When I was younger, “the flinch” caused me to miss a couple good VT bucks. At the time, I was absolutely devastated and could not find any positives from my failure. Looking back, I realize those misses were probably the best thing that could have happened to me as a young hunter. I became more humble, determined and prepared.
I’m somewhat embarrassed to say, 20+ years later, I still fight with the occasional flinch but my pre-season preparation has helped me keep that flinch out of the woods. My routine may sound a bit unorthodox but it works for me.
Like a ton of other hunters with strong Benoit influences, I shoot a peep sighted Remington 7600 (mine in .270). Each year, I buy a fresh box of 150 grain roundnose Remington Core-lokts…why change a good thing? I go to the range ONCE (during non-peak hours) and shoot three times from the bench at a 50 yard target…basically, to make sure my gun is still accurate. The gun goes back in the case and I jump in the truck. 10 minutes max.
All the rest of my shooting is done from the comfort of my home while I watch TV.
Whenever I get the urge, I’ll grab my rifle from the safe, load it up with my .270 snapcaps and press play on a DVR’d hunting show. Personally, I like Michael Waddell’s Bone Collector or The Crush with Lee & Tiffany (on mute). Any deer hunting show will work but I’ve found that these two shows have incredible deer footage at various distances, which is key.
After double and triple checking that I’ve loaded snapcaps, I proceed to quietly work a couple boxes of shells through my rifle. I shoot the TV deer from multiple angles, positions and screen distances. I try to see how quickly I can get on the target and cycle through 2 shots. Because there is zero recoil, I can really focus on keeping the bead on target when I squeeze the trigger. Unlike the TV hunters, I take the first shot I have (preferably moving) as I know the deer won’t be ‘posing’ for me in the woods.
Snapcapping TV deer has really helped me to take quick accurate shots in the woods. I feel that I’ll be flinch free when the opportunity presents itself. Give it a try if you’ve never done it before…I guarantee you’ll be more confident and comfortable with your rifle.
A few things to add:
-Be overly cautious and verify multiple times that you are using snapcaps
-Snapcap with the different hunting jackets you intend wear in the woods
-Snapcap with the different gloves you intend to wear in the woods
-Snapcap during the season
-Snapcap to get used to a new gun
-Be overly cautious and verify multiple times that you are using snapcaps