Posted: 5/6/2005 12:04:13 AM EDT
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I have been thinking about getting one for a while. Those that use them, have they helped increase your draw speed and follow up shots? Do you have a preference on shot timers? I think that I draw fairly quickly from my concealed holster, but do not know for sure. If I am improving on my draw stroke, how much? W/O a timer do you really know for sure? |
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I always thought they were pretty cool, but I never saw any improvement come from using them. I work on making things fast, I know when I have a bad run by the time the gun is holstered, etc. Pretty fun little things though. At Gunsite I shot a 3.64 second Dozier Drill. I am pretty proud of it because the next best was about 4.5 seconds, and most of the class could not break into the 5s. The time to beat, however, was something like 2.5 seconds!  and that guy started with his back to the poppers!
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Soowah, I only used an actual timer at Gunsite, although I've used a stop watch off and on quite a few times in the past timing drills and comparing it to a friends time. I have never had reason to justify the cost of buying one. It was awefully cool, but I can replay my draw and shots in my head and I know where I'm slow and where I'm doing OK. I have always been good at that. Some guys might benefit, but for me it just tells me the overall time, split time etc, but it doesnt say "you dropped some time on the draw when you snagged your shirt, but you picked it up when you hammered your first two shots as fast as the trigger would reset." I do like that the timer puts me under time pressure. That stress can be helpful. In fact, the stress that it puts on you is probably the best case for a timer, at least for me. I can be quite competitive with myself, or with my brother. I do not shoot competitively. If I did, I would consider a timer to be an absolute necessity, particularly to train myself to react to the beep. |
| A good timer is a great tool for training, especially if you train alone much of the time. It is easy to fall into the trap of believing you are doing better than you are on various drills, etc. but the timer will help to "keep you honest", as well as put some pressure on you to improve. I would never be without one. |
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I have used one for many years. However, I am also a Range Office for IPSC and a safety Officer for IDPA, so I use it for more than training. IMHO, the time is bet utilized when working on mag change drills in the house. Be sure you get a timer with a "par time" feature. Then you punch in a time such as three seconds, hit the start button, go to a firing position and see how many mags you can change before the beep. I found this drill dramitically helped me develop smoother, quicker mag changes during a match. As far as range time goes, I used my timer when working on the plate rack and practicing known, repeatable excercises like an "El Presidente". Otherwise, I pretty much just use the timer for RO duties. |
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I have had a PACT club timer for more than 5 years and it was worth the 100 bucks(?) it cost me. It doesn't just beep and display numbers. It seperates fact from fiction and it is a dose of cold water on how "fast" you can be. I usually record my first runs only- then move on to a new course of fire. The next trip to the range I see how I do with my first run. I think recording all of your runs and averaging only helps your ego. Cheese P.S. I am pleased that PACT didn't program in a flashing "You SUCK" response on the timer. Mine would be going off constantly. Or maybe "Game over...you died"? |