Chronograph

[Cat 64]

I don't know if this is the best place to ask this question but since it will be used mostly to collect data for reloading here it is. What is a good chronograph to buy and why? Thank you

[rjtfroggy]

I have a brand new in the box Pro chrony, I never used it because it seemed like such a PIA to set up.
Then I read about the Magneto speeds and took the plunge ($275) it takes all of 3 minutes to set up, it is as accurate as any and is down loadable to the computer if you want to save all the info.
www.magnetospeed.com (http://www.magnetospeed.com)

[Cat 64]

I have a brand new in the box Pro chrony, I never used it because it seemed like such a PIA to set up.
Then I read about the Magneto speeds and took the plunge ($275) it takes all of 3 minutes to set up, it is as accurate as any and is down loadable to the computer if you want to save all the info.
www.magnetospeed.com (http://www.magnetospeed.com)

So you have used that one with much success thus far? Easy to install, reliable, repeatable, not affected by wind and accurate reading?

[barrel-nut]

The Pro Chrony is a good value. If you want to have a chrono for a minimal investment that works well, and you don't mind taking a little time to set it up properly, it will serve you well. I've had mine for about 12-13 yrs? now and it will accurately measure velocity of everything from arrows to pellets to my fastest rifle loads. As RJT said, it does require some patience and a little time (5-10 minutes) to set it up properly, but if that's not an issue for you, it works as well as any other. My main gripe is that it requires me to go forward of the bench or firing line to adjust it. But my range is seldom crowded, and often I'm alone, so it's not a real problem for me. Not good at a crowded public range though. Bottom line, for $100, it will give you lots of useful information.

[drybean]

+ 1 on the MagnetoSpeed


drybean

[eddiesindian]

The Pro Chrony is a good value. If you want to have a chrono for a minimal investment that works well, and you don't mind taking a little time to set it up properly, it will serve you well. I've had mine for about 12-13 yrs? now and it will accurately measure velocity of everything from arrows to pellets to my fastest rifle loads. As RJT said, it does require some patience and a little time (5-10 minutes) to set it up properly, but if that's not an issue for you, it works as well as any other. My main gripe is that it requires me to go forward of the bench or firing line to adjust it. But my range is seldom crowded, and often I'm alone, so it's not a real problem for me. Not good at a crowded public range though. Bottom line, for $100, it will give you lots of useful information.

+1...............

[n4ue]

I haven't used any of the ones listed. Many years ago, I bought a new Oehler 33. It has continued to work perfectly all these years. Not cheap but as they say:
"buy once, cry once"..... ha ha

ron

[jasonR]

I just took a look at the magnetospeed site. They are no longer offering the v2, rather have pre-lease v3 for sale. The cost of the v3 is a hefty $399. I don't own a magneto speed, but had the opportunity to use a pre-release model just as they were starting out. Even that pre-release model was great despite the beta bugs.

I need to replace a Chrony that jumped in front of a speeding bullet and was planning on a magneto speed. I'm not sure now given the $400.

[jasonR]

Just looked around the web at dealers of Magnetospeed. Long range hunter has v3 (pre-orders, shipping April 14) for $380. On the other hand Midway has a closeout special on V2 for $360. Hmmm ... I think I would be po'd if I dropped that much money for a discontinued product, when the replacement model was just around the corner for 20 bucks more. Of course, maybe Midway isn't planning on carrying the new Magnetospeed. If they are, then bad move Larry.

[Patch700]

When you say "Used to collect data" , be mindful if you are going to be using it for load development and you do happen to go with one of those magnetospeeds that they are attached to your barrel , I think that says enough... I have gotten many years service out of my chrony and albeit some people do have problems getting theirs setup I personally have been happy with mine and here's how I set it up.

1) Get yourself a reasonably priced tripod from an electronics store that deals in cameras (expect to spend anywhere from 60-100 bucks)

2) Get some hockey tape and assemble (snap) together the sunshades and then wrap them in tape so as your not trying to assemble a NASA project out at the range.

3) Make yourself a small bracket out of some angle iron that will bolt to the remote display so when you have it sitting on the bench the coils of the cord aren't trying to pull it off should it get bumped.

4) Here's where some people have their problems... The actual distance from muzzle to the beams.. After years of farting around I've found that the closer you get to the muzzle without encountering muzzle flash the better you'll be... with my 6.5x284 I've had it as close as 24" without any problems. When I place it at the recommended 10' , I would find it to be a bit too finicky .

5) If you do plan to use it at distances of 10' or so then I would recommend replacing the steel rods for the sunshades with either beverage straws or wooden dowels... This way when you buddy decides he wants to try it and he hits the rods it won't send your chrony off into the magical chronograph land (and it will happen lol)

[barrel-nut]

Just to be clear, the one I was referring to is the Competition Electronics Pro Chrono, not the Shooting Chrony by PACT. There may have been some confusion because I called it the "Pro Chrony" instead of Pro Chrono. The PACT version has the word "Chrony" featured prominently on it. I have no experience with that one.
I like to put mine on a camera tripod about 10-12 feet from the muzzle. Then set the rifle on the rest and turn the scope down to minimum power. You can usually see the sky screen rods on either side with the scope on low power. Then just aim for the middle. Also helps to have your Chrono aligned as straight as possible with the path of the bullet (but below it of course). Not that hard really.

[rjtfroggy]

Attaching to the barrel cause no problems, there is almost no difference in piont of aim to point of impact.
Before we condemm something we should do some research. Kind of like I did before I bought.
There are plenty of reviews on other sites that will verify this.

[Vince]

Labradar is coming out with a new one that I'm very interested in.
I'll probably buy one after they come on the market. They are pricey but if it works as advertised it'll be worth it.

[yobuck]

Attaching to the barrel cause no problems, there is almost no difference in piont of aim to point of impact.
Before we condemm something we should do some research. Kind of like I did before I bought.
There are plenty of reviews on other sites that will verify this.

This is absolutly the best advise on this subject.
Ill even go further, go to the long range hunting site and do a search on this subject.
You will find one guy who owned an Ohler 35 bought a Magneto Speed just to compare. he did and found them to be equal.
I dont happen to own either and have no intentions of doing so. I do own a Chrony which ive threatened to shoot many times.
Used to be we were happy having accurate guns. Some of us started loading to improve accuracy.
Now we need to know why our loads improved accuracy. If your of that mindset buy a chronagraph.
If you like me want one to get velocity information for creating elevation charts, save your money. At least try without one.
You will get the chrono information, make a chart from jbm or whoever and then go shoot. Chart says 8 minits @500 yds. how come i missed?
Try another distance, missed again. So now we start tweeking velocity numbers in order to match what weve seen in the real world by shooting.
Go make a new chart with actual information as opposed to what that lying bas---d chrony told us.
QUESTION, why not just guess to begin with and save the money. A loading manual will put you in the ballpark wont it?

[barrel-nut]

QUESTION, why not just guess to begin with and save the money. A loading manual will put you in the ballpark wont it?

Not necessarily. Sometimes they're quite close. Other times they're not even in the ballpark. Especially with magnums. Just my .02.

[yobuck]

Not necessarily. Sometimes they're quite close. Other times they're not even in the ballpark. Especially with magnums. Just my .02.

A shot at a rock at 500 yds with any magnum and many others will show you the hit without changing your zero setting at all. but a close guess would be even better.
dial to the hit and then count the clicks. do that 3 times at different distances and feed that to the program. i can do that while your setting up your chrony.
Another question, what does that say about the need for a rangefinder also? different subject, but something else to ponder over.

[barrel-nut]

The OP asked what would be a good chronograph to buy, and why. He didn't ask about how to zero a rifle by shooting at rocks. While I'm sure that works very well in your situation, it doesn't in a lot of others. Where I shoot, and the OP shoots, there are no rocks to shoot at. There are no mountains for the rocks to be on, if there were any rocks. And there are few places where you can legally and safely shoot any great distance at all. If you want to shoot 500 yds, or 1000 yds, you do it at one of the very few ranges that are available. And when you show up at one of those ranges wanting to shoot at those distances, you are very much ahead of the game if you already know, with reasonable certainty, what the velocities of your loads are, so that you have a reasonable idea of what your come-ups should be. That's where a chronograph comes in handy. The range masters tend to frown on people just guessing about their elevation corrections, when the dirt backstop you're shooting at may be only eight or so feet tall, and there may be other people's property on the other side. While chronos are certainly not field-expedient in all situations, there is a legitimate need for the information they can supply. And they do in fact give you much more useful and realistic information than a reloading manual's suggested velocities.

[eddiesindian]

The OP asked what would be a good chronograph to buy, and why. He didn't ask about how to zero a rifle by shooting at rocks. While I'm sure that works very well in your situation, it doesn't in a lot of others. Where I shoot, and the OP shoots, there are no rocks to shoot at. There are no mountains for the rocks to be on, if there were any rocks. And there are few places where you can legally and safely shoot any great distance at all. If you want to shoot 500 yds, or 1000 yds, you do it at one of the very few ranges that are available. And when you show up at one of those ranges wanting to shoot at those distances, you are very much ahead of the game if you already know, with reasonable certainty, what the velocities of your loads are, so that you have a reasonable idea of what your come-ups should be. That's where a chronograph comes in handy. The range masters tend to frown on people just guessing about their elevation corrections, when the dirt backstop you're shooting at may be only eight or so feet tall, and there may be other people's property on the other side. While chronos are certainly not field-expedient in all situations, there is a legitimate need for the information they can supply. And they do in fact give you much more useful and realistic information than a reloading manual's suggested velocities.

+1.................

[eddiesindian]

If you really want to get down to the natts a** and shoot at "whatever" distance using "tactics". You need ballsitic calculators to give you drop of your specific rd. You need a chrono to see what your speed of the rd that you,ve developed thru your own load testing (ladder test)or any given factory ammo that you see as being consistant and accurate... to input into ballistic calculators, then you need a range finder to be factual on the distance,s you choose to shoot at.
If you wanna guess at any of the things Ive mention,d then i hope you have deep pockets because your gonna be tossing rds out like crazy and not hitting your objective.
I too frowned on "certain" tools needed for "tactical shooting"...but once i purchased my Savage and found out that I could effectively hit a 6"x8" steel plate at 10 football fields away 1st shoot using "Tactics"?......... Ill gladly eat that humble pie.
Its fun,additcive, and challenging.
REading the wind is a whole different story.
IMO............you get what you put into it. all the input needed for correct ballistic calculations has to be "exact"

[barrel-nut]

If you really want to get down to the natts a** and shoot at "whatever" distance using "tactics". You need ballsitic calculators to give you drop of your specific rd. You need a chrono to see what your speed of the rd that you,ve developed thru your own load testing (ladder test)or any given factory ammo that you see as being consistant and accurate... to input into ballistic calculators, then you need a range finder to be factual on the distance,s you choose to shoot at.
If you wanna guess at any of the things Ive mention,d then i hope you have deep pockets because your gonna be tossing rds out like crazy and not hitting your objective.
I too frowned on "certain" tools needed for "tactical shooting"...but once i purchased my Savage and found out that I could effectively hit a 6"x8" steel plate at 10 football fields away 1st shoot using "Tactics"?......... Ill gladly eat that humble pie.
Its fun,additcive, and challenging.
REading the wind is a whole different story.
IMO............you get what you put into it. all the input needed for correct ballistic calculations has to be "exact"

+1....