Thinking about shot timers, but know next to nothing about them except their obnoxious beep and they give you times. And some are made by PACT. And some are blue.

So please tell me what I need to know to make an educated purchase of an entry-level timer?

quote:

Originally posted by Oat_Action_Man:
Thinking about shot timers, but know next to nothing about them except their obnoxious beep and they give you times. And some are made by PACT. And some are blue.

So please tell me what I need to know to make an educated purchase of an entry-level timer?

Take a look at the free iOS or Android apps for your phone. They're nowhere near as good as a real shot timer, but the price is right and maybe one of them will be adequate.

Otherwise, be prepared to spend in the neighborhood of a hundred bucks.

I use the blue pocket pro II. It seems to be the cheapest quality unit. Adjustable volume, adjustable back light, 9v powered. It seems that most of the issues I've seen have been with more expensive rechargeable units. I personally went through 4 different Shotmaxx watches before giving up and buying the pocket pro ii.

There are some that will argue up and down that the original Pocket Pro is easier to use and better than the II... I don't know. I think if you go with a pocket pro i/ii or a Pact club timer, you'll be happy with it. It'll work as advertised and last forever if you don't drop it repeatedly.

Edit: Being the cheapskate that I am, I started with the shot timer apps... I did not find one that didn't suck, but it's been a few years since I looked into them.

I have a Competition Electronics Pocket Pro II and am reasonably satisfied with it.

Important features IMO:

Standard (not rechargeable) battery. I don’t use the timer every day, and I want it to operate without recharging whenever I do go to the range. I also want to be able to replace the battery and get going again immediately if the battery dies. The Pocket Pro 9 volt battery lasts a very long time. I believe some units with rechargeable batteries offer external packs for standard batteries, but it’s hard to imagine something more inconvenient to use.

Echo-ignoring feature. Echoes add short additional readings to strings of fire under some circumstances (e.g., when a wet earthen backstop is close). The previous timer I had was picky about how the sensitivity was set to ignore echoes, but this one allows it to be programmed to ignore “splits” (echoes) of less than a specified time and it works well. This isn’t an absolutely essential feature, but it eliminates an annoyance.

Things I don’t like about the PP.

How it displays previous shots in a string before the total time; they are small and somewhat hard to read, but I manage.

It won’t record shot strings that last longer than 99 seconds (as I recall). That’s a nuisance for long training drills.

It offers multiple features that I don’t need and that makes it a little difficult to program what I do want. Again, though, I manage.

I’ve read reviews that the PP doesn’t operate well in cold weather. I’ve not experienced that problem, but I use a lithium battery and try to keep it warm in my coat when it’s real cold.

I have the app on my phone, and also a pretty expensive real shot timer. The app is surprisingly accurate, and the actual timer has more features than I will ever use.

I have a PACT 3 Club timer. I bought it on Amazon. I have used it hard in my classes over the past 3 years and works well, is easy to operate. I don't use all the features all the time but it is good to have them. The company's service is very good as well-I got caught in a rainstorm and my timer got soaked. I sent it to the factory and they sent me a new one within a day.

Pocket Pro II, as the others have mentioned.
I use three of them for our weekly Steel Challenge matches. Never a problem, hot weather or cold, even in occasional rain. Keep extra 9v batteries on hand.
For one-person use at the range, I like the random delay setting. Never know when it's going to go off.

I have a Competition Electronics timer that I bought like 25 years ago when I shooting IPSC stuff. It still works. I don't recall which model it is.

First try the free apps.

If you need more, look at the features of the Pocket Pro and Pocket Pro II. I have the II (in part thinking newer model must be better).

A friend owns a range and runs all kinds of events. He says the original Pocket Pros hold up better than anything else. If/when my Pocket Pro II dies I'll get one of the original Pocket Pros.

PACT seems to have a good product but in this neck of the woods, the Pocket Pros seem to be favored.

Can you guys recommend which apps to try first? The Surefire Shot Timer app looked promising but it was useless. It didn't register a single shot no matter how I played with the settings.

I've owned and used a bunch of them and like the PACT Club Timer best.

I like the PACT better than the competition electronics timer because it "beeps" when you release the button, not press the button (like on the CE).

I'm a bit weary of using apps on a phone for live fire because I know two people that damaged the speaker on their phones doing it, and had to have them replaced. So, I use the surefire app during dry fire, and a shot timer in live fire.
I have a CED and two of the Pocket Pros. One of the Pocket Pros will function, but you can't see the readout. Quite frankly, I think I agree with folks these days that say buy the Pocket Pro and be done. Instead of spending the money on the CED rechargeable.

Either CE or PACT will serve you well. Use a phone app if you are just trying to do some dry-fire at home. If you are serious about training/competition, get a real shot timer.