Blinking eyes when gun goes off

[Allen]

When the gun goes off can you keep from blinking your eyes in order to see where the bullet hits? I use a pellet rifle to keep the sparrows off my bird houses and 9 out of 10 times I never see the pellet hit because I can't keep from blinking. And it doesn't make near the noise a rifle or pistol makes. If I make a very concerted effort to keep my eyes open I can even see the flight of the pellet but this doesn't happen very often. At 60-75 feet I need to see how much the wind is drifting the .177 cal pellet for correction on my second shot, if I miss the first one.

If you can keep from blinking, is there a trick to training yourself to do this?

I'm sure I blink when my .380, .270, or 16 gauge goes off but you'd think I could keep from doing so with a pellet rifle.

[Jeremiah/Az]

That is a form of flinching. Your brain is telling your body to prepare for recoil & or the noise. Yes, it can happen with a pellet gun. I shoot sporting clays & many shooters have to go to release triggers to over come it.

If you have a revolver, preferably a .22 or light recoiling gun, have someone else load it leaving some empty chambers & some loaded. Fire it slowly & see what happens when the hammer falls on an empty. You will probably jerk the gun as if it had fired. Keep practicing until you no longer do that. Squeeze the trigger slowly so that it surprizes you when it fires.

[Bawanna]

Good eye protection and hearing protection can help also. I think Jeremiah is correct on the flinching thing. It's a tough thing to get cured also. Have to work at it.
I'd shorten range sessions, or take frequent breaks. Go more often but don't over do it. Any time your not improving or show frustration your going backwards and wasting your time and your ammo.

It's solvable. You can do it. Have a buddy watch too, that will help also.

[aray]

Likewise two vs. one eye open (or in the blink case above - zero eyes) when aiming and firing. Training to keep both eyes open at all times takes practice. In my case when I was young I got very good at putting in contact lenses without flinching. Now I can keep my eyes open despite just about anything. And I win 100% of my staring contests with my kid - drivers her batty!

Another issue is where you focus. Ideally for accuracy that should be on the front sight. Not sure I can refocus my eyes quickly enough to follow a pellet towards and past the target. Maybe it's because I'm so geezerly...

[Tilos]

Am I missing something here?
A hand gun recoils upward, blocking my view of the target whether I blink or not.
Tilos

[Jeremiah/Az]

Tilos, we're are not talking about keeping the target in view, but the subconcious reaction of the body to recoil & noise of the shot. Some people react by jerking the gun without realizing it. Others, on a moving target, can not pull the trigger. I have seen some actually take a step forward. There are all kinds of different manifestations to this. It is without thought or intent. Blinking the eyes is a very mild form of what can be a very serious problem, especially in heavy recoiling guns.

[johnh]

It also slows sight recovery if you are doing aimed pairs. Hate to say that as I would not want the OP to worry about it. It is not a serious issue, just annoying. Not sure how to overcome it, probably lots of trigger time and try to relax as much as possible. I find medication makes a big difference, at least for me... :D

[BuckeyeBlast]

Double down on the hearing protection. Earplugs and muffs. Just an idea: Shoot some rapid fire .22 at the range and keep your eyes open for as many rounds as possible. Hopefully it won't take long till you can keep them open for more and more of them, eventually a whole magazine.

[RUT]

As an avid "clay" shooter, I'm used to keeping my eyes open. :)

[Dietrich]

You`re not alone.In the movie Lethal Weapon [the original] there`s a scene where Mel Gibson and Danny Glover are in an indoor firing range.When Gibson is shooting,he blinks at practically every shot.

[Allen]

Thanks for all the replies, some very good points to ponder on. Don't think I'm flinching, Dad cured me of that many many years ago when he handed me his .270 Winchester (empty unknown to me) and I nearly threw the rifle over my shoulder from yanking on the trigger. After that always thought about it every time I pull a trigger, but still can't keep from blinking. Don't think I'd win any kind of staring contest either.
I have a 9X scope on my Beeman pellet gun and have no trouble seeing the flight of the pellet against the skyline when (if) I don't blink. I don't have any problem with my accuracy so don't think I'm flinching, just blinking. I'll have to start telling myself each shot "don't blink, don't blink".
I've never been able to do "both eyes open" when shooting. Even when trap shooting or bird hunting it seems the view from the non-dominant eye always distracts me so I just close it. I was on the small-bore rifle team while in the Reserves back in the 60's and fired one of the highest scores the team ever had, but I still shoot one-eyed whether peep-sights, open sights, or scopes. Just can't do any different.
You'all have a great week and enjoy your range time.

[Tilos]

JA:

That's what I got from the OP when he said,
"When the gun goes off can you keep from blinking your eyes in order to see where the bullet hits?"

I blink when I read, walk, etc. and as have yet to loose my place reading, ok I may stumble when I walk but it's not from blinking.
Now, if I squeeze my eyes shut and turn my head when the shot breaks, I'd call that flinching.
Sorry, but I never considered a blink as a form of flinch or made an effort to stop blinking when the shot breaks and mostly concentrate on follow through and the other standard training drills, like loading dummy rounds to check for flinch.
Tilos

[MW surveyor]

When I go to the range. I close my eyes, clik my heels and say "There's no place like home" three times. Then shoot!

Sorry, couldn't resist :)