Scatt Training System

Bought the Scatt Training System about a month ago. Very nice.

Think of it as dry firing with feedback.

A sensor is attached to the barrel and a target is put in a special frame - any distance over about 10 feet. Both the barrel sensor and the target frame a plugged into the laptop computer by USB ports.

I put a dry-fire plug in my Hammerli 22 - cock it. Aim the shot and pull the trigger.

The software shows the point of aim as a line that follows your aim - a squiggly line all around the bullseye on the computer screen. The barrel sensor "hears" the click of the trigger and registers the shot (you even get a gunshot noise from your computer). The software shows your aiming, hold and where the shot broke. It scores your hit using the international scoring system with a decimal point - halfway from the 9 ring to the 10 ring is a 9.5...

I am watching my hold move to the X as I practice with this system. Direct feedback. I can even try to make a mistake so I see the results. I have tried extending my hold and shortening my hold. I am not guessing the time I hold - I see the time on the screen. I jerk the trigger and see what happens to that shot.

You can even set the system up so that you get a beep when you are aiming at the ten ring. Its fun to see if you can keep the tone going. I know my hold has improved as I was hearing beep.........beep.........................beep. Now its beep...beeeeeeeeeep..beep.

The system comes with software to print out almost any target you want - adjusted for any distance you might be able to set up for your practice.

For the price of a good gun I got a coach that will work with me anytime I want to - morning, noon, evening.

The screen shows a fair amount of data (all of which I have not figured out yet) so you can analyze your shots. You can replay a shot over and over. You can see a target with the tracings of one shot or all your shots. The software shows you where your center of aim is for a shot or combination of shots. On a target you can see the center of your group - specifically - not guessing.

Bought the machine from CenterShot.com and a refurbished laptop from Tiger Direct.

The system is not perfect. I wish I could make the shot holes look bigger on the screen - I have to hunt for the hole amongst the squiggles of the aiming tracing. It certainly does not replace going to the range. However, as I work to improve my fundamentals as well as my scores, I get specific feedback that tells me that my work is or is not paying off.

The objective is Master by May.

S

Good luck.
Let us know how you make out.

One thought....does the computer make allowance for the quality of the ammunition or, does it assume the shot will land exactly where it broke?

It will be interesting to see how well you can duplicate your performance with live ammo.

How's it going now that you've had some time with it?

I am seeing improvement in my hold and time on the ten ring. I have been able to try different holds, grips, and stances with feedback on what is helping and what is hurting.

As a new shooter I still have a long way to go but I think this tool is helping me make the most of my limited training time.

I dont think Scatt is a replacement for live-fire. It is an improvement on dry-firing.

I still have a great deal to learn.

Anything that will keep you motivated to train is a good tool. I have tried these out a couple of times and I think that they are very helpful for slow fire. My weakest link was always the short line, and I never found anything, but actual shooting that would help me improve that.

How is the Scatt Training System working for you? Have you noticed an improvement on your live fire scores? I am most likely going to order one of these next week.

I have a Rika and have developed a trigger training routine that might be of interest in your training. I use the premise that the more pure the trigger operation, the more concentric the portions of the trace and the shot will be. If interested, you can review my page at:

Trigger Training with the Rika

One of the things I like to promote in using the electronic trainers, is to make every effort to fully see what is happening during the shot and compare that mental replay to the computer replay. With work, you will be able to see all the nuances and learn to "see" what is happening during live shooting with a new clarity. Eventually, the only advantage of using the electronic trainer will be the aggregation of several shots and analysis of that data. Your observation of the shot process will be more acute for both dry and live fire.

For sustained fire (again with the Rika), I set the replay to off, tie a sting to the slide, with the other end around a magazine, and dry fire, tug the string to cycle the slide, dry fire, tug string, etc. I also use this method to dry fire without the trainer. I make sure to have a bit of slack and place my off hand against my chest during the shot.

Take Care,
Ed Hall
Air Force Shooting Teams
Things of Interest to Bullseye (and International) Competitors

I bought a Scatt recently and really like it so far. I was amazed how much I wobble. The Scatt shows the path your barrel moves before you pull the trigger. Very helpful.

Has anyone done any shopping around for a Scatt lately?
Does Center Shot have the best deal?
JLK

I bought mine in early January from scattusa. It listed for $1,049. They knocked $50 off and threw in a case, some special with Shot Show I think. Mine might have been a demo, not sure. I looked around and could not find any discounting. Looked on eBay but gave up after a month.

Chip

I have used a Noptel system a lot for rifle, and these tools are great. You find out when you get to your best hold. What I find a lot is that peoples' holds are better than they think sooner in the hold.

I just got my Scatt yesterday (bought from scattusa) and have only been able to play with the system for an hour or so. I didn't get the inside barrel fixture for my pistols (yet) due to my limited funds, but plan to in the future. The clamp itself will definitely gouge the finish of my beautiful Smith & Wesson revolver, so the short solution is wrapping the contact points in masking tape. I fear that this will make the unit less accurate, but I'm good with the trade off at this point. I'm not sure if I'm calibrating it properly though. I shoot during the calibration phase, and then during the sighting, the groups are still off-set. I try the grab and drag technique and (I think) figured out that I was dragging it too far. I'll try again today and see what happens. Overall, I'm very satisfied with the quality of the product and the software does seem like it's pretty intuitive. So far, I like it, and can't wait to get some serious training in!

Profe5s0r wrote:I just got my Scatt yesterday (bought from scattusa) and have only been able to play with the system for an hour or so. I didn't get the inside barrel fixture for my pistols (yet) due to my limited funds, but plan to in the future. The clamp itself will definitely gouge the finish of my beautiful Smith & Wesson revolver, so the short solution is wrapping the contact points in masking tape. I fear that this will make the unit less accurate, but I'm good with the trade off at this point. I'm not sure if I'm calibrating it properly though. I shoot during the calibration phase, and then during the sighting, the groups are still off-set. I try the grab and drag technique and (I think) figured out that I was dragging it too far. I'll try again today and see what happens. Overall, I'm very satisfied with the quality of the product and the software does seem like it's pretty intuitive. So far, I like it, and can't wait to get some serious training in!

I use electrical tape to prevent any wear on the metal finish.  It won't affect accuracy but thats not what the system is for.  Its biggest help is in analyzing the group and follow through.

Roger that, I can see how accuracy would be relatively consistent throughout the session once the knob gets tight. I also found an FAQ that notes how to shim the front or back of the sensor to get it closer to the center during calibration. I can do that with tape, and then, the setting should be repeatable for that same firearm.

I have a question about training with my SCATT

Should I do my training with my ball gun since it has the stiffest trigger?  I'd assume any improvement on the ball gun would translate to the other guns.

FYI. I have the same roll trigger in my all my bullseye guns they feel the same except for weight.

Dave

Dave, I've found that after shooting a long session with lighter pull guns that when I switch to the ball gun I am more susceptible to "Chicken Finger" where it seems like the shots never want to go off. For that reason, most of us old timers would do most of our dry fire practice with the ball gun unless specifically training for Perry or another wadcutter only event. The "Ironmen" shoot double ball for 2700's...

Dave:  Do your training with all of your guns.

Respectfully to bdutton's great advice (I'm not trying to start a flame war, I'm just trying to use some perspective)...Dave, if you have unlimited time and resources, you should practice live fire with all of your guns, to ensure your zeros are on, and solidify your technique. If you are trying to make the most of your Scatt Dry Fire training, instead of setting up a gun, recalibrating for each different pistol that you have; (if you even have a .22 with a dry fire capability) set it up and dry fire with the Ball Gun. This will maximize the amount of time you'll be able to practice your hold and your sight alignment and trigger control.

Profe5s0r wrote:Respectfully to bdutton's great advice (I'm not trying to start a flame war, I'm just trying to use some perspective)...Dave, if you have unlimited time and resources, you should practice live fire with all of your guns, to ensure your zeros are on, and solidify your technique. If you are trying to make the most of your Scatt Dry Fire training, instead of setting up a gun, recalibrating for each different pistol that you have; (if you even have a .22 with a dry fire capability) set it up and dry fire with the Ball Gun. This will maximize the amount of time you'll be able to practice your hold and your sight alignment and trigger control.

No flames...

Good point.  If you have limited time then yes, you will benefit dry firing with your ball gun.

However, if you primarily shoot in a .22 bullseye league, you may want to train during the season with the .22 (with a good quality dry fire plug) and then when outdoor season rolls around, switch to the ball gun.

bdutton, I totally agree, and what kind of dry fire plug do you use for .22's? I have only come across the crappy plastic kind which are less than spectacular...

I was able to get out my Scatt this afternoon for some practice, and it seemed that of the scaled targets that I printed out, the 25 yard was too big as I look through the sights and the 50 yard was too small...

Also, I would find that at times, the program would register extra shots after the hammer had fallen and at other times (while thumbing my revolver) would stop registering shots at all. I have the sensitivity currently set to 12%.

I'm also trying to find a setting to enable the display of the whole string...other than that, I did get a lot out of it. I haven't done any real hard analysis yet, but I'm really motivated!

Blue wall anchors make great .22 snap caps.  They last hundreds of hits:

Thanks Rob, that's awesome!

Has anyone had any success in getting the sensitivity settings correct to use the Scatt with revolvers to practice Timed/Rapid Fire? I've been trying to get this to work, but it seems the mic is either recognizing the action of the trigger being reset as a shot, or it doesn't pick up the hammer falling...I'm still looking for the sweet spot, but I'll tell you right now, it's helped my slow fire!
I used to pray to get into the low 90's with any gun, rimfire, CF, .45, Service Pistol, but after a week's work on the Scatt I then transferred over to live fire practice and have since shot multiple PR's! I've now shot 95's with my K38 and Model 25-2 Smith Revolvers,  as well as posting a 96 with my K17 while on the way to a 190 for 20! I can't wait to get more practice in!

Sorry to bring such an old thread back.
I have a SCATT I used for highpower.
I have my service pistol setup on it now and was curious what you guys use for an F coefficient and sensitivity setting.
Thanks!

My understanding is that f-coefficient is supposed to simulate the travel time in the barrel... the length of the barrel and the velocity are the components.  Honestly, I don't think the f-coefficient is very reliable in pistol given the effects of recoil depending on the caliber used... 22lr rifle, vs 22lr pistol vs 45.  I'd say leave the f-coefficient at a value between 7-15 and have at it.  Best use of the scatt is the trigger time, and the trace lines.