed it along to.

jim