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New rifle...... Flinching

Id just like to add here that regardless of your brutal recoil on what ever caliber you may be shooting i recently had a mercury tube installed in a boyds stock that i put on a 7mmRUM. This rifle is an XHR very light and hurt to shoot but now it has the recoil of a mild 270 just a thought for you. Also i know for myself the more i shot the least i flinched until I lost the flinch altogether. I now am able to shoot my 50BMG as accurately as I do my 223
Good to know ! Was the mercury tube installed parallel to the bottom angle of the buttstock, or parallel to the bore ?
 
Good to know ! Was the mercury tube installed parallel to the bottom angle of the buttstock, or parallel to the bore ?
Bore and i was thinking at the time i was still going to have to muzzle break it but mercury really improved how that rifle shoots. So in the interest of keeping weight down i now aee no need for any other recoil reduction measures
 
Cure for flinching- what he said "its sound related." And Be determined, Focus- and shoot a lot.
But to prove to your mind its not SO bad do this: put double hearing protection on, ELECTRONIC would be great NOW- CLOSE YOUR EYES- AND SHOOT the thing. Unless it is a monster cannon, your going to feel stupid! You will say- " I flinch at THAT !!!??? Use bags, an observer or an empty hillside/ rock wall SOMETHING SAFE! This was a revelation to me! Good luck.
 
There'a great old Soviet book by A. A. Yuryev called "Competetive shooting" that explains this phenomenon really well. It's really an amazing book; if you can find a copy about it, get it. The basics of shooting are the same, no matter if it's 60s in the Soviet Union or 2021 in USA. Also the human instincts and physiology are the same. Calibers and guns change; the human and the challenge remain the same.

When pulling the trigger, there are two things happening simultaniously in your nerve system. You want to pull the trigger because you try to hit that bull's eye. You know how to do it; you've practiced; your muscles are trained for that. Your brain tells your finger to do it. On the other hand, you don't want to do that; you know you will feel a nasty kick and hear a very loud noise. Your brain tells your finger NOT to do it.

No matter how tough a guy you are, your nerve system doesn't like being kicked and loud noises. It's like if you're supposed to push a button that gives you an electric shock to your nipples. It's difficult to push that relaxed, nice, easy and softly. Not that I've tried, but...

I'm not a great shooter, but I'm OK and I don't admit I flinch. The largest caliber I normally shoot is .30-06 and all my rifles are suppressed. I've had a failed cartridge that didn't go off and I've had cases where there wasn't a round in the chamber when I thought there was. I didn't flinch. I think it's mostly due to being suppressed. Also, when on the range, I still wear muffs or even double; plugs and muffs. It just makes it even more pleasant and easy. And if it helps me in not developing a flinch, it's even better. I also admit that when shooting prone or from good rest I don't really know when the gun says bang. I increase the pressure on the trigger until it goes off. I'm not sure if this is a good way to shoot, but when it doesn't matter if it's 0.5 second this or that way, it seems to work. When shooting without support it obviously doesn't work as I have to make the shot when the crosshair is where it should. I'm not great at that, to be honest. But I practice...

However, I never see the bullet striking on .30-06. On rimfires (17HMR or 22LR) it happens. Maybe even on 223. But on a light 30-06 the recoil throws the gun enough to prevent me from seeing what happens. Many here say one should always be able to see the bullet hitting, but that doesn't seem to happen to me. Don't know if I just suck or if this doesn't apply to light guns.
 
Cigarette butts might work better. Or put a set of ear plugs in your nose. Haha! Funny things one hears on this forum!
I used the ear plugs up my nose trick when i used to change my sons diapers . Sounds kinda gross but it worked lol
 
Muzzlebrakes are horrible, the concussion alone can give you headache after multiple shots. None of my guns have one on the them, except for the 50 bmg of course. Do yourself a favor and just buy a suppressor, guaranteed your flinch will be gone. They are a dream to shoot with compared to the alternative...
They my be "Horrible " to you , to me , they are a God send . Suppressors here are illegal, to allow me to shoot as much as i do , i need and have brakes on 16 out of 22 rifles . Just this past weekend , i shot approx 250 rounds from 270 WSM , 300 Win Mag , 338 Lapua ,7mm mag . Would be extremely difficult for me shooting like this every weekend if those rifles didn't have brakes :)
 
They my be "Horrible " to you , to me , they are a God send . Suppressors here are illegal, to allow me to shoot as much as i do , i need and have brakes on 16 out of 22 rifles . Just this past weekend , i shot approx 250 rounds from 270 WSM , 300 Win Mag , 338 Lapua ,7mm mag . Would be extremely difficult for me shooting like this every weekend if those rifles didn't have brakes :)
Good grief you must have a lot of powder!
That's too much shooting....you need to send me your excess H4350 and H4895 powder so you don't hurt yourself😏
 
Good grief you must have a lot of powder!
That's too much shooting....you need to send me your excess H4350 and H4895 powder so you don't hurt yourself😏
Lol , steady supply of IMR 4831 for the Magnums , for the 308 and 6.5 i tend to use Varget , IMR4064 , IMR 3031 , IMR 4320 ( just discovered my Tikka T3 Tac , with a brake lol ) loves this powder with 175 g Sierra Matchkings , and RL16 . I buy the 4831 by the 8lb jug as i need to feed the animals . I've reloaded approx 2500 rounds so far this season and shot over 5,000 , and , because i use brakes , i'm still shooting :) :) :)
 
Couple of things I like to focus on if I notice a flinch
1. Double up on hearing pro (earplugs and earmuffs) helps with the noise.
2. Dry fire repetitions until you're comfortable.
3. Load and then get a good sight picture but then rather than focusing on holding that sight picture while squeezing the trigger, back off on your scope and just focus on keeping your eyes open like in a staring contest. I'll put a bunch of rounds through like this until I'm comfortable.
 
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