Recoil anticipation. Pre-ignition push. Heeling. It goes by lots of names.
If you want to improve your handgun shooting, at some point you’re going to run into the issue of flinching. There tends to be a lot of shame and self-denial involved with this problem, but every shooter deals with it at some point. So man up and admit that there’s at least a chance that you might not be an exception to the rule, and that you might have to address it at some point in your development as a shooter. Just to help you feel better, I’ve put a big ol’ picture of my dumb flinch face right at the top of the article. So, egos aside, let’s look at how to cure a flinch so we can start shooting better.
Defining Flinch
Once you’ve come to terms with the tragic truth that your shooting may at least occasionally be affected by flinching, the next step is to understand what exactly we mean by the term “flinch”, and why it’s detrimental to marksmanship:
Fixing the Flinch
Whether it’s a recoil anticipation or flinching after the shot, there are basically two avenues to approach curing a flinch problem: mental and physical. You can wage psychological warfare on yourself and try to trick or re-condition your brain’s response to the stimulii experienced when firing a gun, or you can attack the problem at its root and try mitigating those physical stimulii. There’s not really one catch-all solution, and most people find success with a blended approach. Since the Internets always love a good list, here are eight specific tips for curing your flinch.
Mental Solutions: Train your Brain
1. Acclimate to Recoil
One of the reasons we flinch is that our brains just aren’t accustomed to recoil and muzzle blast. Rapid fire can exacerbate this problem, and the increased noise and pressure from multiple shots in quick succession can easily throw you off and cause a flinch response to start creeping in. This automatic response usually fades as you get more rounds down range and practice more frequently. If you can’t shake it after a time, try moving up to just a couple of feet from the berm and run few strings of rapid fire into the dirt. Don’t worry about aiming, just watch the slide cycle and brass eject. Look at the gun from different angles as it fires. With this exercise, you’re basically removing the pressure of firing accurately and instead, your focus is on “getting used to” the sensations associated with firing the gun.
2. Good Habits Replace Bad Habits
It’s always easier to break a bad habit by replacing it with a good habit rather than trying to make yourself not do something. Like many people, when I personally struggle with flinching, it usually comes in the form of blinking just as the shot breaks, accompanied by a slight downward movement of the muzzle. I’ve found that the best way for me to overcome this is to give my eyes another job to do so that they can’t blink. It just so happens that front sight focus is key to accurate shooting, so before I pull the trigger, I decide that I must track the movement of the the front sight at all costs. Without fail, whenever I keep this in the forefront of my mind, the blinking disappears and with it, the unwanted muzzle movement.
3. Ball and Dummy Drill
The most well-known method for trying to cure a flinch is the ball and dummy drill. It’s a good diagnostic tool, but it has some limitations that are often overlooked, which I’ve demonstrated in the video below.
The Limits of the Ball and Dummy Drill:
Physical Solutions: Tame the Gun
4. Know the Basics
No amount of mental trickery will help you get over a flinch if you have poor fundamentals, especially grip and stance. If you have a low grip or loose grip, or if you’re not leaning into the gun enough, you’re just amplifying the effects of recoil, and that can make your flinch worse. If you’re unfamiliar with the fundamentals of handgun marksmanship, check out our post on How to Shoot Faster.
5. Dry Fire Practice
It could be that you don’t actually flinch that bad, but you’re exhibiting some of the same symptoms of flinching by lack of trigger control. Try lots of dry fire practice until you can consistently squeeze the trigger without moving the sights, especially if you have a long, heavy double action trigger.
6. Handgun Choice
I usually don’t like to immediately jump to “buy a different gun” as the easy fix for most problems, but sometimes that really is the best approach. A self-defense pistol has to fit your hands, and you have to be able to control it during rapid fire. Don’t rule out stepping down to a smaller caliber if it allows you to shoot the gun quicker, more accurately, and flinch-free. As an alternative to completely ditching a problem gun, modifications to the grip can go a long way, such as the addition of grip tape for added traction, or a grip sleeve to soften sharp edges.
7. Noise Reduction
If you don’t have enough hearing protection, you’re almost guaranteed to develop a flinch — I’ve noticed this especially with indoor ranges, which can be extremely loud. Make sure your ear protection has a good seal, and you can always double up and use both earplugs and muffs simulataneously. You might be surprised at how much that can help.
8. Stay Loose
There’s a fine balance between controlling the firearm and resisting the recoil. You can’t physically stop recoil from happening, and if you get tense and flex every muscle in your body from trying to do it anyway, you won’t shoot straight. Establish a good grip and just let the recoil happen. Concentrate on recovery and follow-through instead of preventing recoil from moving the gun.
These eight solutions are just some of the quickest and easiest ways to alleviate problems caused by flinching or recoil anticipation. In the long run, it will take regular, intentional practice in order to remove any flinching at all. And even then, if you ever switch to a smaller gun or larger caliber, or when you make small changes to your grip or technique, you may start struggling with some kind of flinch response all over again. The key is to resist the temptation for this normal human reflex be a source of embarrassment and discouragement. Be willing to admit when it’s an issue, and take aggressive steps in your training to overcome it and move on.
Alyssa Codd
I believe number 8 should be "Stay Loose" rather than "Stay Lose".
For everyone looking to improve their beginning. Put your egos aside, folks!
#6 Makes all the difference, at least to me. Glock 19: flinch. MilSpec 1911: No flinch.
Thanks… spellchecker can't fix stupid.
ball and dummy for me and a metric butt ton of dry fire. Hold drill works good to….
Oh yea shoot a blank piece of paper to train front sight focus guess tomb stones kind of do that.
No problem and it isn't stupid. I think we train ourselves to be dependent on the tool and it comes back to bite us. Spell check can't tell the difference. "Auto-guess" on a cell phone is worse. The article was great and and on target, pun intended.
Alyssa Codd
I believe number 8 should be “Stay Loose” rather than “Stay Lose”.
Thanks… spellchecker can’t fix stupid.
No problem and it isn’t stupid. I think we train ourselves to be dependent on the tool and it comes back to bite us. Spell check can’t tell the difference. “Auto-guess” on a cell phone is worse. The article was great and and on target, pun intended.
For everyone looking to improve their beginning. Put your egos aside, folks!
#6 Makes all the difference, at least to me. Glock 19: flinch. MilSpec 1911: No flinch.
ball and dummy for me and a metric butt ton of dry fire. Hold drill works good to….
Oh yea shoot a blank piece of paper to train front sight focus guess tomb stones kind of do that.
Excellent tips! From a fellow firearms writer/editor/blinker!
Thanks from* …apparently I shoot better than edit today.
Excellent tips! From a fellow firearms writer/editor/blinker!
Thanks from* …apparently I shoot better than edit today.
Thanks guys, I checked out your “Using Competition to Up Your Practice Game” series — lots of good stuff there as well!
Thanks for reading! We’re just getting started, but we’re having a blast getting things going.
Excellent info here, thanks!
Thanks guys, I checked out your "Using Competition to Up Your Practice Game" series — lots of good stuff there as well!
I disagree with #8 unless you are training for sport, life and death your body goes into "fight/flight" mode, tunnel vision sets in. I practice locking my grip in place as if I'm stressed a bit. It works for me. I also shoot better when I don't over think the shot. Shooting competitions can help build on confidence that may allow you to shoot loose in a do or die situation. I do agree with Hobbs too. Put egos aside and accept any and all input. Take what works for you and utilize it and expand on it giving others tips and tricks.
Another good tip I can give is learn to shoot with both eyes open. Find out if your left or right eyed dominate and work on shooting both eyes open. You're also more aware of your surroundings in case there are other bad guys about.
Thanks for reading! We're just getting started, but we're having a blast getting things going.
Excellent info here, thanks!
I disagree with #8 unless you are training for sport, life and death your body goes into “fight/flight” mode, tunnel vision sets in. I practice locking my grip in place as if I’m stressed a bit. It works for me. I also shoot better when I don’t over think the shot. Shooting competitions can help build on confidence that may allow you to shoot loose in a do or die situation. I do agree with Hobbs too. Put egos aside and accept any and all input. Take what works for you and utilize it and expand on it giving others tips and tricks.
By “stay loose” I mean don’t tense every muscle in your body in an effort to physically prevent the gun from recoiling. You can have a firm grip without locking your elbows, shoulders, neck, etc.
Another good tip I can give is learn to shoot with both eyes open. Find out if your left or right eyed dominate and work on shooting both eyes open. You’re also more aware of your surroundings in case there are other bad guys about.
some of us dont have a d0m eye lol
EVERYBODY has a dominant eye. Line up your sights with both eyes open, then close one eye at a time. The eye that remains lined up, is the dominant.
Tom Courtney actually a small % dont. it switches for me each time I try with no clear victor.
Tom Courtney If I shoot with both eyes open it ends up in the middle of the two generally. lol
Adam Nichols Interesting, have never ran into that. All that I have worked with have a dominant. Something to watch for!
Tom Courtney I hear its rare and I hear you can cure it by wearing a patch. but in archery for example, I look through the peep sight with both eyes open and i cant tell which one is which when looking at the pins,. so i have to close one to line up and then open the other. its annoying lol.
Great advice!
By "stay loose" I mean don't tense every muscle in your body in an effort to physically prevent the gun from recoiling. You can have a firm grip without locking your elbows, shoulders, neck, etc.
Shoot more, shoot more often.
Great advice!
Not much to do but to burn lots and lots of ammo
Shoot more, shoot more often.
Not much to do but to burn lots and lots of ammo
Good tips, and the films were also very helpful, thanks Ed
Good tips, and the films were also very helpful, thanks Ed
Excellent article, lots of useful information, thanks and keep em coming!
Use critical instructor, practice correct technique. Don,t just waste lead.
I know I have to work on this I am trying thank mike
Excellent article, lots of useful information, thanks and keep em coming!
Use critical instructor, practice correct technique. Don,t just waste lead.
I know I have to work on this I am trying thank mike
Thankyou I needed to hear that.ive been discouraged lately.and by the way thanks for having ammo when it was tough to get.email nt wking Harry in Kansas City
Thank you
some of us dont have a d0m eye lol
Thankyou I needed to hear that.ive been discouraged lately.and by the way thanks for having ammo when it was tough to get.email nt wking Harry in Kansas City
I have shot guns for over 40 years, in the military, competing, pistol and rifle teams, instructor and have carried a gun in work since I was 17. Over the years have seen lots of bad habits. The one thing that I think improves shooting, accuracy and control is Dry Firing and Trigger reset. Not understanding trigger reset is a big problem, but when you practice it and understand it, your shooting skills increase dramatically. I explained this in a video if you are not familiar with the term.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SvStfWZoTo&list=UUsgkhimI0MthrMZo-F2zrTQ
Excellent-Thanks!!
Dry firing is hard on your gun.
Thank you
I have shot guns for over 40 years, in the military, competing, pistol and rifle teams, instructor and have carried a gun in work since I was 17. Over the years have seen lots of bad habits. The one thing that I think improves shooting, accuracy and control is Dry Firing and Trigger reset. Not understanding trigger reset is a big problem, but when you practice it and understand it, your shooting skills increase dramatically. I explained this in a video if you are not familiar with the term.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SvStfWZoTo&list=UUsgkhimI0MthrMZo-F2zrTQ
Excellent-Thanks!!
Dry firing is hard on your gun.
That’s what snap-caps are for.
As Tom said above, Snap-Caps. Nothing replaces dry fire practice, it shows all your mistakes, and in the dry fire you can get used to where your reset is at on each of your handguns. There are so many little things to learn and pay attention to, but these two help you and the improvement is dramatic at the range. If you have not done dry fire practice, to help while learning to look at the front sight, do it everyday for 1 week for just 10 to 15 minutes a day as that is about the time limit for concentrated practice and then do live fire, you will amaze yourself and your self confidence will go through the roof. Good shooting everyone.
Don L Justice Not as hard as missing is the shooter in a life or death situation. Understanding that RIMFIREs and old Exposed hammer shotguns firing pins and chambers can be damaged- I have been dry firing THOUSANDS of different center fire arms for 35 plus years and have NEVER seen a good quality arm damaged by dry-firing.
.
That's what snap-caps are for.
EVERYBODY has a dominant eye. Line up your sights with both eyes open, then close one eye at a time. The eye that remains lined up, is the dominant.
Tom Courtney actually a small % dont. it switches for me each time I try with no clear victor.
Tom Courtney If I shoot with both eyes open it ends up in the middle of the two generally. lol
Adam Nichols Interesting, have never ran into that. All that I have worked with have a dominant. Something to watch for!
Tom Courtney I hear its rare and I hear you can cure it by wearing a patch. but in archery for example, I look through the peep sight with both eyes open and i cant tell which one is which when looking at the pins,. so i have to close one to line up and then open the other. its annoying lol.
I've had this problem since day 1 several decades ago, except I consistently shoot high and to the right. My wife is a newly converted firearms advocate and I'd like some meaningful advice for both of us. Suggestions, flames or advice are welcome. We're not overly sensitive types.
Good advice. Especially 1, 2, 4, 5 & 8. I know they're all good but those are the ones that helped me the most. Your mileage may vary. 😉
I’ve had this problem since day 1 several decades ago, except I consistently shoot high and to the right. My wife is a newly converted firearms advocate and I’d like some meaningful advice for both of us. Suggestions, flames or advice are welcome. We’re not overly sensitive types.
Good advice. Especially 1, 2, 4, 5 & 8. I know they’re all good but those are the ones that helped me the most. Your mileage may vary. )
Isn't most low left shots from milking the grip when squeezing the trigger?
Good advice lots of good advice.
Isn’t most low left shots from milking the grip when squeezing the trigger?
Thank you……. I can't wait to work on this problem! !!! Awesome teacher!!!
Good advice lots of good advice.
Thank you……. I can’t wait to work on this problem! !!! Awesome teacher!!!
As Tom said above, Snap-Caps. Nothing replaces dry fire practice, it shows all your mistakes, and in the dry fire you can get used to where your reset is at on each of your handguns. There are so many little things to learn and pay attention to, but these two help you and the improvement is dramatic at the range. If you have not done dry fire practice, to help while learning to look at the front sight, do it everyday for 1 week for just 10 to 15 minutes a day as that is about the time limit for concentrated practice and then do live fire, you will amaze yourself and your self confidence will go through the roof. Good shooting everyone.
I am shooting high left and am left handed.
I am shooting high left and am left handed.
that's good info. since returning home from Afghanistan I have developed a bad reaction to the noise and recoil so it has damaged my aim ..will try to practice it on my next range run ..thanks
that’s good info. since returning home from Afghanistan I have developed a bad reaction to the noise and recoil so it has damaged my aim ..will try to practice it on my next range run ..thanks
Don L Justice Not as hard as missing is the shooter in a life or death situation. Understanding that RIMFIREs and old Exposed hammer shotguns firing pins and chambers can be damaged- I have been dry firing THOUSANDS of different center fire arms for 35 plus years and have NEVER seen a good quality arm damaged by dry-firing.
.
My right eye closes…unable to keep both eyes open unless with a bow…trying to do the other…all eyes,is me
I anticipate the shells hitting me from my Glock as I am petite with short arms. Closer targets may also help as I tend to aim at 25 ft. and I have worsening eyesight and changing eye dominance. So I just practice, practice, practice live and with SIRT, Trigger trainer, etc.
My right eye closes…unable to keep both eyes open unless with a bow…trying to do the other…all eyes,is me
I anticipate the shells hitting me from my Glock as I am petite with short arms. Closer targets may also help as I tend to aim at 25 ft. and I have worsening eyesight and changing eye dominance. So I just practice, practice, practice live and with SIRT, Trigger trainer, etc.
this is all fine and dandy for SLOWFIRE U can do a lot with airguns in your basement, for (poiintless) one handed slowfire, but for combat (useful) skllls u need to get 5 or more hits per second, with gun/ammo combos that have serious recoil. then the technique has to be much different.