Quick Tip: Benefits of Training With a Shot Timer

Brownells Gun™ Tech Caleb Savant takes us on a field trip to the Big Springs Shooting Complex to demonstrate how using a shot timer in our range practice can be a big help in developing key shooting skills. This is not just for folks who take part in action shooting competitions. It'll help you hone basic skills and skills you might need in a self-defense emergency. Caleb's using his favorite shot timer, the popular Pact Club III.

 

When you hit the Club III's big green "go" button, you hear a beep, and the timer starts running. You can program a delay before the beep, so if you're training alone, you have time to get ready before the clock starts. The timer has a microphone that responds to the sound of the gunshots, and an LCD screen displays the results.

 

Demo #1: Caleb times how long it takes him to draw and fire one shot. You can also record the time between each shot in a string of shots. Demo #2: Caleb fires three shots, and the Club III records how long he took to fire each shot. Pact's timer also has a PAR TIME function (not "part time"!), which lets you program a second beep to go off after a pre-set time. This is a big help if your goal is to complete a particular drill within a specific amount of time. Bring a notebook to the range and write down the results to track your progress.

 

Here's another simple yet very effective training drill. Time how quickly you can draw your daily carry pistol from concealment and fire an ACCURATE shot. You don't need to blaze away like a champion IDPA competitor. Remember the word "accurate." It's OK to have slow times at first. If they're still slow after a while, and you're getting small, tight shot groups on the target, you're shooting TOO SLOW. When practicing for self-defense, you want to keep all the shots in the target's "A" zone but spread out a bit, with faster times. Tuning that in takes a while, and that's OK. There's a reason why we call it "practice."