If you are reading this, odds are you take training in various martial disciplines fairly seriously.  You, the reader, are most likely not only a gun owner but an enthusiastic one at that. Someone who bought a firearm and keeps it in a safe where it remains always you are not; quite the opposite, in fact. The practice and training of your disciplines has a significant, serious place in your life, one that you make deliberate effort to fit in or schedule other obligations around. In doing so, developing an understanding of the process and seeing improvement from your effort is what you are pursuing. When it comes to firearms and measuring performance, there are two primary metrics used: Time and Accuracy. We use impacts on targets to gauge accuracy, and timers to quantify time. If you consider yourself serious about training with a firearm, you should own at least one shot timer.

So, when there are quite a few options to choose from, which one should you drop your hard-earned dollars on? That, I cannot exactly say with absolute certainty. However, what this shooter can say with absolute certainty is that I do not regret my purchase of the Shooters Global Timer 2; I actually went out of my way to buy one. This will be further explained shortly.  By no means is this a light hearted endorsement of a product for this conclusion has only been reached after nearly 2 months of very frequent (daily) use in a variety of environmental conditions.

Cost – 2.5/5

Let’s begin our breakdown of the timer with the cost. It is pricey, with a listing on Shooters Global’s website of $299.99. On it’s face, this seems steep for a box that beeps, especially if this is someone’s first shot timer. Make no mistake, this is a top-tier product. Upon receiving it in the mail, my first thought was of Apple products, for the packaging is done in such a way that it makes you feel good for having spent the money you did. My recommendation would be to apply the “buy once, cry once” strategy in your shot timer selection. Again, I did not regret the purchase. Other competitive options for shot timers range from $130 (Pact Club III), $189 (Competition Electronics ProTimerBT), $299 (Kestrel KST1000).

I have seen the Shooters Global (SG) Timer 2 listed online ranging from $259-$299, so it is possible to find one for cheaper than the manufacturer’s listed price. Given the market and the functionality of the device, the asking price is reasonable.

Durability – 2.5/5

The SG Timer 2 was sent to me by Shooters Global for free to review and describe my experiences with the timer here in this article. Above it was mentioned that I went out of my way to buy the SG Timer 2 though, so what gives?

The original timer that was sent to me for free, I broke. And I am not exactly sure what the mechanism of breaking was… What happened was a lesson in paying attention to what you are doing at all times.

In preparation for a precision rifle competition, I was shooting various positional drills with my Tikka CTR. At my range I use a UTV to zip back and forth between the firing points and the target area. During the drill the SG Timer 2 was being used to collect data as to which tripod technique was more efficient. Having completed shooting the drill multiple times, the bed of the UTV was loaded up in preparation to move to another yard line, but before doing so, I went down to the target to mark the impacts. Upon driving back up-range, zoning out while thinking about the drill and the results, I drove right into a stump and smashed in the skid plate of the UTV.

The approximate speed was about 10-15 miles per hour. Had it not been for the plastic windshield, I would have been sent over the dashboard. All of the items in the bed were either hung up on the rifle mounts on the ceiling or scattered around the UTV looking like a scene from the Halo video games of a crashed Pelican with no survivors; ear pro, pack, ammo, rifle, tripod, spotting scope… shot timer… dispersed everywhere.

Upon retrieving the timer, I made the unfortunate discovery that it was non-functional. Underneath the screen, it had cracked, and while it would still “beep” when the button was pressed, no settings could be established or information gathered. I do not know what exactly happened to it, whether it was launched upward and smashed into the ceiling or broke upon impact with the ground, or something else, it can’t be determined for certainty.

Now, before this event ended the functionality of the timer, it had proven to be a robust device during normal use. It had been knocked off my belt while running around barrels, dropped from my hands at chest height, and unknowingly pushed off a work bench while making room for another project, all such instances doing no real damage either cosmetically or functionally.

Given the fact that I broke mine in a fairly unique, somewhat extreme circumstance, combined with the durability of the timer during normal use, it has earned the rating of 2.5/5. To give it any more than that would feel a bit dishonest, for I did break one, even though it occurred the odd way that it did, the result is the result. As long as you are not smashing into an immovable stump of a 1.5’ wide tree, I have confidence in the durability of this timer. I am sure that, had the timer been secured in my bag and not just thrown in the back, it would have pulled through fine. But the data point is the data point, interpret that as you see fit.

Functionality – 5/5

This timer proved so useful and beneficial to my training process that, after having broken the free one, I ordered one with my own funds. There is quite a lot of capability with this little timer. Initially, it seemed somewhat overwhelming. Especially with the app interface and use in conjunction with, the first couple times I had to sit down and work through the controls to figure it out. For the sake of full transparency, the first couple times using it I thought it might not be looking too good for this timer, seeming to suffer from too much complexity in carrying out all the things it can do. This quickly dissipated however. Upon frequent use, I figured out how the interface works and figured out how to do what I needed it to do.

The most useful feature I found was nothing too fancy like the app interface, which is very cool but a bit much for me personally. It was the ability to set a par time and then program in how many “sets” of that drill I want to do, also establishing how much time elapses between sets so that I can reset my gun or kit or whatever I was doing at that time. This, while simple, was the most appealing aspect to me for I could get into a groove and plan out a dry fire training session the same exact way I plan out and execute a physical training session.

Another useful feature I’d like to highlight here is the ability to adjust the sensors. Gone are the days of covering up the timer with tape when dry firing at night. Being able to set the Volume to the perfect tone is wonderful. Same goes for the Sensitivity of the microphone. This is particularly useful when dry-firing. At max sensitivity, the microphone would pick up and record the initial shot on a striker fired pistol or AR. The level of precision in setting the sensitivity is impressive. An example is when set to 100%, the microphone would register the double action trigger pull of a Beretta M9 as one shot and then the trigger reset as one shot. So in one trigger pull, it would register as two shots. Not what I wanted. So, I set the sensitivity to 97% and it would register only the pull and not the reset. Very, very cool.

The beauty of this timer is its range of prospective end users that would find it useful. From full blown shooting nerds who are recording themselves with their phone/app and having this connected to the timer so all the data is collected in real time to the person like me who wants sophisticated simplicity, this timer setup can make it happen.

Overall – 4/5

In summary, this is a phenomenal tool that has set the bar for shot timers in the industry today. Yes, it is pricey, but it is as effective and useful as it is expensive. The supporting app means the product will be receiving updates as time goes on. While I personally did not use the app too much outside of testing it out for testing’s sake, this will for sure be a major selling point for many. I personally like refined simplicity in my tools. Once I figured out how to navigate the pages, I can zip through the screens and change the conditions of a drill or settings with no problem. If you take shooting training seriously, you need a timer and the Shooters Global Timer 2 is a definitive option. Highly recommended.

I received this product as a courtesy from the manufacturer so I could test it and give my honest feedback. I am not bound by any written, verbal or implied contract to give this product a good review. All opinions are my own and are based off my personal experience with the product.

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