Here is my take on recoil: Unless someone shoots a cartridge with more power than a person can physically handle, recoil alone has very little to do with flyers and sloppy groups. It is caused by flinching from the anticipation of the blast, sound and the recoil. It's like popping a balloon a foot from your face. It won't hurt, but most people start to tense up and even flinch before the balloon even pops.
Flinching is a reflex, not a habit. To control flinching, create a habit of not flinching. That takes practice.
How can I stop flinching?
You know there is going to be a blast and that there is going to be recoil but you know it’s not going to hurt. Tell yourself you are not going to flinch while focusing on your breathing and your sights on the target. Maintain steady, controlled breathing. Take a deep breath, exhale half, and hold your breath momentarily while squeezing the trigger. Make sure to follow through until it becomes second nature and natural.
The first year, my middle daughter drew an Elk tag, she had to move from shooting a Ruger 10/22 and AR15 in .223 to shooting a Remington bolt action .308. My daughter has always been sensitive to loud noises, so I waited till she was big enough and strong enough so that I felt confident that she could handle the recoil of a 308. She watched me sight in her .308 Remington Youth rifle. Just watching me shoot it and hearing the blast, she got really scared of it, almost to the point of tears, when I told her it was her turn. She only took one shot and didn't want to shoot it anymore.
Not that she had an issue with flinching. It was too soon to tell. She was sensitive to loud sounds. I waited till the following weekend and took her to a range that fewer people use. We lucked out, and no one else was there. There is a steel gong set up at 200 yards and I had her put foam earplugs under the earmuffs to really dampen the sound, this helped a lot. She had a hard time hitting the gong. I could tell she was still scared of the blast, but she realized the recoil was not that bad. It's more the anticipation. I must admit it is quite a distance to hit a target for someone new to a rifle with more power, but my goal was to get her comfortable shooting it. I was not really expecting what was to follow.
Dry fire practice is a one of the best remedies for flinching.
I had her practice dry firing for a while. Then I filled the magazine with a mix of snap caps and one random live round mixed in and had her aim and dry fire at the target. Sure enough, when the live round came up, "boom, ding," she hit the steel target. I did this a couple of times. Each time, she would hit the steel target with the live round. This built her confidence, so I loaded a 5-round mag with 4 live rounds and a snap cap on top, and she hit the target 4 times in a row. I was so proud of her, and we celebrated, and I repeated it the same as before. Including the shots that were mixed with snap caps, she hit it 7 times in a row with only one miss at the end. She now feels confident shooting the .308 and does very well with it.
Practicing taking precision shots with a .22lr will help with flinching, and what I mean by "precision shots" is due to the low cost of 22lr; some shooters will get sloppy while out shooting cans and old frying pans, but a lot of common inexpensive .22s are capable of 1 MOA or better with decent ammo. A person should practice all the techniques for shooting a high-power rifle while shooting .22lr to get as precise shots as possible to build muscle memory while reducing the reflex to flinch.
Dry fire practice while sighting your rifle. If you have ever tried to sight in your rifle and your group is not grouping as well as you feel it should be, dry fire at the range between shots. Make sure it is safe for your rifle to do so, or purchase snap caps. Dry firing between shots while sighting in is a good idea. It will help with more than just overcoming flinching. It will cause you to slow down, allow time for your barrel to cool, and can cause you to practice your breathing, trigger pull, and follow through.
How do you figure out if you are flinching or not?
Ask yourself if you have ever jerked the trigger after forgetting to take the safety off. If you find that you are jerking the trigger, squinting your eyes, or even feeling tense when you pull the trigger, odds are you are flinching. While at range, an easy test is to bring a snap cap and have a friend safely load your magazine or rifle with one random snap cap, not knowing which round the snap cap is. Do so safely. One of the rules of gun safety is never to hand a loaded weapon to anyone. Load it on the bench with the muzzle pointed down range. Carefully aim at the target as you normally would, and if you flinch, cringe, or jerk on the snap cap, you know you have work to do to fix that.
Can an experienced shooter start flinching again?
Yes, I have put thousands of rounds down range and am not even counting .22 rimfire rds. But I caught myself flinching after zeroing my uncle's .300 Win Mag and .300 Weatherby Mag in the same evening. That's a bad idea, guys. The combination of the blast and recoil from two magnums was enough to make even an experienced shooter wince while squeezing the trigger.
On my next trip to the range to sight in a new LPVO I purchased for my AR15, which is loud due to a 16” barrel but has far less recoil of those magnums, I noticed my groups were not as good as usual, and I had some flyers. On one trigger pull. I had forgotten to take the safety off and noticed I jerked the trigger. I think that the concussion of shooting the two .300 magnums in one evening made me a little gun-shy without even knowing it. So, I returned to work doing dry fire practice at the range while focusing on the target and follow-through and watched my groups improve right away.
Practice follow-through when shooting.
Follow-through means not letting up your finger until after the shot is fired, not letting it bounce off the trigger out of habit or reflex and is good practice. I believe it helps to reduce flinching overall because keeping the reticle on target and practicing follow-through takes your mind off the blast and puts it on the shot from start to finish.
Mental focus helps ensure that your shot stays on target until the bullet leaves the barrel. Practice keeping an eye on the target throughout the shot. Recoil may bounce you off target but try to keep your eye on it until you mentally release the trigger. You will have less flinching and quicker recovery for a follow-up shot.
More Tips on how to Control Flinching When Shooting.
Proper stance, holding the rifle securely with a good grip, and a forward boxer-like posture are important. The rifle should be snug in your shoulder so that it will push you rather than kick you. It is best to shoot in a supported position, like prone, with the rifle supported by a bag, bipod, stump, stiff backpack frame, or anything else to help stabilize the rifle.
Another tip: if you are teaching someone to shoot for the first time, do not try to scare the person you are teaching. Some people, when showing others how to shoot for the first time, will either build up the recoil, "Oh, this is gonna kick like a mule," or downplay it to get a laugh, "Don't worry, it doesn't kick, ha ha," as they hand a newb a .300 Magnum. Take the time to make sure they are holding the rifle securely and correctly and that they have plenty of eye relief if using an optic. Make sure it is a fun and safe experience for them.
Products that can help reduce flinching
Some products can help with flinching. Sound suppressors are probably the best products out there for this as they reduce the sound of the loud blast, soften recoil, and make shooting far more enjoyable for those who are sensitive to loud blasts. However, they are expensive and require a tax stamp fee, filling out a form, an extensive background check, a waiting period for government approval, and a threaded barrel.
A muzzle break will help reduce recoil, but it is counterproductive because it makes the gun much louder, especially on shorter rifles. I do not recommend them as a solution for someone with a flinching problem. They will do more harm than good and can cause serious hearing damage if used without ear protection, like while hunting. A better way to control recoil for someone with a flinching problem is to use a limb-saver cushioned pad—these work well at absorbing recoil. A good shock-absorbing recoil pad can also reduce wear and tear on your rifle and optics.
Do blast forwarders help prevent flinching? I am fond of the Indian Creek blast forwarding device (BFD) for my youngest daughter's elk rifle, which directs the blast downrange. These are not restricted items like suppressors, as they do not suppress sound. It pushes the blast forward away from the shooter, so the blast pressure is less felt. Because they do not reduce the sound, hearing protection should be used.
Blast-forwarding devices like the one from Indian Creek can be attached over certain muzzle breaks to push the sound forward to keep it from blasting back at you or those shooting next to you. From my experience, shooting a bolt action 30.06 with the following:
- No Muzzle Device- Swift recoil, some muzzle climb, loud.
- With only a blast-forwarding device, I felt no noticeable reduction in recoil, but there was a reduction in muzzle climb. Although I was wearing hearing protection, I didn’t feel it was as loud.
- With just a break (I am using a VG6), I noticed a very noticeable reduction in felt recoil, and I didn't notice any muzzle climb. But it was very loud, and I could feel the blast. Those standing just behind me at the 4-o clock position of me could feel it too.
- Using the VG6 and Blast forwarding device. I felt that the combo reduced the recoil a little (not as effective as shooting without it) while shielding me from the excessive blast that a muzzle break produces. It's still very loud but not as loud as it would be without the BFD.
A good trigger with a reduced trigger pull can also help. It may not help with flinching itself because of the blast but could help with the effects of flinching because the trigger takes less effort and time reducing the moment of tensing up.
The question is, is it worth the cost? Using a muzzle break or blast forwarding device requires a threaded barrel, which must be done by a skilled gunsmith using a lathe or come threaded from the factory. Due to the growing popularity of muzzle breaks and suppressors, some factories are offering threaded barrels as an option. I want to stress that all methods mentioned, including the use of sound suppressor hearing protection, should still be used.
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