how accurate are bushnell guns? what gun do you all recommend? i know there is huge difference in price between bushnell and juggs.

I have never had any luck with a bushnell.

If you are a dad I'd recommend a JUGS because it works plenty well enough and it costs less than a Stalker. If you are a coach or a scout I'd recommend a Stalker because that is what most scouts use.

I don't have a Bushnell, but I have had both a JUGS and a Stalker Sport (I had both for a few months and could compare them side by side a few times before I managed to sell the JUGS).

I would think that the biggest problem with the Bushnell is lack of range. Note Bushnell's own claims about range: "The Bushnell Speedster II Radar Gun 10-1900...tracks miles per hour of everything from pitching speeds, tennis serves and downhill skiers to cars at the racetrack. This Bushnell Radar Gun measures the speed of a baseball at 10-110 mph from over 75 feet away..." (ellipses to indicate where I trimmed the statement)

75 feet of range makes the gun virtually useless for an actual game, unless you are dealing with Little League distances (the pitcher will release the ball about 55+ feet from the plate, and then you have to figure in the distance to the backstop, so on a regulation field you are probably already almost 120 feet away). It may be useful for practice, however, but you won't be able to clock a pitcher under actual game conditions.

As for the JUGS vs. Stalker, there were three major differences between the two that I noticed. First, you get more consistent readings with the Stalker. Second, the Stalker has greater range, making it easier to get accurate readings at greater distances (this becomes more and more important as the size and quality of the stadium you are playing in increases...in some high school stadiums, you can get right up against the fence of a backstop that is fairly close to the plate, but in a college or pro stadium, you will likely be clocking from at least 150 feet away from the pitcher). Third, the JUGS always rounds up and the Stalker Sport always rounds down (so IF you get an accurate reading with both guns---remember that it easier with the Stalker---the JUGS will usually read 1mph higher than the Stalker...or else the Stalker will read 1mph slower than the JUGS, depending on your point of view).

The Stalker is also pretty much the standard now for pro scouts.

The biggest question about which one to get becomes whether or not the advantages of the Stalker are worth the extra price.

jwc,
What do you base the statement about JUGS rounding up and Stalker rounding down on? Seems to make sense but I've never heard or seen that in literature anywhere before.

thanks. i was at the tenessee smokies game last night(took my team) and happened to sit behind homeplate with 3 scouts. all 3 of them were using stalker guns. it was consistently 2 mph faster then the scoreboard gun. i found a couple of good deals on stalker guns. thats what im going to buy.

Not sure if you wanted to say the ballark's scoreboard has a lower reading than a Stalker.
At several Florida State League games a couple of weeks ago, I noticed the scoreboard

a) in Viera FL (Winter Home of the Nationals), the scoreboard read 98, and a Stalker read 97

b) in Lakeland (winter home of the Tigers) read six figures, and a Stalker read 97-99

c) in old Dodgertown (LAD moving to Catcus League next spring), a Stalker read 98, Jugs read 100.

It helps to understand how a radar gun works.

100 mph pitches slow down 9 mph from 50 ft (out of the hand) to the plate.

One gun will find the ball quicker than another, therefore it will give a higher max reading. Both readings are correct. But you will have no idea how far the particular gun read a particular pitch.

Some guns give max and min readings. Again, you have no idea where these readings were taken. Likely the catcher is in the way for a more accurate min reading.

I use a Bushnell for now. But I have taken several back. So live near where you buy it

Also, certain nets or backstops do weird things to a Bushnell. Not sure about a Jugs.

Any gun will round the reading. 100.4 is 100. 99.5 is 100. So they are all off by 0.9 mph.

Bushnells do not work unless you are right behind the catcher. I took mine back after 3 days of not being abl to get readings without putting myself in the line of fire.
Get a used Jug or pro level radar gun.
I have used both stalker and jugs and jugs read a mile or 2 faster. I didn't notice any problem with Jugs at distances that you would expect in a big stadium. Scouts use both..

quote:

Originally posted by raiderbb:
thanks. i was at the tenessee smokies game last night(took my team) and happened to sit behind homeplate with 3 scouts. all 3 of them were using stalker guns. it was consistently 2 mph faster then the scoreboard gun. i found a couple of good deals on stalker guns. thats what im going to buy.

Not that it makes any difference since its your money, but what are you buying a gun?

I bought a Bushnell Velocity just for the fun of it and for the kids to enjoy. I have found that on the younger kids with slower speeds its actually pretty accurate. With the faster speeds I tested it against a stalker it is usually right at 9 mph slower times. So I just get averages, but can get pretty close.
Skeep, Do you have any fun with baseball at all, All I see from you are negative posts, right down to something being posted in the wrong place. 75.00 spent to see a kids face light up is well worth it. You probably have more tied up in stat sheets

I gather Radar guns are a tool to tell the coach and player how hard he is throwing. I was always amused by those who described a kid as a hard thrower. You go look at him and hard was part of the description. "Hardly throws a strike"

A pitcher should use a gun when practicing.

Am I gaining speed after I try something new?

What is the differential in the speeds on my changeup, fb,curve, etc.? If your changeup is close to your fb speed - bad.

Am I throwing my fb at a consistent speed each day? If not, why not?

In short, how can you practice pitching without a gun?