Some of the best shot timers can be very costly, making most beginners in shot timing shy off from buying shot timers.
If you want to improve your shooting skills but you are reluctant to spend money on a shot timer, you can use a shot timer app.
Best Shot timer apps are designed to help you use your phone like a shot timer.
There are so many shot timer apps available in the market. Some of the shot timer apps are free while others are not.
The shot timer apps work the same as shot timers, the only difference is that you use your phone as the shot timer.
Some of the shot timer apps work better than some shot timers while others pick up false inputs and marking shots.
Best Shot Timer Apps
Most shot timer apps are great with the par time function.
Shot timer apps are as good as your phone since they depend on your phone to give you your shooting information.
They are better for dry fire practice which is important for beginners in shooting competitions.
Advantages of Shot Timer Apps
- Shot timer apps allow you to test the idea of shot timers without investing in a shot timer.
- Some shot timer apps are free thus you do not have to have money to have one.
- The best shot timer apps can be more reliable than some basic shot timers.
- You can easily test out different free shot timers and determine which one is best for you.
- Most shot timer apps are easy to use and follow the instruction, unlike some shot timer manuals.
Disadvantages of Shot Timer Apps
- Wearing your phone on your belt during a shooting competition might result in you cracking your phone’s screen.
- You need to buy a belt clip or dorky armbands to hold the phone if you want to move around.
Top 5 Best Shot Timer Apps
We understand that you do not have the time to do through all the shot timer apps available in the market to determine the most reliable app. We have done for you thorough research and identified some of the most reliable and useful shot timer apps available in the market.
To make it easier for you to choose the best shot timer apps, we have provided you with reviews of some of the most reliable apps available today. Here are reviews for the best shot timer apps.
1SureFire Shot Timer App
The SureFire shot timer app is a free application that has a great par time function for dry firing. It comes with a user-friendly interface that makes it easy to use to achieve great shooting results. To get started with the shot timer app, you need to have iTunes software installed on your computer to download the Shot Timer programs. After the download, you can go to the “Settings” button on the bottom of the screen. There are so many options in the setting to allow you to select the setting you need.
For dry firing, you can use either the par time start delay and random start settings. The application is very accurate that can be used by both beginners and intermediate users of shot timers. It comes with an adjustable Start Delay of 0-4 seconds to give you some time to get ready before you get started with the shooting. The application provides you with the Random Start Delay feature to let you randomly starts the timer 2-5 seconds after the start button is pressed. It has an adjustable Par Time of 0-99.99 seconds.
Pros
- The shot timer app comes with an extra loud start beep that can be heard through ear protection.
- It provides you with a large, easy-to-read numerical display.
- The application allows you to save shot data to view later.
- It comes with a user-friendly interface which makes it ideal for beginners.
- You can easily email your shot data to your friends.
- It offers you an adjustable Start Delay of 0-4 seconds and a Random Start Delay feature to let you randomly start the timer 2-5 seconds after the start button is pressed
- Users can print shot data right from their phones using AirPrint.
- The shot timer application is great for dry firing.
- It is very accurate and reliable.
- It is a free application.
Cons
- The shot timer app does not produce the same beep sound as most other timers thus it can be confusing for someone who has used a shot timer before.
Taurus Shot Timer App
The Taurus shot Timer App is another great free application for iPhone users. It may not be as effective as a shot timer but it can give you a good head start if you want to learn how to use a shot timer. The application has been designed to help you test your shooting speed and accuracy. It is very easy to use both outdoors and indoors with anti-echo technology.
The shot timer app lets you review time between consecutive shots, shot count, and total time shooting. It comes with special settings such as start delay, sensitivity, par time, and random start to let you personalize the app to your liking. The Taurus shot timer app is also very easy to use thus it can be ideal for beginners.
Pros
- The shot timer app offers you special settings such as start delay, sensitivity, par time, and random start to let you personalize the app.
- It helps shooters test their shooting speed and accuracy.
- The application is very easy to use.
- The Taurus shot Timer App helps you review time between consecutive shots, shot count, and total time shooting.
- It features anti-echo technology which makes it easy to use both outdoors and indoors.
IPSC Shot Timer App
The IPSC shot timer is a reliable shot timer program that helps you improve your shooting skills. It offers you a simple timer screen, start button, options, calibration, and three blanked-out features. The program allows users to change the sensitivity to noise, adjust the start beep’s time delay and randomization. It has an echo delay to help prevent the time from picking up echoes as shots.
The Shot timer app allows users to set their preferred scoring method of Comstock, Virginia, and Par Time. It is great for dry firing and picks up the click of your gun well to provide accurate times. The Par Time feature is very useful for allowing you to test yourself on common dry-fire drills. It has a clean interface which makes it easy to use.
Pros
- It is a small program that is great for beginners.
- The shot timer application allows you to change the sensitivity to noise, adjust the start beep’s time delay as well as randomization.
- It let you set your preferred scoring method of Comstock, Virginia, and Par Time.
- The IPSC shot timer program features an echo delay to help prevent the time from picking up echoes as shots.
- It effectively picks up the click of your gun well to provide accurate times during dry firing.
- The program is ideal for common dry-fire drills.
- It comes with a user-friendly user interface.
Cons
- The program’s automatic calibration never worked well both indoors and outside.
- When using most magazines, the application will register just under half of all shots.
- It is hard to prevent echoes from registering without raising the echo delay to the full half-second.
- The Virginia scoring count feature is worthless since the program finds it difficult to differentiate gunfire, ambient noises, and echoes.
- It does not provide you with record keeping.
Splits Shot Timer App
Splits is similar to IST but it has more features. The application may not have a user-friendly interface but once you are accustomed to how it works; you will realize that is very easy to use. It does not have automatic calibration but provides you with a pair of sliders that are accessible on the main screen. You will also get some helpful information on the main screen which can access by just scrolling down to understand how to use the application.
The shot timer app lets you take and store screenshots to remind yourself where you want them if you prefer different settings in dry-fire and live-fire. Users can fire a string of shots then adjust the Shot Intensity Range and it will dynamically change the values in your string. By adjusting the slider, you can prevent the program from picking other sounds other than your gunfire.
Pros
- Users can create stages in the program and it will record your performance each time you shoot it, letting you keep a good log on basic stats like average split time, overall time, hits vs misses, and other important data.
- The program is ideal for those who have an interest in tracking their shooting performance.
- It allows users to fire a string of shots then adjust the Shot Intensity Range and the program dynamically changes the values in your string.
- Your shooting performance can be presented as a graph.
- It has some helpful information on the main screen to help you understand how the program works.
- You can prevent the program from picking up unnecessary noises by adjusting the slider.
- It is great for practicing with a part-timer, and over time if you’re training right you can actually track your performance.
- The program helps you prevent wasting time or ammo trying to calibrate.
- It is a free shot timer program.
Cons
- It does not have an intuitive user interface.
- The shot timer program does not come with automatic calibration.
Practical Shooting Timer Lite – Shot Timer App
The Practical Shooting Timer Lite (PSTL) seems to have similar features as Splits but it stores information on past performance. It can be used for dry firing to help beginners learn how to use a shot timer. It does not have automatic calibration and uses sliders. Users can adjust the sliders to adjust the sensitivity and prevent the shot timer program from picking unnecessary noises.
The PSTL is not reliable for live firing. The user interface of the program is not user-friendly thus it might be challenging for most people to make the most of all the features. It is not very accurate in registering all the trigger pulls which might make it hard for you to get accurate shooting information. The shot timer app might crash when using it, which is one of the main drawbacks of this shot timer application.
Pros
- The shot timer program is ideal for those with an interest in tracking their shooting performance.
- It helps you prevent wasting time or ammo trying to calibrate the program from picking up unnecessary noises.
- The Practical Shooting Timer Lite stores information on past performance allowing improve your shooting skills.
- It is a free shot timer app.
Cons
- The shot timer program crashes during operation.
- It does not have an intuitive interface.
- It is unreliable for both dry firings as well as live firing.
Conclusion
All the shot timer apps were tested using the same gun and ammo as well as in the same conditions. The applications were tested with a pistol at the same ranges on the same day and with the phone resting on the bench in front, the microphone pointed towards the shooter to ensure that the results were accurate. We can therefore confidently say that our order of the shot timer apps is based on the performance of the application. All the shot timer apps we have reviewed are free.
The best shot timer apps should be easy to use and should also only pick up your gunfire and not other noises. The best application should also allow you to store your shooting data to help you improve your shooting skills over time.
We hope that the reviews were useful and that they have helped you understand what to expect from the best shot timer apps. Feel free to let us know your experience using a shot timer app and also let us know which of the 5 shot timer apps you find to be more reliable.
