Re: Flinch
This is from the:
FUNDAMENTALS OF MILITARY RIFLE TRAINING, By Colonel A.J. Macnab,
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">It is a proven fact that no man can resist, by exercise of will power, the instinct to stiffen his muscles to meet a blow or shock, it is an instinctive impulse over which he has no more control that he has over the circulation of his blood. This stiffening of the muscles to meet the shock when the rifle is fired is called flinching. The experts in rifle shooting are the ones who do not flinch. They are not men who have a quick eye, or an excellent eye or steady nerve, they ar just men who do not flinch...........The expert shot does not refrain from flinching by exercising his will power or by deciding he will not flinch becaus this cannot be done. The expert shot avoids flinching by pressing the trigger with such a steady increase of pressure tht he does not know the exact instant the discharge will take place. In this way the instinctive impulse to stiffen the muscles at the instand of discharge is avoided an this is the only way it can be avoide.</div></div>
The Process to avoid flinching taught if five steps.
He is fist taught the correct method of aiming
He is next taught the correct positions,
The third step is instruction and practice in the correct method of pressing the trigger. (he's got to be in the correct position and to aim at the target)
He is then taught the correct method in working the bolt (for bolt gunners).
Finely DRYFIRING to develope the habit of SMOOTH proper trigger pull, making every hammer fall a surprise, done so with out disturbing the sight picture.
All this is done under the supervision of a good coach, and done before the shooter is allowed on the range.
So the short answer to controling flinch is dryfiring while applying all the proper fundamentals.
I learn to control the trigger on my pocket pistol, (double action snub nose) via the use of dryfiring with a laser sight. Dry firing works, but works better if you can see the results of that red dot dancing all around your target.
For Info, for those who don't know Col Macnab, he is the author of T.R. 150-5, Program of Rifle Instruction. We know that POI now as the Small Arms Firing School conducted at Camp Perry, and other National Shooting Events.