Shot Timer - Recommendations?

[BrokenolMarine]

Amazon Prime Days are coming, July 11/12 !

I haven't really used one of these things myself, but would like the challenge since I shoot alone most of the time now that I've moved to Oklahoma.
I used a stopwatch when running the LE Range or shooting with others in VA. I just didn't worry too much about time when shooting alone training for matches other than to check myself on the stopwatch I used for stages during the match to insure I met time constraints. Good practice for the actual matches. We all glanced at the stopwatch as we changed positions or reloaded.

I have seen Shot Timers in the $125 to $150 range on Amazon now, but hope they might reduce prices during Prime Days....
Any recommendations on brand or models in case they do? I just want to be able to push a button and get a tone to start from, and then times shown from the start to last shot. Anything else is a bonus.

Mainly, I'd like to be able to state in the range reports:

This string was Rapid Fire: 6 shots in 3.2 seconds from the Ready, or 12 shots in 8.9 seconds including the reload.
(Or... sadly, 18.1 seconds because I dropped the first mag during the speedload. ) Yes, I would admit it...

Timed Fire, 12 shots in 20 seconds with reload was standard in PPC.

[rickhem]

A group of shooting buddies and I used to run a tactical pistol league for the weeks in-between the regular bullseye leagues. We started calling it the Combat League, but we were asked to rename it to something different, and they agreed that "tactical" was a better fit. We'd do three stages and had a plate rack as a final stage every week. The stages changed weekly, but we always had that 10 yard rack of 6 8" plates, and we would publish results with an ongoing leaderboard for the plate rack best times. We ended up buying Competitive Edge Dynamics shot timers, cause they were fairly cheap at the time being about $120 each. When we used stopwatches, we'd start everyone simultaneously with an air horn, and the RO at each stage timed that shooter. We switched to going individually once we got the timers. Each stage was usually only about 30 seconds or so, so that didn't really slow anything up. It was a fun time, but a lot of work setting all the targets up and taking them down each week.
So if CED is even still in business I don't know, but their stuff worked well for us.
What is interesting is the splits that you can see with the timer. On the plate rack, which is always the same, the time from tone to first shot is always longest. (we started everything gun-in-hand....it was mostly bullseye shooters with bullseye equipment) The fast runs always showed splits of decreasing intervals as the string progressed. What often happened is that you'd start shooting faster and faster splits until eventually you got just fast enough to not be on target for that shot. Lots of blazing fast times but only 5 plates hit.

[BrokenolMarine]

I designed some custom plates for my Virginia Range, that mounted on Rebar. They were 8" Steel with pockets in the back so you hit them and the rang and moved but didn't fall. No resetting the "Rack" between shooters. Painted white, you could see the shot impact. I would also paint them different colors for "on the go" decision making. Calling out colors as the shooter drew the firearm and they shot ONLY those colors. Pull the plates off the rebar on the range, I could move them to rebar along the opposing creek bank and have a walk and shoot course for friends, just for the fun of it.


The plates on the range:

plates comp.jpg (138.05 KiB) Viewed 281 times

Back of the plate:

plate idea nicely executed.jpg (764.95 KiB) Viewed 281 times

When teaching "Falling Plates" I noticed the same thing you speak of. Once the shooters moved from slowly shooting the rack and knocking down six for six, they moved to increasing their speed. At the end they were overshooting the last two or three and on newly painted plates you could see the hits move from center toward the 3 o'clock position and then off the edge. I had to get them to put a slight "Hitch in their giddy up" as they came on target so they didn't skid past the plate as they shot.

I told them to think of it as those old second hands in class in school that moved jerkily around the clock.

[BrokenolMarine]

Yes... I still have the plates and brought them here to Oklahoma, I just haven't set them up yet as I haven't completely finished my range and don't want to TRY and pull the rebar. When I set the rebar, I set it at a slight angle so the plates are leaning slightly down toward the shooter so any splash of lead is directed into the ground. When I pull the plates for storage, the rebar stays on the range.

[Mr. Neutron]

FWIW, I use and can recommend a Pact (they're up to their version 3 now) shot timer. I bought whatever version number that I have back in the early 90s, and it's held up well. Still working fine years later.

Things I like about it:
it's pretty easy to figure out how to use.
I like the display screen, and the fact that you can see it easily when it hangs on your belt from the built-in belt clip. It's easy to use the buttons when scrolling back (like for reviewing your 1st shot times and splits between successive shots) while it's hanging on your belt clip. This is handy for the "shoot by yourself" shooter.
The start beep is loud enough to hear when wearing hearing protection. I can hear it with my amplified muffs and ear plugs at the same time, or just with "analog" ear muffs or ear plugs alone.
The start beep is easy to set for either an instant beep (used during matches) or a preset delayed beep. This allows a self timed shooter to press the "Go" button, then get into a stance. The start beep will then go off in a few seconds. The matches I shot always used a hands up/surrender start, so the timer's delayed beep setting allowed me to press the green go button, then get my hands up to wait for the start beep. It worked well for my practice sessions. You could program in a "stop" beep also, I think, but I've forgotten how to do that, or I may have it mixed up with other timers I've used.

My "gripe" was minor, but might possibly be a deal breaker for some. The shape of the thing is kinda goofy, and sometimes hard to hold. Works better for self timing scenarios by just hanging it on your belt; not so good for being the guy giving range commands and timing other shooters. I have big enough hands it was no problem, but some shooters with smaller hands had issues from time to time. I do prefer the boxy rectangular shape of other timers for simply holding the goofy things.

It's really no easier or harder to use than other brands I used when I shot and ran pistol matches. They're all very similar. It would generally work as well as any of them for picking up shots. All of the ones I used had their little issues either picking up shots from an adjacent range, and sometimes indoors registering too many shots due echoes, I suppose.

Added in EDIT: It does indeed have a "Par time" feature that allows you to program in a preset time for a stop beep. And I believe the "Delay" setting for a start beep begins at random times, like between 1-3 seconds or so.

[Headhog]

The Competition Electronics Pocket Pro timer is the current favorite at clubs I shoot at. A few clubs use the Pact Club Timer III. I have and old Pact timer/chronograph that still works exceedingly well. As a stand-alone it is a timer it has a lot of functions like delayed start and split times and many more. Hook it up to my sky screen and it is a chronograph. My only complaint is it is big and bulky as a stand-alone timer, but what the heck it works.

Almost forgot the CED7000 is a fine timer, just kind of small in the hand. If you have big hands working the buttons can be a bit fiddley.

Paul