Sure, there's an App for that..... a free shot timer!

Here's a glimpse into the way Carteach's head works:

We are sitting in a good friends kitchen, enjoying morning coffee and stunningly good bacon and egg sandwiches. Amongst the many things discussed is her son's ability to solve a Rubik's cube. In fact, the young man (A 22 year old EMT and medical student!), is quite quick at the mental task. In more point of fact, his mother mentions he has a special App on his phone just to time the feat.

Carteach's head goes 'BING!', and this train of thought takes place:

Rubik's cube timer....

Timer?.....

Shot Timer?.......

SHOT TIMER?.....

FREE shot timer?.....

FREE SHOT TIMER APP !?!

Of course... Naturally... Carteach whipped out his Android phone and did an immediate search for a shot timer application. Lo and Behold... there is one. 'Shot Timer', by 'Futurewise Technologies'. About 90 seconds later, the shot timer App is downloaded and I am gleefully clapping my hands at the kitchen table, testing the application.

Later that day, arriving home just at last light, I had enough time to load up and run one ten shot string over the new shot timer application on my phone. It worked like a charm.

Now, it's not fancy... and it demands access to things on the android phone that I can't see related to the functions of the shot timer. It won't record results to a database, and doesn't provide an instant text feature so you can gloat to your friends with screen captures of your incredible shooting prowess.

What it does do is work. It records your string time and split times. Using an ISSC M-22 pistol fitted with a Laserlyte FSL-3 laser, I loaded up two magazines with five rounds each. Setting the timer for a five second delay til the 'BEEP' which begins the string, I holstered the pistol and hit the go button. Five eternally long seconds later, the beep came and I drew to fire five. Running the pistol dry, I reloaded and sent another five into the target.

With that, the sun winked out over the bamboo forest and darkness fell with swift abandon.

Looking at the screen on my phone, I saw the timer caught every shot faithfully, with total time on the string and split times as well. 3.2 seconds to draw and get on target, split times on shots of about .3 seconds, and a three second reload. Not too shabby for a fat old school teacher, shooting from a concealed carry holster.

8.09 seconds to put ten rounds onto the target, with a draw and a reload in there someplace. I'm satisfied with that for a start, even with being a mild mannered and easy to shoot .22 rimfire.

I have wanted a shot timer for years now, but just could not bring myself to spend the money. Now this comes along, and it's free..... you hear that? FREE!! (Cackling like that old guy who lives alone in a trailer far out in the Arizona desert).

It's probably not something I'd rely on if I was a competition shooter, but for fat 'ol Carteach who just piddles along trying to get a little better each time..... it's exactly what I wanted.