I think I am developing an awful flinch!
- Thread starter perrypan
- Start date
- Location
- Sudbury, On
There's also reduced-recoil factory ammo.
I also noticed I sort of "whince" when I dry-fire the gun. Oddly enough, I don't do it when I'm purposely aiming downrange and pull the trigger.
I also noticed I sort of "whince" when I dry-fire the gun. Oddly enough, I don't do it when I'm purposely aiming downrange and pull the trigger.
hvmetalhead
Regular
- Location
- St. Paul AB
Recoil pad + a padded jacket + pratice = possible inprovment.
I have a tika t3, it kicks like hell, and i started to flinch, I put a decelerator recoil pad on it and i went shooting to day and i shot almost a box of ammo and my shoulder barley hurts. and i was shooting 1" groups so i am not complaining.
good luck
I have a tika t3, it kicks like hell, and i started to flinch, I put a decelerator recoil pad on it and i went shooting to day and i shot almost a box of ammo and my shoulder barley hurts. and i was shooting 1" groups so i am not complaining.
good luck
- Location
- Pile of Bones, SK
x2 Better hearing protection cured me quickly.
Perry, try to let the rifle cool down after each 3 or 4 shots.
I once fired about 80 rounds, quite fast I would say, and got a large shoulder bruise. And a flinch caused by the pain.
Now, 500 rounds later I can shoot painlessly but still flinch every now and then.
- Location
- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
Perry, I think there are a number of things you can do to resolve your flinch issues. Exposing yourself to more shooting is a good thing, but if the rifle is hurting you, you will only be reinforcing the flinch, therefore the first thing to do is to minimize the discomfort you feel from the rifle. The first thing you need to do is as posted by others is to get a decent recoil pad for that rifle, but that is only part of the solution, the other part is to have the stock adjusted to fit you, cut shorter if necessary or with spacers added if already too short. A proper fitting stock makes all the difference in the world.
The next consideration is, as posted by others, hearing protection. Fierce muzzle blast is a greater cause of flinching than recoil. The more sensitive you are to loud noises the more important the hearing protection is, as it relates to marksmanship. From a health pont of view, its equally important for everyone. Short barreled rifles bark louder than long barreled rifles and shooting into the wind intensified the sound.
The next consideration is the ammunition you feed your rifle. Lets say that it takes 500 rounds for basic marksmanship training. You could purchase a small bore rifle that produces less recoil and you can purchase 500 rounds of factory ammo with which to train, but both of these alternatives are expensive when you already have a rifle. A moderate investment will get you into the handloading game, and this allows you to mitigate the recoil you will experience from your rifle. I bought a .30/06 for my 13 year old nephew and loaded him some 130 gr ammo to 2600 fps, the recoil is on par with a .30/30. He is able to shoot well enough to dump a spike buck this year with a single shot.
There is a mental competent to beating the flinch. You must convince yourself that these things (rifles) are designed to be mastered by normal people. Recoil doesn't matter, in fact recoil, in moderation, is exhilarating. You will experience the bump on your shoulder whether you hit or miss, so you might as well hit.
Get off the damn bench! Shooting from the bench intensifies felt recoil. Train your self to shoot from field positions and use the bench only for sighting in or checking your zero where it is necessary to minimize shooter induced error. Marksmanship is about hitting your target without removing the human factor from your shooting. Train to shoot with a shooting sling like the Galco Safari Ching Sling. The use of the shooting sling uniforms the pressure of the butt of your rifle against your shoulder, so you are less likely to fire with light contact giving the rifle a chance to pick up speed and belt you. When shooting concentrate on the mechanics of the shot and ignore all else. Repeat the acronym BRASS over and over as you shoot:
BREATH between shots, and if you feel as if you are rushing the shot because of lack of air, take another breath or two and start over,
RELAX allow your muscles to go limp so that your skeleton supports the rifle
AIM place you cross hair on the target,
SLACK this was meant to take up the slack of a two stage military trigger, but when shooting a single stage trigger as found on most sporting rifle, this should be where you finger contacts the trigger,
SQUEEZE or press the trigger, the break should always . . . ALWAYS be a surprise.
Do as much off range dry firing as you can stand. When dry firing concentrate on the BRASS acronym as you would with life fire, but also pay attention to what the sights cover when the shot breaks, this is where your bullet will go. If you can train with an assistant, get him/her to place a coin on the muzzle of your rifle and work on your squeeze this way. If the coin falls off your squeeze needs work. Begin with a quarter, then try a nickle, then a dime. When you can press the trigger of a sporting rifle without disturbing a dime balanced on the muzzle of a sporter barrel you have mastered the trigger. Concentration on marksmanship leaves you no time to consider recoil.
Finally do not frustrate yourself by putting unreasonable demands on your rifle or your own marksmanship. Your rifle might indeed be capable of MOA accuracy out of the box, but MOA sporters out of the box are the exception to the rule, especially with factory ammo. Limit your groups to 3 rounds. If you can shoot 2 MOA from field positions out to 300 yards, you are a better than average marksman. If you can shoot 2 MOA and do it on demand regardless of conditions, you are a superhuman marksman.
The point of a using a rimfire is so that you can practice the basics and to be able to do it almost anywhere. Using the .22 will allow your to practice things like breathing, trigger control and position, I could be wrong, but if the military does it and we put thousands of troops through ranges every year who have never fired a shot in their lives, then I guess I'm missing the point. When we still had the 7.62 FN C-1 which is a.308 we had the .22 inserts so that the troops could practice the basics.
At this point, you should go back to the basics and keep it simple.
Thanks for the info. I think I will simply get a PAST shooting pad. You know, once for all.
Mkozyn, you are right, and I certainly don't mind going back to my rimfires and practice sometime.
I've got a Limbsaver on my Savage 110, and it fits pretty well. It's just a touch short at the bottom, and I had to plug one screw hole and redrill it, but overall it works perfectly and looks fine. If you want, take your stock buttplate off and bring it in to the shop to compare with the aftermarket pads. You might find something that works, even if it's not specifically for a Stevens. If you've got a wooden stock, you can find something with the appropriate length/width/shape and simply fill in the standard screw holes and drill new ones. It probably took me less than half-an-hour to install the new pad, not including drying time for the glue (about 24 hours).
If you really can't find anything, then Limbsaver offers slip-on or grind-to-fit pads... the slip-on may be what you're after. The slip-on pads may be a little more expensive than a fitted one, but they should offer the same protection, as well as the ability to transfer it over to another rifle with a similar stock (if you buy a second one or replace yours).
If you really can't find anything, then Limbsaver offers slip-on or grind-to-fit pads... the slip-on may be what you're after. The slip-on pads may be a little more expensive than a fitted one, but they should offer the same protection, as well as the ability to transfer it over to another rifle with a similar stock (if you buy a second one or replace yours).
Lot's of good advice, some not. You mentioned getting a 270 Win. I found they kick as much as a 30/06. You may want to consider a 6.5x55 Swede. Otherwise, get ear plugs and a good set of ear muffs, a Good recoil pad and a Past shooting pad. You may be fighting the rifle. Put the butt into your shoulder solidly but let yourself recoil with the rifle. Hope you understand what I mean. Pactice Practice Pactice
An old trick we used when I was on the Shooting team was placing a quarter on the end of the barrel. Without you looking your partner would or would not chamber a round. He would then hand you the rifle. If you were anticipating the shot the quarter fell off the barrel.
- Location
- Northern Ontario, Canada
The solution is NOT to change rifles or loads. Adapt yourself, not your tool.
Someone already suggested it, but I'll say it again: double up on your hearing protection. Get a GOOD set of earmuff style protection and use the foam in the ear kind on top of that.
Someone already suggested it, but I'll say it again: double up on your hearing protection. Get a GOOD set of earmuff style protection and use the foam in the ear kind on top of that.
One thing that I found helped out when I started shooting is when you are loading the magazine ( in my case 5 round internal ) I would grap 3-4 rounds and throw in a snap cap in there. The trick is to load them all and not know where the snap cap is.
When you end up chambering the snap cap and you dont get a big boom it will definetly tell you weather you are flinching or jerking the trigger.
Best of luck and keep practicing. Once you have the hang of it the shots come easier.
Tim
When you end up chambering the snap cap and you dont get a big boom it will definetly tell you weather you are flinching or jerking the trigger.
Best of luck and keep practicing. Once you have the hang of it the shots come easier.
Tim
Edward Teach
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- who cares?
Get yourself a Guide Gun and some hot loads...
Then after you let it beat you up a bunch, that pissy leetle 30-06 will feel like a maiden's kiss.
Then after you let it beat you up a bunch, that pissy leetle 30-06 will feel like a maiden's kiss.
i could be wrong but i thought a .270 was a necked down 30-06? definetly not much less recoil anyways.. also, slightly off topic considering you are pretty sure your problem is the recoil, but not all guns will shoot the mythical moa.. and certainly not usually with the first type of factory ammo pumped into them. 2moa is a lot more common with a factory gun and ammo and 5 shot groups. And if you look at what the average guy at our local range shoots with out a prescision target, a solid rest, and a handload you could probably call it an average of 5 inches. I do know some guys will shoot a moa without a rest or a bi-pod, but lets be honest here.. not many. my only advice is that if you arent checking your loads or sighting in with a rest, then you look dumb! Practice shooting after you have a known zero with a load that is as accurate as possible. You will know what load is the best by shooting them all from a rest, several times, and keeping records. Also, recoil pads help alot! my 2cents
