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Hey I am sorry if this has already been a thread but I am wondering if a Stalker Sport 2 gun is good for videos to get kids recruited. I am a coach and ask this because whenever I see my guys on a jugs its 2-3 MPH faster. I know this jump is not going to make all the difference but just want to give my guys the best chance. I have a Varsity kid now who sits at 83-85 on a stalker but on a jugs he is 85-87... I have a feeling the 83-85 is more accurate so just want to get your thoughts on if I should do their videos on a jugs or a stalker? 

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I should mention my radar gun is the Stalker Sport 2. I have not heard anything from actual owners of the pocket radar. It appears some guns are fine for larger objects at a distance (car), but not for smaller (baseball) even when standing behind the pitcher. Not only did I have my kid complain about the speed the gun was reading, but also his pitching coach said it was off who is a retired MLB 11 Year Pitcher.

I used to have a Juggs gun.  Used it many times next to the Stalker Pro guns.  Never was it more than 1 or 2 mph off.  Sometimes it read higher than the Stalker, sometimes it read lower than the Stalker.  I think it was more of a rounding issue than different readings.

 

I have also seen the pocket radar units.  The only problem with them is timing.  You have to hit the button at the right time.  When they were used correctly, they were pretty much spot on with the Stalkers.  What I would do with these is get a general range that falls in line.  If you have any outliers, either way lower or way higher, ignore them - it was probably user error.

There seems to be a common perception that Jugs guns run 1-2mph faster. I don't know if it's true or not, but the perception has led to a climate where Stalker is used by most scouts and is, therefore, the better comparison tool. I actually believe that, if that's true, it's because the Jugs picks the ball up out of the hand a tick quicker than Stalker and would actually be the more accurate reading. But, a scout knows that if he sees a 94 on a Stalker in your video, he can confidently compare that to other pitchers throwing the same.

All radars are 99-100% accurate.

 

The question is, where along the path of the pitched ball from release to the plate, does that radar gun first get it's reading.

 

Some radar like the Pocket Radar, you may get one reading at release and the next reading 10 ft out of the hand.  And you have no way of knowing that it happened.   (So to me, it's useless).

 

Some like the more expensive Ball Coach version runs continuously, so you can be 'sure' that it picked up at release.

 

Guns that display two readings are best - release and plate speed.  Then, if you get the normal 10 mph difference you know that particular reading was correct.

 

Of course, some recent Stalker versions are excellent and are used by scouts, so you would have the same gun they use which is always good.

Last edited by SultanofSwat
Originally Posted by roothog66:

There seems to be a common perception that Jugs guns run 1-2mph faster.

As best I can tell from reading many old posts, Jugs used to give the 'fast' readings, and other guns were the 'slow' guns.

 

In reality, the older Jugs guns were getting readings closer to the hand (but were actually 2-3 mph slower than today's guns), and the slow guns were giving averages, or midway readings. 

 

I think today's model of Jugs and Stalkers give the same accurate readings.

 

Please correct me if I'm wrong (because I will keep spouting this stuff forever otherwise )

Last edited by SultanofSwat

If a pitching coach has both a stalker and a jugs, why would a coach choose to always use the jugs during bullpens? Does that make sense to anyone? I've seen this at two prominent travel programs in my area and I don't quite get it. If you have a Stalker, and all the colleges use it, why wouldn't they use that gun in all pens to be in line with scouting standard equipment? At Showball, they used both guns, too. Why? 

If a pitching coach has both a stalker and a jugs, why would a coach choose to always use the jugs during bullpens? Does that make sense to anyone? I've seen this at two prominent travel programs in my area and I don't quite get it. If you have a Stalker, and all the colleges use it, why wouldn't they use that gun in all pens to be in line with scouting standard equipment? At Showball, they used both guns, too. Why? 

Really just personal preference 

I haven't heard great things about the Bushnell. Before I bought my Pocket Radar I researched just about everything I could, and the info i got was that the ball coach Pocket Radar was the cheapest, most accurate radar out there. If cost is no option, then the Stalker is the way to go.

   I have since found the Pocket Radar does a good job, as long as you understand it's limitations. There is the odd anomalous reading(my 16yo was pretty excited about his 105 mph reading), but it's otherwise pretty solid.

I would remove all chance of doubt or discrepancy and invest in the stalker Pro 2. https://www.stalkerradar.com/sportsradar/ProII.html

The Pro2+ is wireless and the app is coming to display speed in video....https://www.stalkerradar.com/s...adar/ProII-plus.html

You can find them used and I'm sure there are people and programs that are selling their's to upgrade to the Pro 2 S with spin. https://www.stalkerradar.com/sportsradar/ProII-s.html

Stalker is waaaay more trusted than ball coach or pocket radar. IMO, I think people take your videos more seriously with a stalker in them than anything else.

Small investment if it lands your players a spot. I bought one for my RHP and his game videos. 

If you're a facility or program you should also invest in the 3 1/2 LED display with decimals. So they're easily seen in video vs straining to make out the display on the gun. Have the guys chip in $20 to use to have in their videos. Small price to pay for trusted velo speed.  

https://www.stalkerradar.com/s...rts_dispboards.shtml

They're not cheap but a small investment that pays off. I'll be selling my Pro2 when my son goes off to college or soon there after and hope to recoup some of the fund$. 

Last edited by Eokerholm

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