Finding the flinch - Detective Flinch I am

[treeman]

Took that young man I am teaching to hunt hunting again today, 4 th year now I think. Was 12, but almost 13 years old when I met him, 15, perhaps 16 years old now?
I taught him to shoot and taught him to think about where the bullet goes after the shot, herd Rams and bachelor rams, like to think I taught him something. I got him his first animal and then Duiker, Kudu, Bushbuck and Waterbuck, Impala.

This year I have taken him 4 times to get his Kudu bull without any luck on the bull, but we got a real fine Duiker Ram and Bushbuck.

Today we got up on an impala of rare seeing ever, big, very heavy and balanced horns of magnificent dimensions. At 126 m we opted for the shot off sticks from behind a tree trunk. A complete miss, not even close.
Later again another Impala, a close miss.
I could not work it out, suddenly the kid could not shoot at all, got paper target out set up and got him shooting. The paper revealed 4 holes on a A4 page, but only just on the page, boy said it’s not him he is doing everything right. I tested rifle myself, 4 holes under an inch, what was the problem?????
Suddenly I remembered him mentioning that his Gran Pa had brought his old war .303 for him to practice with and shoot the dairy raiding bush pig (my post regarding S355 in a .303) This got me thinking how much I hated the .303 in original issue form because of how it had hurt me as a youngster with its no recoil pad stock.
I loaded the rifle and slipped an empty case in as shot # one, and watched carefully.
I spoke to him as always and watched as he got ready and fired, click and his whole body jerked with the shot that did not go off. I had it problem solved, I asked him if the .303 had a recoil pad, showed him what it was and he said it did not have one. I said “it hurts you when you fire ey?" And he answered that it was not so bad. I told him that if it has no recoil pad I was not willing to shoot it because it hurts me, I asked him again and he said "it’s terrible, I don't like shooting it, but it’s all I have"
I explained to him what had happened and how difficult it could be too cure.
I did my old flinch cure sequence of shooting and correcting, .22, 223, 270 and 16 shots after .270 he was back to a biggish golf ball size group.
I am rather chuffed with my detective work - told his mother he may not shoot .303 again.
I think I have reached the age where past experience has left me quiet a reference library - something like ou Driepootz I hope

[Sean KZN]

Can happen to almost anybody. A friend of mine has realised he has developed one gradually. Crept up on him over a while, about the time we got him shooting his 30 cal 180 grainers at a respectable velocity.
Not too bad at 100 metres, but at the gongs out to 200 metres he seldom hits them.
I won't mention the specific cartridge for fear of creating an emotive high jack.

His .22 lr he shoots the plastic Calci-vita bottle tops with boring regularity at 100 metres...

[tcbc]

I agree about the 303 flinch. That brass recoil pad has no mercy...

Good trading for preventing flinching is as Treeman said, to mix up shoots, with lots of .22 training. At our Bisley club we also have a short range and two old BSA single shot rifles. The ones that used to be for school shooting. They show up technique bad habits very quickly.

Also lots of dry firing with snap caps. I set up a target in the passage and take 25 dry shots , at least a few nights before a competition.