Who blinks while shooting?

mrawesome22 · May 8, 2007, 10:11 PM

I'm not talking flinching. Just blinking.

It always takes me a number of rounds of shooting a new gun before I start trusting it and quit blinking. But when I do quit blinking I can see the holes being punched before I feel the gun going off. It is just a fraction of a second.

I must be much more accomplished in my shooting than anyone I've ever come across because most people try to tell me where I hit on target. I tell them "I knew where I hit before the gun went off."

I know many will think I'm bragging on myself here. But it's true. Even with my .22LR, I can see the hole being punched before I feel the gun go off.

Once I trust a gun, my eyes stay open through the entire firing process.

I think people who flinch and blink are predisposed to do so. All of their focus is on the recoil and blast, and that the gun "might blow up".

Anyway, I don't think anyone can achieve their best accuracy if they blink while firing.

Care to dispute? LOL

KDM · May 8, 2007, 10:59 PM

I'm one of those predisposed to blinking. I'm aware of it when it occurs, and it is certainly an undesireable action. On the flip side, it is natural to blink...fireballs and 125 dB+ trigger reflexes that protect the body. Not blinking has to be a self-taught disabling of that reflex.

I can turn the auto-blink thing off by concentrating real hard on the sight...something that should be done anyway, I suppose. It's gotta be a conscious effort on my part, however. I notice my blinking occurs when I just wanna send metal downrange, when I really don't care all that much about grouping. When it's time to see how close those holes can get, my blinking disappears (or so I believe). As you've implied below, it's 100% mental.

Not on par with with you as far as seeing my hits...doubt I'll ever get to that level.

RedneckFur · May 8, 2007, 11:08 PM

For me it depends on the rifle I'm shooting. I dont blink or flinch at all with my Mosin M44.. but the huge fireball keeps me from seeing my bullet holes. I can uasually manage to see my holes being punched with either of my 22's.

I have a tendency to blink with my Enfield... but i think its because of the two stage trigger, and before i put some lead in the stock, it kicked like an angry mule. I dont flinch with it anymore, but i do blink.

I havent shot the 30-30 in so long, i cant remember about it.

Abndoc · May 9, 2007, 07:12 AM

I never blink....never.

fisherman66 · May 9, 2007, 07:16 AM

I have considered blinking a type of flinch. I usually go back to the 22lr or make a strategic sandbag placement when I start blinking.

fisherman66 · May 9, 2007, 07:17 AM

Quote:

I never blink....never.

Geeze, your eyes must get dry.

Abndoc · May 9, 2007, 07:20 AM

Mach II Sailor · May 9, 2007, 08:09 AM

my eye doctor says to blink often especially when trying to focus on a particular object.

Dave Haven · May 9, 2007, 09:59 PM

I shot a friend's .460 S&W five times. Never got over the blinking. The flames from the muzzle ports on that sucker are BRIGHT.

lfmayor · May 11, 2007, 02:42 PM

putting snap caps or fired empties in a revolver (or your long arm) and dry firing it? It might work with blinking? My buddies and I mix in "placebos" and live rounds in our revolvers to get over flinching, the idea is that your support staff, who might have loaded 1, 6 or no duds gets a lot of laughs at you when you flinch on a snap, the shame helps discipline you to hold your stance steady.

To go a step further, this could be used as a drill for the Slap, Rack Bang drill to clear a dud shell from a semi as well.

lfmayor · May 11, 2007, 02:44 PM

but shooting glasses might help too, if you hadn't tried them. I prefer the yellow tinted ones, they seem to help sharpen things up.

Scorch · May 11, 2007, 02:50 PM

Quote:

I tell them "I knew where I hit before the gun went off."

That's known as "calling your shots", and it is the mark of an accomplished shooter. Congratulations for joining the club.

mrawesome22 · May 11, 2007, 02:57 PM

LOL, I had no idea Scorch. Thanks. And it only took 20 years of shooting

WeedWacker · May 11, 2007, 05:33 PM

I always blink. I can't stop. When I'm hunting, tho and shooting at a live target I don't notice anything. I remember seeing deer jump when hit. I remember hitting one deer, working the bolt, and tracking another one without lifting from the sight.

joshua · May 11, 2007, 07:28 PM

When you see or feel the dust kick off when you touch the round off you will blink.

bottom rung · May 11, 2007, 08:45 PM

For me it depends on the gun. No blinking with my .22 or .223. The harder the recoil the more I blink. Not flinch, blink. It is all a mental thing that I strive to get over. I blink real bad when I shoot .357 Mag., but then with the same gun I shoot .38 Specials out of it I don't blink. I had a bad experience when shooting an S&W 9mm handgun. It was a piece of trash compared to the HKs, Kimbers, and Sigs we were shooting. I was doing really good, chewing the centers out of the targets, until I shot the 9. Every ejected case flew back behind the gun and hit me in the head. After one mag through that gun I was done. I started blinking with all the other autos too. I even had to struggle with that when I shot my XD and that was years later. Now, I am trying to break the habit with .30-06 Hawkeye.

Doggieman · May 11, 2007, 08:52 PM

The only person I ever saw able to shoot a gun without blinking was Kyle Maclachlan at the shooting range scene in Twin Peaks.

BusGunner007 · May 11, 2007, 08:55 PM

jsr76 · May 11, 2007, 09:10 PM

Well, everyone has an opinion and here's mine. I don't really see how you can shoot a rifle that is fast enough to see your bullets hit the target before the recoil that makes it that fast has moved the sight picture. Before you think I'm a jerk, consider it. My vision tests perfect and in order to see a bullet clearly even in white paper, a person needs some good power magnification, even at a measly 100 yds. We all know how much you can move a high powered scope without screwing up the picture. Besides, I don't care who blinks if they are cranking whatever they are shooting at. Calling your shots is far more important because while hunting it can give you a gut reaction on what do do next. I suppose you could be shooting a super heavy bench rig in a mild recoiling caliber. However, I have a .300 Win. Mag. and a 3-9 power Nikon I know you can't do that with. The gun jumps, it's that simple. It's already up in the air when the bullet impacts.

mrawesome22 · May 11, 2007, 09:40 PM

JSR, I don't know (and I'm not going to take the time to calculate all the mathematics to explain it) why it happens. But it's a fact. I can see the holes being punched before I feel the gun go off. And you're wrong. The gun is not up in the air before bullet hits at 100yds. When the bullet hits at 100yds, your rifle is BARELY into the recoil sequence. I agree on 9X it would be impossible at 100yds. On 20X however, it's easy.

And that's interesting bottomrung about the handguns making you blink. I find handguns make it the easiest for me not to blink. It's so far away from my face that blinking doesn't occur even from the first shot.

BusGunner007, under the picture you should have put "I never blink....never." LOL

jsr76 · May 11, 2007, 10:35 PM

Well, I could be wrong, but I don't see how a rifle bore DOESN'T start lifting the exact instant the bullet breaks the bore seal, and higher power scopes make it worse for seeing. I believe you are wrong. You can't see a hole in a target until it is there and a muzzle is lifting well before that. Or least more than enough to ruin your view. I am talking high power hunting rounds here. I believe it can be done with lesser rounds.

mrawesome22 · May 11, 2007, 11:29 PM

Quote:

Well, I could be wrong

Not trying to be an a-hole, but you are wrong. The muzzle has lifted very, very little when the bullet reaches the target at 100yds. Shooting g-hogs at 250yds, I can see the g-hog "blowup" before I feel the recoil of the gun. There are many people here that will verify this.

As for image degrating with higher power scopes. That's true. But if you use quality optics, it's not nearly as severe. I don't use junk scopes, and at 100yds, for me, the .224" and larger diamter holes are very easy to see.

I think your blinking. If you are, you'll never see your hits, obviously. It's all mental. Once you trust your equipment, and technique with absolutely certainty, blinking goes away.

For instance. A few months ago, I purchased a new pistol. It took a few mags of blinking before I started trusting that the gun wasn't going to blow up in my hand before blinking stopped. Now that I have total confidence in that gun, I can go a week without shooting it, pull it out, take it down to my range, (MY range, I shoot a lot so I made one a few years ago) and I don't even blink on the first shot.

I guess to someone who has never experienced it, it would seem hard to believe. Shoot, shoot, shoot JSR. It will come to you.

WeedWacker · May 12, 2007, 03:41 AM

Quote:

Well, I could be wrong, but I don't see how a rifle bore DOESN'T start lifting the exact instant the bullet breaks the bore seal

Well let's look at it. Smaller caliber, say a .223, with a bull barrel and muzzel brake. On and AR the recoil is going to be minimal. Add the acceleration of the muzzel. First it has to impact against your shoulder which has compressive tissue. Then it begins its climb upwards which is slowed by your shoulder moving backward. Even with larger calibers such as a 12 ga, a muzzel brake coupled with a heavy barrel and low weight slugs means less felt recoil, less recoil, less climb, slower acceleration. Perhaps it would be possible to see some of these rounds punch holes considering many of them are traveling at twice the speed of sound or faster. (1116 fps = M1 so M2 = 2232 fps)

jsr76 · May 12, 2007, 02:05 PM

Listen, I don't need to argue with anyone who isn't open minded. As far as how much or how long I've been shooting, I assure you that I am very qualified to speak. I have NEVER said anyone couldn't see a bullet impact. My scopes are of Nikon quality so a cheap scope has nothing to do with it. I also have had experience with heavy weight, low recoil guns such as .204 Ruger. With these guns it would be very easy and common to see impact. The only thing I have questioned was if it could be done on the big boomers. Not everyone is the same and I don't handle recoil like some others perhaps. My basic point still stands to reason though. Get some super slow motion film of twin 6.5 LB. rifles upon firing in free recoil position. I believe the big magnum would start to move much quicker than the varmint rig. If I'm wrong, who cares? It means nothing overall. I'm just trying to talk about things I like with others who like the same things. I would like to see film just to satisfy my curiosity, but I don't have any super video equipment. I believe that the very same things that make a varmint or bench rig desireable for their uses, are also the same things that make it easy to see impact with them. Anyway, I'll be looking forward to hearing more. I sure do enjoy shooting the smaller guns more though, since the abuse levels are low. I guess I just live with the .300. 6.5 pounds and no muzzle brake. Surely you can see why I don't see impact with that one. I'm to busy making sure the shot is a surprise and goes where it is supposed to, since I'm going to wear the rifle anyway the shot should at least count.

FrankyCorleone · May 12, 2007, 04:17 PM

I don't blink when shooting, or if I'm standing next to someone shooting.

But...

if I'm in a small room and someone else is using a hammer, I blink.

I don't blink if I'm hammering. I could be on the other side of the room, and I'll still blink.

I don't get it.

May 8, 2007, 10:11 PM	#1
mrawesome22 Senior Member Join Date: November 9, 2005 Location: Ohio, Appalachia's foothills. Posts: 3,779	Who blinks while shooting? I'm not talking flinching. Just blinking. It always takes me a number of rounds of shooting a new gun before I start trusting it and quit blinking. But when I do quit blinking I can see the holes being punched before I feel the gun going off. It is just a fraction of a second. I must be much more accomplished in my shooting than anyone I've ever come across because most people try to tell me where I hit on target. I tell them "I knew where I hit before the gun went off." I know many will think I'm bragging on myself here. But it's true. Even with my .22LR, I can see the hole being punched before I feel the gun go off. Once I trust a gun, my eyes stay open through the entire firing process. I think people who flinch and blink are predisposed to do so. All of their focus is on the recoil and blast, and that the gun "might blow up". Anyway, I don't think anyone can achieve their best accuracy if they blink while firing. Care to dispute? LOL

May 9, 2007, 07:16 AM	#5
fisherman66 Senior Member Join Date: August 22, 2005 Location: The Woodlands TX Posts: 4,688	I have considered blinking a type of flinch. I usually go back to the 22lr or make a strategic sandbag placement when I start blinking. __________________ la plus belle des ruses du diable est de vous persuader qu'il n'existe pas!

May 11, 2007, 02:42 PM	#10
lfmayor Member Join Date: January 28, 2006 Location: in the red area of a blue state Posts: 73	Have you tried... putting snap caps or fired empties in a revolver (or your long arm) and dry firing it? It might work with blinking? My buddies and I mix in "placebos" and live rounds in our revolvers to get over flinching, the idea is that your support staff, who might have loaded 1, 6 or no duds gets a lot of laughs at you when you flinch on a snap, the shame helps discipline you to hold your stance steady. To go a step further, this could be used as a drill for the Slap, Rack Bang drill to clear a dud shell from a semi as well.

May 11, 2007, 02:44 PM	#11
lfmayor Member Join Date: January 28, 2006 Location: in the red area of a blue state Posts: 73	don't mean to wear it out but shooting glasses might help too, if you hadn't tried them. I prefer the yellow tinted ones, they seem to help sharpen things up.

May 11, 2007, 05:33 PM	#14
WeedWacker Senior Member Join Date: December 13, 2006 Location: Body: Clarkston, Washington. Soul: LaCrosse, Wisconsin Posts: 1,591	I always blink. I can't stop. When I'm hunting, tho and shooting at a live target I don't notice anything. I remember seeing deer jump when hit. I remember hitting one deer, working the bolt, and tracking another one without lifting from the sight. __________________ - Jon Disequilibrium facilitates accommodation. 9mm vs .45 ACP? The answer is .429

May 8, 2007, 10:59 PM	#2
KDM Senior Member Join Date: October 4, 2006 Location: California Posts: 457	I'm one of those predisposed to blinking. I'm aware of it when it occurs, and it is certainly an undesireable action. On the flip side, it is natural to blink...fireballs and 125 dB+ trigger reflexes that protect the body. Not blinking has to be a self-taught disabling of that reflex. I can turn the auto-blink thing off by concentrating real hard on the sight...something that should be done anyway, I suppose. It's gotta be a conscious effort on my part, however. I notice my blinking occurs when I just wanna send metal downrange, when I really don't care all that much about grouping. When it's time to see how close those holes can get, my blinking disappears (or so I believe). As you've implied below, it's 100% mental. Not on par with with you as far as seeing my hits...doubt I'll ever get to that level.

May 8, 2007, 11:08 PM	#3
RedneckFur Senior Member Join Date: January 14, 2007 Location: Central NC Posts: 1,424	For me it depends on the rifle I'm shooting. I dont blink or flinch at all with my Mosin M44.. but the huge fireball keeps me from seeing my bullet holes. I can uasually manage to see my holes being punched with either of my 22's. I have a tendency to blink with my Enfield... but i think its because of the two stage trigger, and before i put some lead in the stock, it kicked like an angry mule. I dont flinch with it anymore, but i do blink. I havent shot the 30-30 in so long, i cant remember about it.

May 9, 2007, 07:12 AM	#4
Abndoc Senior Member Join Date: January 28, 2006 Location: Kalifornia Posts: 727	I never blink....never.

May 9, 2007, 07:20 AM	#7
Abndoc Senior Member Join Date: January 28, 2006 Location: Kalifornia Posts: 727

May 9, 2007, 08:09 AM	#8
Mach II Sailor Junior member Join Date: March 22, 2007 Posts: 480	my eye doctor says to blink often especially when trying to focus on a particular object.

May 9, 2007, 09:59 PM	#9
Dave Haven Senior Member Join Date: February 1, 2000 Location: near Flagstaff, AZ Posts: 790	I shot a friend's .460 S&W five times. Never got over the blinking. The flames from the muzzle ports on that sucker are BRIGHT.

May 11, 2007, 02:57 PM	#13
mrawesome22 Senior Member Join Date: November 9, 2005 Location: Ohio, Appalachia's foothills. Posts: 3,779	LOL, I had no idea Scorch. Thanks. And it only took 20 years of shooting

May 11, 2007, 07:28 PM	#15
joshua Senior Member Join Date: October 27, 2004 Location: norCal Posts: 2,161	When you see or feel the dust kick off when you touch the round off you will blink.

May 11, 2007, 08:45 PM	#16
bottom rung Senior Member Join Date: April 4, 2007 Location: CT Posts: 494	For me it depends on the gun. No blinking with my .22 or .223. The harder the recoil the more I blink. Not flinch, blink. It is all a mental thing that I strive to get over. I blink real bad when I shoot .357 Mag., but then with the same gun I shoot .38 Specials out of it I don't blink. I had a bad experience when shooting an S&W 9mm handgun. It was a piece of trash compared to the HKs, Kimbers, and Sigs we were shooting. I was doing really good, chewing the centers out of the targets, until I shot the 9. Every ejected case flew back behind the gun and hit me in the head. After one mag through that gun I was done. I started blinking with all the other autos too. I even had to struggle with that when I shot my XD and that was years later. Now, I am trying to break the habit with .30-06 Hawkeye.

May 11, 2007, 08:52 PM	#17
Doggieman Senior Member Join Date: April 19, 2006 Location: San Diego, Calif. Posts: 717	Kyle Maclachlan in Twin Peaks The only person I ever saw able to shoot a gun without blinking was Kyle Maclachlan at the shooting range scene in Twin Peaks.

May 11, 2007, 08:55 PM	#18
BusGunner007 Senior Member Join Date: December 14, 2001 Location: Upper Left Coast Posts: 2,116	__________________ "...if you're not havin' fun, you're workin'..."

May 11, 2007, 09:10 PM	#19
jsr76 Junior member Join Date: April 7, 2007 Location: New York State, up north Posts: 274	Well, everyone has an opinion and here's mine. I don't really see how you can shoot a rifle that is fast enough to see your bullets hit the target before the recoil that makes it that fast has moved the sight picture. Before you think I'm a jerk, consider it. My vision tests perfect and in order to see a bullet clearly even in white paper, a person needs some good power magnification, even at a measly 100 yds. We all know how much you can move a high powered scope without screwing up the picture. Besides, I don't care who blinks if they are cranking whatever they are shooting at. Calling your shots is far more important because while hunting it can give you a gut reaction on what do do next. I suppose you could be shooting a super heavy bench rig in a mild recoiling caliber. However, I have a .300 Win. Mag. and a 3-9 power Nikon I know you can't do that with. The gun jumps, it's that simple. It's already up in the air when the bullet impacts.

May 11, 2007, 09:40 PM	#20
mrawesome22 Senior Member Join Date: November 9, 2005 Location: Ohio, Appalachia's foothills. Posts: 3,779	JSR, I don't know (and I'm not going to take the time to calculate all the mathematics to explain it) why it happens. But it's a fact. I can see the holes being punched before I feel the gun go off. And you're wrong. The gun is not up in the air before bullet hits at 100yds. When the bullet hits at 100yds, your rifle is BARELY into the recoil sequence. I agree on 9X it would be impossible at 100yds. On 20X however, it's easy. And that's interesting bottomrung about the handguns making you blink. I find handguns make it the easiest for me not to blink. It's so far away from my face that blinking doesn't occur even from the first shot. BusGunner007, under the picture you should have put "I never blink....never." LOL Last edited by mrawesome22; May 11, 2007 at 09:41 PM. Reason: Spelling

May 11, 2007, 10:35 PM	#21
jsr76 Junior member Join Date: April 7, 2007 Location: New York State, up north Posts: 274	Well, I could be wrong, but I don't see how a rifle bore DOESN'T start lifting the exact instant the bullet breaks the bore seal, and higher power scopes make it worse for seeing. I believe you are wrong. You can't see a hole in a target until it is there and a muzzle is lifting well before that. Or least more than enough to ruin your view. I am talking high power hunting rounds here. I believe it can be done with lesser rounds.

May 12, 2007, 02:05 PM	#24
jsr76 Junior member Join Date: April 7, 2007 Location: New York State, up north Posts: 274	Listen, I don't need to argue with anyone who isn't open minded. As far as how much or how long I've been shooting, I assure you that I am very qualified to speak. I have NEVER said anyone couldn't see a bullet impact. My scopes are of Nikon quality so a cheap scope has nothing to do with it. I also have had experience with heavy weight, low recoil guns such as .204 Ruger. With these guns it would be very easy and common to see impact. The only thing I have questioned was if it could be done on the big boomers. Not everyone is the same and I don't handle recoil like some others perhaps. My basic point still stands to reason though. Get some super slow motion film of twin 6.5 LB. rifles upon firing in free recoil position. I believe the big magnum would start to move much quicker than the varmint rig. If I'm wrong, who cares? It means nothing overall. I'm just trying to talk about things I like with others who like the same things. I would like to see film just to satisfy my curiosity, but I don't have any super video equipment. I believe that the very same things that make a varmint or bench rig desireable for their uses, are also the same things that make it easy to see impact with them. Anyway, I'll be looking forward to hearing more. I sure do enjoy shooting the smaller guns more though, since the abuse levels are low. I guess I just live with the .300. 6.5 pounds and no muzzle brake. Surely you can see why I don't see impact with that one. I'm to busy making sure the shot is a surprise and goes where it is supposed to, since I'm going to wear the rifle anyway the shot should at least count.

May 12, 2007, 04:17 PM	#25
FrankyCorleone Member Join Date: May 29, 2006 Posts: 23	I don't blink when shooting, or if I'm standing next to someone shooting. But... if I'm in a small room and someone else is using a hammer, I blink. I don't blink if I'm hammering. I could be on the other side of the room, and I'll still blink. I don't get it.