There aren’t too many things you can buy to become a better shooter. People think that spending money on the latest optic, laser, or gizmo and gadgets can make them a better shooter. Plenty of match-grade barrels and Glock triggers have been purchased by shooters trying to spend money to build skill. There aren’t many things that can make you a better shooter. One of the few items you can buy that can help you get better is a shot timer, and today we are talking about the Competition Electronics Pocket Pro 2.
Do you know how certain companies dominate certain industries? Surefire and Streamlight rule the world of lights, Glock rules polymer frame pistols, and S&W rules revolvers. Competition Electronics is one of the companies that rule the shot-timer world. The Pocket Pro 2, in particular, is their flagship model, and it’s been my shot timer of choice for about two years now.
Why You Need a Shot Timer
First and foremost, you might ask why I need a shot timer? How will a shot timer make me a better shooter? Well, a shot timer, specifically a good shot timer, will provide you with objective data on your ability to shoot. A target provides objective data to your accuracy, and a timer shows how fast you can be accurate.
This allows you to measure your times during various tasks. You can measure how long it takes to complete a specific drill, how long it takes to draw your firearm, how long it takes to reload, and more. A shot timer allows you to see and track improvement and will identify your weak points.
Shot timers also add stress and can allow you to perform to a set standard. Most drills have time standards, and a simple stopwatch doesn’t cut it. I watched my own shooting skills improve drastically with the introduction of a timer—specifically, big blue, my Pocket Pro 2.
The Pocket Pro 2 Inside and Out
Ole big blue is a big hunk of plastic with a screen and five buttons. Shot timers are very simple devices, and it’s often hard to see why they cost so much money. Why does this chunk of plastic cost a hundred bucks or more? Well, looks can be deceiving.
A shot timer does three things. First, it gives you a start point to begin your training. A loud beep tells you to go. Second, it hears your shots. Third, it records your first shot and then subsequent shots.
It can record the time between shots call split times and the time from the beginning of the drill. The three different tasks can be combined and adjusted to form a training experience that provides objective data to the shooter.
Poppin Off
The Pocket Pro 2 comes packed with features and settings to best match your personal shooting objectives. This includes increasing or decreasing the sensitivity of the shot. The Pocket Pro 2 can easily detect suppressed shots, or at least most suppressed guns. A bolt action .22LR with subsonics will certainly challenge it. However, a 9mm with subsonic rounds still register with ease, as do super and subsonic rifle rounds.
You can set delays to the timer for solo use and then set the minimum and maximum delay via seconds. You can also set a standard delay in seconds that’s a bit more predictable. Additionally, an instant mode allows a companion to hold the timer and start the drill or run at their convenience.
Users can set a par time in seconds. Drills like the 10-10-10, the El Presidente, and many, many more have a par time. This is the maximum time you have to complete the drill. The Pocket Pro 2 allows you to program that maximum time into the timer. Or better yet, program your record time and try to beat that time. A second beep signals the end of the par time.
Train Hard – Train Timed
The Pocket Pro 2 has five huge buttons that make it easy to manage and manipulate. The various buttons flip through menus, allow you to change settings, and obviously turn the optic on. A big colossal side button is the Go button.
You hit that button, and it tells the Pocket Pro 2 to fire up and sound off. As soon as you hit the button, the beeper sounds unless you have a delay timer. Then the button starts the timer and eventually sounds off. The sound of the beep can be adjusted, and it gets super loud. I mean, loud enough to hear at a public range while wearing ear pro.
The shot detection is flawless. I typically hang the timer on its massive pocket clip from my right pants pocket. It has zero issues hearing gunfire in that position. Never has it failed to detect a shot like so many phone app timers.
The screen provides a simple but clear layout. For your time, the font is enormous, and the backlit screen is easy to read. You can then cycle through the timer and see your splits for drills with multiple shots fired. You can do so on the range quite quickly. You can then record the information and move on.
The Pocket Pro 2 feature outstanding ergonomics and is super easy to use. With just a few minutes of practice, you will be a pro with the Pocket Pro 2.
Durability
You’d think with what this thing costs, I’d take better care of it. That being said, I don’t. It’s been rained out, dropped, kicked in the sand, and even left outside overnight. Yet, it fires up and springs to life every time I hit the go button.
Heck, most of its life is lived inside a range bag. That range bag gets tossed in the trunk, tossed on a bench, tossed in a closet. I’m not gentle, and yet the Pocket Pro 2 doesn’t care. It embraces the suck and keeps on ticking.
Heck, even the battery seemingly lasts forever. A single 9-volt lasts about a year, and you can cycle through the various screens to see the battery life left in the device. It’s pretty handy to check before you get to the range and have your battery die.
A Must Have
Shot timers are a must-have. No phone app can replace a good shot timer. There is a reason why no one in the professional circuit pulls out an iPhone to time a match. There are plenty of good options out there, but my favorite is the Pocket Pro 2. It works, it’s ergonomic, and it can take a beating. The Pocket Pro 2 does everything I ask it to and more.