Flinching ?

First topic message reminder :

Hi
I have recently started practice with the 45, my targets look terrible and I'm trying to work out more than one issue. I boosted the load a little and that controlled some of the unexplained shots. I think my biggest issue now is I think I'm flinching. I dry fire way more than live fire and most of my dry fire the dot jumps down or down and left at the fall of the hammer, left handed shooting.  I can't seem to stop this. Next major problem is almost every time I pull the trigger on a live round I close my eyes,  so calling the shot is almost non existent . Even though I  know it's going to happen in do it anyway can't seem to prevent it . Before I pull the trigger I tell myself keep your eyes open, call the shot, look for the follow through . Then bang both eyes closed.  I am really good about ear protection,  quality ear plugs properly seated and quality ear muffs on the outside with a good seal. Plus I'm half deaf, so I don't think it's a noise issue. 
I am hesitant to shoot today because I'm afraid to make this worse if that's possible. 
Thank you for any advice, Tom

SMBeyer wrote:For me I shoot with my eyes focused on the dot and my mind completely focused on the trigger.  

Last evening while dry firing I tried both eyes open with the dot. Very interesting, and I'll be working on that some more for sure. 

I found that it seems there is no question as to where your visual focus is using both eyes. Maintaining proper visual focus where I wanted it with just one eye was an issue I have been having, as there was too much mental focus being absorbed on maintaining visual focus, if that makes any sense!

DA/SA wrote:
Last evening while dry firing I tried both eyes open with the dot. Very interesting, and I'll be working on that some more for sure. 

I found that it seems there is no question as to where your visual focus is using both eyes. Maintaining proper visual focus where I wanted it with just one eye was an issue I have been having, as there was too much mental focus being absorbed on maintaining visual focus, if that makes any sense!

I'm not a doctor but have been told that when we close one eye, our open eye loses a lot of its ability to focus. This is the reasoning I've been told to always keep both eyes open when target shooting. If you put a little translucent tape on the glasses lens of the non-dominant eye or if you blade to the target and turn your head so the frame blocks your other eye from seeing the target, you still get light in your off eye which allows your shooting eye to focus while not getting double vision.

I have been using both eyes open with an opaque white occluder over my non dominant eye for that reason.

Now trying both eyes open with no occluder.

I've been using one eye for target shooting and both eyes open for steel shooting with iron sights for a while now and just never tried both eyes with a dot.

If you have weak or no dominance, be careful shooting with both eyes open and without occluder.  If you see grouping horizontally shifting left or right, that would be indication.

AP

From the Army Marksmanship Manual, " You should not expect to fire a group of shots into a group smaller than your area of movement." If you try to make your shots go into that smaller group you will force the trigger and anticipate the discharge. The shot should discharge at a point you cannot exactly predict. It should be a slight surprise. As an exercise move close to the target (7feet), address the target, get your sight alignment, take up the pretravel then close your eyes and smoothly increase the pressure on the trigger until the shot discharges. You should feel the shot as a small surprise.
Try that several times. 
 
You have to know your area of movement. At your distance (50 yds) attach a laser to your pistol and hold on the target looking at the laser dot. You will be surprise to see how small the movement actually is. If you press the the trigger smoothly your shots should be in that area. You have to accept that any shot in that area is a good shot for you. Any shot outside of your area is usually cause by trigger press. Once you accept the area of movement and press the trigger straight through to discharge your shots will group better. Try to call your shot by seeing where the sight  was as the gun discharged. When you can call your shot you will see improvement.

[quote="SMBeyer"]
For me I shoot with my eyes focused on the dot and my mind completely focused on the trigger.  [/quote]
“Very interesting” doesn’t do justice to the significance of this statement. This is the first instance that I can recall an accomplished (M/HM) shooter advise anything other than “development of subconscious trigger process  ( through primarily dry firing) so that full mental and visual concentration may be on front sight” ( or sight alignment for some shooters). An HM actually admitting that his full mental focus is on the TRIGGER, is big news to me. This tells me that there are either multiple ways to get there or that there is much getting lost in translating advice through words and therefore you really have to figure out for yourself the best way to use your mind to accomplish the fundamental “make the gun go off without disturbing the sights while within your wobble area.”
Thanks SM