Here’s the scenario; I' m 10 years old, my father has just bought me my very first shotgun. We take it out to the Sand Dunes where we sight our rifles in so I can try it out. He hands me a can with a bunch of 2 3/4" Turkey Loads (Since we will be hunting turkey in just a couple months) and I begin to shoot them. My dad, thinking I would be fine trying a bigger load hands me a 3 1/2" Magnum Turkey shell and tells me to try it out. Of course, trusting my dad thinking that if he says I can do it, I can do it, I pick up the gun, aim at the target, and BOOM - I shoot. Now, I have to admit, this hurt like heck, but I didn’t wince, I didn’t cry, I just loaded another 2 3/4" shell and kept firing. About 3 shots later I can barley hold the shotgun up and I wind up at home laying on the couch crying because I felt like because I got hurt, I let my dad down in some way... I also ended up getting strep throat three days later...

Next scenario - I’m still 10 years old and my dad has bought me my very first rifle, a .30-06! I’m jazzed, we' re going hunting, and I got a new rifle! Let’s go shoot! Now, because of the shotgun incident I’m a little skittish when it comes to shooting anything bigger than a .22. We go back out to the sand dunes, set a target up at 300 yards, and I begin to fire. After about 6 shots I’m spent. But, being the trusting little boy I was, and not wanting to " Let my father down" again, I keep going. By the time we' re done, I’m not keeping my eyes open when I pull the trigger, anticipating the " bite" from the gun, and instead of squeezing, I’m jerking the trigger. Next, not only does my shoulder hurt, I' ve set my face too far forward and the recoil slams the scope into my forehead, just above my eye... That’s it, I was done for the day, my shoulders killing me, and I’m bleeding, I’m starting to dislike this!

Well, now I’m 15 and I still have the same problem, I sold the 30-06 and bought a .270, it doesn’t have as much kick, I' ve only hit myself in the forehead with the scope once, and it doesn’t hurt me. But, because of my past incidents I still wind up anticipating the pain, thus closing my right eye before I slam down on the trigger. Each deer I' ve gotten has taken 2 shots. I shoot once, and completely miss, the next shot I’m more relaxed, I know the gun wont hurt me, and I' ve dropped the deer in the tracks. Am I ashamed of this problem? A little yes, and then again no. I' ve taken 3 deer in 4 years (We' re only allowed one deer per year). I' ve been lucky, I' ve only taken does so far since I am a meat hunter and am not after trophies, but I would like to start hunting bucks a little harder than I have been, and what I’m afraid of is that they wont stand there and look at me when I miss the first time and slam another shell in. I' ve tried the Breath deep, let it halfway out, then squeeze the trigger, but this doesn’t seem to help... Does anyone have any advice to help me with my problem? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.


Thanks in advance ,
Daniel

See the post in ths forum called ( why ) by cord

It' s just pain. Im not trying to put you down or anything, but i have always thought that it hurts but who cares. Maybe its because i have a bigger brother who has given me way to many charly horses and im used to it. I have never really been flinchy because i just take the hit. I do however get pissed when the scope hits my eye, i just make sure that i move back a little then don' t worry about it.

i would try goin out to the range a few times and shooting so that way ur calm and relaxed and just concentrate on keeping ur eyes open and after a while it should start to sink in that theres really nuthing to it. good luck

Get a small cheap to shoot rifle, maybe a 223 and spend lots of time shooting. It doesnt have hardly any recoil and you can shoot literally hundreds of rounds through it without getting sore. I used to jerk the trigger and dred the pain of shooting my 270 when I was your age, so I put thousands of rounds through my 22, 22-250, aqnd 22 hornet and got used to the light recoil. Now when I shoot my 300 mag I dont anticipate the shot because Im used to light recoil, just watch your eye, Ive popped mine a few times with the 300 because I forget it kicks until I pull the trigger

You need to go to the range with your dad or a partner and have them load th gun for you but not tell you if they put a round in or not. Then you can concentrate on just shooting and not knowing if the gun will go off. After a while you' ll get better and not flinch so much. Good luck.

I will agree that the range suggestions and the smaller calibers will help, but if you will do what I say on a deer you will never blow it again, the whole secret is discipline, you need to break it all down into steps and force yourself to do them.

1. Upon seeing the deer do nothing except take a deep breath and slowly exhale.
2. Decide if it is a shooter.
3. If it is then decide where you want to shoot the deer and take another breath.
4. Now slowly pull your gun to your shoulder and put the sights on the deer.
5. Now inhale slowly and settle the sights on the exact spot you want to hit the deer and slowly exhale.
6. Now inhale slowly and take the safety off and put your finger on the trigger.
7. Double check the sights are exactly on the SPOT you want to shoot the deer.
8. Slowly exhale as you slowly SQUEEZE the trigger maintaining your aim.
9. When the gun goes off it should be a total surprise to you if you are concentrating on the aim and the SLOW squeeze.


Step by step and self control will restore your confidence. Breathing is key also, but you must force your self to do the step by step, step 8 being the most important.

Washington Hunter ,
" Once bitten , twice shy" is sound advice . So is " Get back on that horse and ride" in your case . See the " WHY" post from CORD , I know you' ll sympathize . Sometimes you just have to tough it out to get past your problem , but once you do it won' t bother you again . I used to be terrified of doing back flips until I accidentally did one , now they' re no problem . [:-]

I can' t get over a dad giving a 10 year old kid a shotgun with 3 1/2" magnum loads and a 30-06 to start him out shooting a gun. Where' s this guy' s head? This is as close to ruining a youngster' s hunting dreams as you can get. You honestly need help from a professional instructor. By no means do you need to go back out with " dad" to correct your shooting problems.

most of the people that i know that can' t take recoil well are those who don' t hold the gun right.

are you sure that you' re holding the gun tight against your shoulder? you should be pulling the gun into your shoulder so it' s really firm and tight and the butt of the gun should be centered on your shoulder.

when target practicing allot of guys don' t hold the gun tight and when it kicks back against the shoulder it' s like getting kicked by a mule. if you hold it tight your shoulder will " give" and be thrust back evenly with the gun reducing the felt recoil.

next time your shooting pull the gun as tight as you can against your shoulder and pull the trigger and see how it feels.

just my 2 cents.