Radar Guns?

#1

I am a high school/middle school/ 15-under travel ball coach and I am looking for advice on a radar gun. Here’s my issue:

I know that Bushnell has radar guns for ~200 dollars. Ive used a Bushnell before, sitting behind the catcher, and a guy that throws 80-82 was at 74-75 on the bushnell. That does me no good. I’d rather just watch the guy pitch and say “Ehh thats about 82”.

Juggs and Stalker are the obvious choices and are more accurate but are ~600 bucks a piece.

Can you get a 200 dollar Bushness gun and correct it somehow to show the correct velocity?

#2

Have you checked out eBay for used Stalkers and Juggs? You can usually find a couple for a decent price.

#3

May vary from gun to gun but we’ve found the bushnell to be only 1-2 mph slower than stalker sport when recording speeds from behind the pitcher. Compared in multiple sessions & with both guns & it’s pretty consistent. Never been able to compare from behind catcher due to layout of facility. I’ve read multiple times Bushnell 5-7 mph slow & don’t know if bushnell is more accurate from behind pitcher due to mabye picking up ball out of hand quicker due to closer proximity? If you get a bushnell try both ways if your using for bullpens & if behind pitcher records higher speeds I’d say its pretty close.

#4

Try looking at pocket radar. I’ve got a teammate with one and it is very comparable to the stalker (~1), although it doesn’t have the range that a stalker or juggs does.

#5

They’re all garbage unless you get a JUGS/Stalker. Sorry. I’ve tested them all and wished they were good, but they aren’t. At best they are inconsistent. There’s a reason all the scouts carry Stalkers.

#6

[quote=“Brettbirdsong12”]I am a high school/middle school/ 15-under travel ball coach and I am looking for advice on a radar gun. Here’s my issue:

I know that Bushnell has radar guns for ~200 dollars. Ive used a Bushnell before, sitting behind the catcher, and a guy that throws 80-82 was at 74-75 on the bushnell. That does me no good. I’d rather just watch the guy pitch and say “Ehh thats about 82”.

Juggs and Stalker are the obvious choices and are more accurate but are ~600 bucks a piece.

Can you get a 200 dollar Bushness gun and correct it somehow to show the correct velocity?[/quote]

The adage that you get what you pay for is true. The range, components and technology is somewhat different. A pitching coach told me The Bushnell reading is when the ball crosses the plate- slowest point. The Jugs/Stalker reading is when the ball leaves the hand- fastest point. Hence the difference.

#7

I have the Bushnell, the pocket radar and a Stalker Sport.

The Stalker is a ton better than the others in terms of consistency, accuracy and ease of use…plus gives you readings within .1 MPHs.
Lots of ghost readings with the Bushnell. The pocket radar can be difficult to get good readings (if you hold the button in it will take readings every 3/4 of a second, which isn’t really useful for baseball…you need to get the timing right).

However, the Bushnell does not necessarily read a ball as it crosses the plate. The difference is in the range of the guns.

A Bushnell has about a 90’ range. If you’re sitting further than 90’ from the pitcher, it will only pick up the ball when it can read it. So, it may pick it up later (if you’re 120’ from the pitcher, it might pick it up 30’ out of the pitcher’s hand).
See the range here:

A pocket radar has a range of 120’:
http://pocketradar.com/faqs.html#WhatistherangeofthePocketRadar

A Stalker Sport 2 has a range of 300’. It will pick it up out of the pitcher’s hand unless you’re sitting over 300’ from the pitcher.
http://www.stalkerradar.com/sportsradar/sport2.html

If you’re 150’ from the pitcher, the Bushnell will pick it up 60’ from the pitcher’s hand (or at home plate). At 150’, the pocket radar will pick it up 30’ from the pitcher’s hand. If you’re 150’ from the pitcher, the Stalker will get it out of the pitcher’s hand, because the pitcher is within the range of the gun.

So, at that distance, the Bushnell read slower (as everyone knows, the ball slows down several MPH as it gets closer to the plate due to resistance and other forces), the pocket radar 2nd, and the Stalker will give you accurate #s from the pitcher’s hand.

There may be a difference in the number of samples each gun takes if you hold the trigger down, which would also affect the readings, but not sure.

I would also imagine the Stalker is calibrated slightly better, but each of the guns give fairly accurate readings within their range.

That being said, if you want real, reliable numbers, you can’t beat the Stalker. It gives me confidence that the readings I’m getting are correct.