Flinching whilst shooting standing

[Charlotte the flyer]

Does anybody know the best approach for overcoming the above? I was firing my M4 today in the standing position and found myself occasionally pulling down and to the right, I think the rifle went forward a bit to. It was very windy and trying to get the sights to line up on the target was very difficult, when I did get them to line up I'd flinch about 10% of the time. I never do it prone and usually don't do it kneeling but standing seems to be a bogey position for me. My stance is side on, hips forward with my elbow tucked into my ribs.

[zzr1100]

A tip I was told as regards standing shooting is increase trigger pressure as the sight picture improves and hold the pressure as it is when the sight picture deteriorates ... It took a while to get my head around but it really helped me out ..

[Steve E]

You are flinching because you are anticipating the shot because you have a less stable position than when shooting prone. Slow down and get the basics right. Correct sight picture, correct hold and correct trigger control are essential.
As Major Reynolds was prone to say 'with a vice like grip'.

[Alpha1]

Practice Practise Practice then practise.

[Dangermouse]

I assume you are aware of the training aid of letting someone else load your magazine and have a couple of empty cases mixed in?
Can be a big visual indicator to the shooter of what they are doing.

Have you tried moving your week hand further forward? Seems all the rage in the USA. Also try having your elbows out, see if it works.

DM

[IainWR]

SCATT

Synthetic training shows you exactly what you are doing with the rifle all the way to beyond release.

You can train and train until you convince yourself to do it right, then go back to live ammo.

Drop into the office and chat about the people who know how to teach with synthetics.

Iain

[Charlotte the flyer]

Thanks all, I've tried elbows out but I don't have the physical strength to hold the rifle up un-aided with any reasonably accuracy. I stick my elbow into my ribs which seems to make the position a lot more stable.

Slowing down and taking my time did seem to help but there was still the odd one that caught me out.

Iain, strange you should mention SCATT, my club is just about to run a training day on this to demonstrate its potential.

[IainWR]

Iain, strange you should mention SCATT, my club is just about to run a training day on this to demonstrate its potential.

You have a club that is worth joining.

[GazMorris]

Iain, strange you should mention SCATT, my club is just about to run a training day on this to demonstrate its potential.

Being a TR shooter, I've never tried it for standing practice, but I shoot about 2,500 dry shots a year on SCATT or plain dry-fire and find it an excellent tool for a) burning in correct technique, and b) trying new kit / techniques and comparing the results with my normal baseline.

Gaz

[zeroveez]

"Practice Practise Practice then practise" Not only Scatt, but with an air rifle in the garage; consciously practise your trigger discipline.