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Thread: Firm grip = flinch low left. WTF

  1. #1

    Firm grip = flinch low left. WTF

    I'm a new shooter and everything I've read about gripping a gun seems to make me a worse shooter.


    I've developed a nasty flinch where I shoot low left. I tried improving my grip, watching video after video... but it only got worse.

    I discovered that it's the grip is causing the flinch. If I completely relax my grip and let the gun recoil my shots are great. But as soon as I try to grip the gun firmly or even think about resisting recoil I'll start flinching hitting low left really badly. I need all the tension out of my arms and hands and I'm fine.

    I'm thinking I need to just go with what is working for a while - shoot with a relaxed grip and learn to watch the sight go up and back. Then after a few thousand rounds slowly learn to increase the grip pressure.

    Has anyone else had this happen?
    Last edited by matto; 12-05-2020 at 04:21 PM.

  2. #2
    Site Supporter JRV's Avatar
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    How "new" is new?

    You cannot learn the fundamentals of marksmanship from people on an internet forum or from videos. It'd be like trying to learn how to drive a manual transmission on YouTube. You cannot feel the clutch, you cannot feel the shifter, you cannot feel the way the engine is revving.

    You need an experienced and reputable instructor that can watch you in-person, and you need to experience the tangible benefits of technique adjustments in real life.

    If you're a new shooter, you have no experiential basis for diagnosing what the gun is doing, what it should look like when the shot breaks, what it should look like as you track sights through recoil. You cannot know what you don't know. If you don't know what you're supposed to feel and see, shooting a hundred or even a thousand rounds will provide you with no benefit. You can dryfire every night and livefire twice a week but have no clue how to self-diagnose errors.

    Flinching low-left is very common for right-handed shooters. It's a combination of two things: squeezing all your fingers together when you pull the trigger ("milking"/not isolating trigger finger movement) and trying to muscle through recoil. You're doing those things because you don't know what a proper trigger press feels like, you don't know what a proper grip feels like, and you don't know what controlling recoil actually looks and feels like.

    Every dollar that you spend on range time, until you invest in some live in-person instruction from a reputable instructor, will be largely wasted money. You might eventually figure it out, but you would be no different than a kid burning out clutch after clutch trying to learn to drive stick autodidactically. If you tell the forum where you are located, people might have recommendations for good instructors in your area.
    Well, you may be a man. You may be a leprechaun. Only one thing’s for sure… you’re in the wrong basement.

  3. #3
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    Get thee to a living, breathing instructor! Anyone worth their salt can get you sorted out in short order in person. Sage advice has been given above, Please follow it!

  4. #4
    Member jd950's Avatar
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    Apr 2016
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    In the flyover zone
    Your profile does not say where you are located. I know it is a longshot, but if you are near me, I am an instructor and primarily do basic/new shooter and remedial leo stuff, and would be willing to spend an hour at the range getting you sorted out on grip and trigger.

    ETA, I meant without any charge in case that wasn't evident.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by matto View Post
    I'm a new shooter and everything I've read about gripping a gun seems to make me a worse shooter.


    I've developed a nasty flinch where I shoot low left. I tried improving my grip, watching video after video... but it only got worse.

    I discovered that it's the grip is causing the flinch. If I completely relax my grip and let the gun recoil my shots are great. But as soon as I try to grip the gun firmly or even think about resisting recoil I'll start flinching hitting low left really badly. I need all the tension out of my arms and hands and I'm fine.

    I'm thinking I need to just go with what is working for a while - shoot with a relaxed grip and learn to watch the sight go up and back. Then after a few thousand rounds slowly learn to increase the grip pressure.

    Has anyone else had this happen?
    You keep saying "grip." but with which hand ? or both ?

    There are two schools of thought on grip. One is crush grip with both hands, the other is crush grip with the support hand relaxed grip with the firing hand.

    This is a common issue. Gun Videos are like assholes, everybody has one.

    However if you want to understand what is going on and why watch this one then seek out some 1 on 1 professional instruction, either in person or via a video session.


  6. #6
    Deadeye Dick Clusterfrack's Avatar
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    Jun 2013
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    Wokelandia
    @matto, a pre-ignition push ("pushing down on the gun") can happen for a few reasons. Are you shooting multiple shots and maybe trying for fast splits? Or are you just shooting a single shot?
    "You can never have too many knives." --Joe Ambercrombie
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  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by JRV View Post
    How "new" is new?
    4,000 rounds new.

    You need an experienced and reputable instructor that can watch you in-person, and you need to experience the tangible benefits of technique adjustments in real life.
    If I knew an expert to help me I'd hire them in a second. Any idea how to find a good one? I'm roughly 1.5 hours north of NYC.

    I did have one in-person lesson. They taught generic stuff. But from what I've read it's not easy to diagnose and fix a flinch. This is even mentioned in the video referenced below - that many instructors have never experienced it and don't know how to correct it.

    I have what looks to be a good grip. If I fire slowly so there's a surprise break, I have fantastic accuracy. And I recently discovered that if I fire quickly I'm also decent - as long as I keep my arm and arm muscles mostly relaxed. Clamp down on the grip at all (even with just the left hand) and I'm low, left, or both.
    Last edited by matto; 12-05-2020 at 08:42 PM.

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by HCM View Post
    You keep saying "grip." but with which hand ? or both ?

    There are two schools of thought on grip. One is crush grip with both hands, the other is crush grip with the support hand relaxed grip with the firing hand.
    I've tried various combos. Just left, both, etc. So far my takeaway is that any tension at all allows the flinch to manifest. Relaxation keeps it at bay.

    video
    Thanks very much, I'll watch it now.

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Clusterfrack View Post
    @matto, a pre-ignition push ("pushing down on the gun") can happen for a few reasons. Are you shooting multiple shots and maybe trying for fast splits? Or are you just shooting a single shot?
    I'm talking single shot.

    • If I shoot really slowly, so I'm surprised by the break, I hit dead center.
    • If I keep my arms and hands relaxed, I can pull the trigger with more urgency and still hit center
    • If I try to grip the gun firmly at all, or even thing of resisting recoil, my accuacy goes to complete sh!t

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by jd950 View Post
    Your profile does not say where you are located. I know it is a longshot, but if you are near me, I am an instructor and primarily do basic/new shooter and remedial leo stuff, and would be willing to spend an hour at the range getting you sorted out on grip and trigger.
    Thanks man for the offer. But yeah we're not close. If you're in the southern NY area, let me know?

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