How do I deal with McCrees?

Question

McCree, the closest substitute for a broken clock, packs a mean kit that includes one of his deadliest abilities, the flashbang.

It seems there's no end to what the flashbang can do. Reinhardt shield? Not a problem. Groups of enemies? No big deal. Just flashbang, fan that hammer, and enjoy seeing your name constantly being brought up in the killfeed.

Or is there? Are there alternative ways to deal with a competent McCree? Or is my only choice to accept my fate and eagerly await my looming death by this cowboy?

I know of some abilities that can totally mitigate flashbangs, like Genji's deflect. But most times I try that against good McCrees, they bait that so hard I think, just as my deflect ends, "well, it was a good life". Are there other heroes that can best counter McCree's flashbangs, before the bang or after the bang?

Is there any hero that best counters McCree?

Answer 1

McCree is great at medium to close range but not that good at medium to long range.

I treat McCrees almost like I do Reapers: get out of their close range high-damage zone and you'll be fine.

Genji is not a good counter for McCree*; use any hero that'll allow you to do decent damage from out of flashbang range.
Sniper heroes (Hanzo and Widowmaker) are good at this, Pharah can conveniently drop rockets from above on him, Junkrat can also keep him at bay with his traps. Of course turrets (either Torbjorn's or Bation's) are great to keep any hero away.

Every hero has something that they're great at and it will be hard to defeat them if you go up against their best game. In McCree's case, it is dealing damage at his flashbang range. Do your best to avoid that and you should be fine.

_{* Genji is not a good counter because he usually needs a combination of some of his Shurikens, melee and Swift Strike (occasionally two of these will suffice) to kill another hero fast enough. Genji doesn't do well with long battles against other heroes and this combo will most likely alert McCree to Genji's position and get Genji in flahsbang range before he can kill McCree. This is everything McCree wants and it'll force you into the terrible baiting battle you described.}

Answer 2

In my experience, the best person to counter the flash bang is Zarya. Her shields can nullify the stun on not only herself, but also an ally of your choosing. If you see someone fighting a Mcree, throw a shield on them as soon as you see the flash bang, or think they are going to use it. The same applies if you are fighting him yourself. Your shield can block his stun and help charge your laser beam to better burn him to death.

Other than that, Lucio and Mercy can help as you can try to heal up the target as they get hit, or provide them with a large shield (Lucio ultimate) or revive them (Mercy ultimate) in the likely case that they die.

Answer 3

McCree is in fact, in my opinion, best at long/medium range (primary fire). Considering Flashbang's extremely short effect time, it doesn't do much unless you are against an experienced McCree. I find that rushing McCree with Soldier: 76 and using Helix Rockets/Biotic Field so you can deal good damage while healing. Using Reaper against McCree is also effective because Hellfire Shotguns deal massive damage at long range, as well as having Shadow Step and Wraith Form as escape abilities. Also, conduct well-orchestrated team pushes to get rid of annoying characters played by experts (Hanzo, Genji, McCree).