One tool every competitive shooter needs is a quality shot timer. A shot timer can tell you a lot about your current shooting ability and help you set realistic goals on what you need to improve on. There are many quality shot timers, but the Shooters Global Timer 2 is by far the most advanced in terms of technology. If you’re serious about tracking and improving your skills, this is the timer for you.
5 Reason SG Timer 2 Is The Best Shot Timer For Competition
1. Acoustic Amplifier
The primary purpose of a shot timer is to record the time it takes a shooter to start and finish a stage. One of the most significant issues with shot timers is that many shooters have difficulty hearing the buzzer. I can’t tell you how many major matches I have worked as a range officer where I’ve started the shot timer and shooters have remained frozen in place, never hearing the start signal. In some extreme cases, range officers will tap a shooter on the shoulder, for example, to indicate the timer has started. This can lead to issues of fairness in scoring timed stages between shooters if some can’t hear the timer.
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To solve this problem, the SG Timer 2 is engineered with an Acoustic Amplifier, making it the loudest shot timer ever made. I typically use non-electronic hearing protection when I compete, as it cuts down on all the auditory background noises. The downside to non-electronic hearing protection is that it can make it more challenging to hear a shot timer buzzer. There are also some cases where I will “double plug” and wear in-ear hearing protection and over-the-ear muffs. I tested the Shooters Global timer in both scenarios and had no problem hearing the audible beep.
One note to add is that you can sync the shot timer to play the start signal in your Bluetooth hearing protection, but this is more applicable when training alone.
2. Dry Fire Mode
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The most significant benefit of the SG Timer 2 that sets it apart from others is its ability to capture the sound of your trigger pull for dry fire training. The best shooters in the world dry fire daily, if not weekly, and always use a timer in dry fire practice.
There are two dry fire modes on the SG timer: classic, which plays start and end sounds, and smart, which listens for and records the sound of a trigger pull. This timer allows you to program and save custom dry fire sessionsand track performance. For example, if you’re working on a sub-second draw to shoot time, you can set this drill up on the timer with or without a one-second par time. The timer’s sensitivity will capture the trigger pull sound and record your draw-to-shoot time. You can have a session of five sets, for example, and compare all the times to each other to see which was your best set. Shooters Global has a library of YouTube videos that make it easy to understand how to set up sessions.
3. Drills Training App
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The Drills Training App by Shooters Global is an incredibly useful tool that makes the SG Timer 2 (and their other timers) the key to intentional and successful training. When the application is launched, you can record video of yourself shooting, but with an overlay of actual shot times and splits. The app also works on the Apple Watch, so you can start and stop the timer directly from your wrist and even monitor the results of your set.
The Drills Training app also allows you to host “matches” where you can set up multiple stages with specific targets for each stage. You can add friends to the match and use the SG Timer 2 to track everyone’s time for each stage. You can score the targets in the application and then submit the results along with any video footage for the stages. The leaderboard will display the results of where everyone stacks up overall in the match and on each stage.
4. Video Recording with Shot Timer Data Overlay
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Every serious competitive shooter analyzes first-person and third-person video footage to identify areas of weakness in their shooting skills. Using the Drills Training App, shooters can capture video footage of themselves shooting while the shot timer displays data on top of the video in real time. It can display the timing of your first shot, the number of shots fired, and even your best split time. This is handy when training, but even more beneficial when you use the timer’s “Spy” mode to record data on top of your match footage. In Spy mode, the SG Timer 2 will listen for the beep of another timer and record the data from each stage when you capture video through the app. Since many competitive shooters use the SG Timer 2 and record video through the app, they can share stage videos and compare their performances.
5. U-Grip Mounting
Most competitive shooters train alone, which means a shot timer needs to be easy to use one-handed and mount to a shooter’s belt without falling off. The SG Timer 2 allows for easy one-handed operation with all the buttons on the left-hand side. This timer is outfitted with strong magnets and positioning hardware, making it more resistant to side impacts. It ships with a magnetic U-Grip with a belt clip that a shooter can mount to their competition belt. The timer can then attach to the U-Grip, which is durable and won’t allow the timer to drop, even with extreme movements. This allows for easy on and off of the timer from the belt without having to physically unclip it. Alternatively, you can take the mounting hardware off the U-Grip and install the belt clip directly to the timer.
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There’s so much more to this timer, but these are the main features and functionality that make it superior to others on the market. I highly recommend investing in a good quality timer if you’re serious about tracking and improving your shooting skills.
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