When it comes to self-defense, every second counts. That's part of why regular training with your self-defense firearm is so important; it allows you to maintain your accuracy, speed and safety so those skills will be sharp should you ever need them. However, it can be difficult to really tell exactly how well you're doing on the range. That's where shot timers come in. These innovative little gadgets allow you to set yourself a mean time in which to perform a number of different tasks: drawing and firing, reloading, malfunction clearing and so on. American Rifleman's Joe Kurtenbach uses the Competition Electronics shot timer to demonstrate how you can maximize your training and your time on the range.