FWIW, I'm an old-time (well, long-time) competitor in nearly any shooting discipline which burns powder (and some which don't), either black or smokeless. There's no doubt I've got conditioned reflexes, but they aren't so weapon- specific as all that. What I don't have programmed-in (yet) is the combination of effects derived from a top lever gun with really hefty recoil - I hadn't found it necessary up to this point to consistently remove my thumb from the tang area of any long gun, and, in fact, often leave my thumb there for preference (hold-over from the M14, I suspect). Most other long guns are more forgiving of that than the .500 Merkel. I do hunt and shoot with other top-slide safety guns, but not often with top-lever ones - at least the Merkel does have a non-automatic safety, so the safety doesn't re-apply itself every time the gun is opened. I'll get it, eventually, and, of course, painful lessons are among the best remembered.