When it comes to measuring skills for training and performance in shooting, shot timers are indispensable. Not only are they essential for scoring in today’s action-oriented shooting sports, but because they record the time for each shot, they’re just as crucial for training drills and growing as a shooter as well.
Think about this: Shot timers are as important as the whistle that hangs around the neck of any team sports coach or as crucial as the digital meat thermometers used by pitmasters vying to win high-stakes barbecue competitions. Anyone who is serious about shooting and improving their defensive or competition shooting skills will not get far without one.
Shooters Global Timer GO
The Shooter’s Global Timer GO is a modern and compact shot timer that comes with its own mobile phone app and Bluetooth connectivity. While most shot timers look like pagers or other rectangular electronic devices, the Shooters Global Timer GO is smaller and has more of a cube shape that measures approximately two cubic inches. The Shooter’s Global Timer GO is designed to easily clip on to the shooter’s belt without taking up too much real estate and even has a top-mounted display screen so that users who have these devices mounted on their belts can simple glance down at their belt line to read the display. The GO has a 70-hour battery life and can be recharged with a standard USB-C charging cable. As far as more modern shot timers are concerned, the Shooter’s Global Timer GO has an MSRP of $150, and for the money it has a good balance of functionality to its cost. One of the most important features of the GO in my opinion is the fact that it can pick up click of your gun when doing dry-fire practice, a very useful feature when training away from the range.
Kestrel KST 1000 Shot Timer
Brought to you by the house that made portable weather meters for extreme, long-range precision shooters possible, Kestrel now offers a modern, top of the line shot timer, the KST 1000. The KST 1000 is designed for a broad range of shooting applications, and like the Shooter’s Global product mentioned above, it can also detect dry-fire trigger presses. Its sensitivity is adjustable enough to also detect air gun reports as well. This device uses two CR 123 batteries and has a battery life of 90 hours. It also has Bluetooth connectivity capabilities. Perhaps one of the biggest pluses for the KST 1000 shot timer is its durability rating which meets the MIL-STD-810G standards. These US Government guidelines specify how devices should perform under a range of conditions including temperature, humidity, shock, dust, rain or other elements. With a retail price of $299, it’s also on the more expensive side of modern shot timers.
AMG Labs Commander
The AMG Labs Commander shot timer is a modern shot timer that runs off of four AAA batteries and has a battery life is measured in weeks, not hours. Like the other two shot timers above, this timer also has Bluetooth capabilities and was designed to easily “talk to” the three Practiscore related apps, including the official Practiscore app, the Practiscore Competitor app and Practiscore Log app. Because of its long-lasting battery life, the AMG Labs Commander is a favorite of many competitors, training junkies and action pistol shooting clubs around the country. The AMG Labs Commander shot timer retails for $158.
Competition Electronics ProTimer BT
As a brand, Competition Electronics is one of oldest names in shot timers. Customers can still purchase the original Pocket Pro Shot Timer, and the now discontinued Pocket Pro II shot timer was the first timer I ever owned and is still the one I rely on for day-to-day practice. Competition Electronics took the Pocket Pro Timer II and evolved it into the newer ProTimer series, which includes a Bluetooth-compatible variant: the Competition Electronics ProTimer BT. Externally it still maintains the same shape and layout as the older Pocket Pro II, but internally it not only uses Bluetooth technology to communicate with apps like the Practiscore app or the Competition Electronics PT-Link app. The Competition Electronics ProTimer BT retails for $188.
The Takeaway
The shot timer as we know has been around for decades and their premise is simple quite simple: these electronic devices make a chirping sound (most typically a “beep”) to denote the start of the clock; once the clock starts running, shot timers “listen” for each shot fired to passively record until the shooter is finished with their string of fire. Most shot timers are fairly low-tech, and even these still work just fine for the majority of use-cases. It’s also nice to recognize more technologically advanced options are becoming available like some of the models listed above. With their wireless and cross-app functionalities, this allows shooters, trainers and competitors to better keep track of their shooting performance data like never before.
