I have noticed that I have started to " expect" the recoil from my rifle when I go to the range lately. I switched from a .30-06 to a 7 monkey monkey Rem. Mag. and I think I am starting to " prepare" myself for the recoil by blinking or moving my shoulder....I don' t know why I do this now, but it is affecting my accuracy. Does anyone know if " dry-firing" harms the firing pin? I dry-fired a couple of times when I got home and noticed I move my shoulder to counter act in the direction of the recoil. I guess it' s just a matter of breaking the habit. [:' (]

Dry firing a modern firearm should not hurt anything. But, for only a few bucks you can get snap caps that are good insurance. Dry firing is an excellent way to overcome flinching. It' s also good for breath control practice, squeezing the trigger, etc.

Hey i have a 7mm. too. When i first started shooting it i had that same exact problem. I used alot of dry fireing and still havent had any fireing pin problems and have lessend my flinching.

1r655. I can tell you why you flinch and react to the gun firing. It hurts! Everything from a 25-06 up kicks enough to hurt your shoulder. Your body will not willing let you hurt yourself for long. Your brain is talking to your finger. You can condition yourself with practice. Myself I just go to a smaller gun. Many of the calibers we use for deer hunting have not had a practical use since the dinasours disappeared

I' ve seen folks flinch on a .17 Remington.....I first discovered the problem when I flinched using a .22 rimfire on a dud.

You must do two things: 1 Recognise the problem...as you already have...

and 2. have someone else load the gun for you to fire. That someone else may or may not actually load the gun and you won' t know. Shooting a gun not knowing if it' s actually loaded is very difficult (at least for me) but it' s an exercise that gets you back on track. You must overcome this reaction or you' ll never shoot as well as you' re capable.

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Thanks guys, you are right! The first time I started shooting it I shot around 40 rounds and my shoulder turned into ground meat, BUT since then I have been at the range more often and I have noticed that I am not really affected by the recoil in that way anymore. But as James B said, once I got hurt my brain tries to protect me.

After dry-firing for a while last night I didn' t flinch so I guess in between shooting it at the range I should dry-fire just to get back on track.

Thanks guys!

Arman M G