Chronograph

[CraigK]

Any recommendations for a reasonable price shooting chronograph? I see a couple from $65-125. What are you all using? Magnetospeed is a little to steep for my pocketbook, but man they seem pretty user friendly.

[firstcoueswas80]

Caldwell.

[CraigK]

The Caldwell ballistic precision?

[metau]

I have the CED M2 and like it. Not sure I could ever convince myself to by the Magnetospeed. Did not like the idea of hanging something off my barrel. I also tend to shoot several guns through my chrono when I do go to the range, not to mention checking my velocity for my wife and I's bows. It may give a more accurate reading, but if your getting serious enough about shooting to get a chrono, then you would be verifying that speed by shooting at known distances anyways. When I was doing my research, there were a bunch of issues I read concerning the cheaper units. Seemed to be about half the folks were just griping due to incompetence or a crappy retailer and half actually had real issues with the units. The only other chrono that I considered was the Oehler, but that was more than I wanted to pay.

[lancetkenyon]

I have a Chrony. It serves its purpose to get me an idea of velocities, which I validate and adjust with a lot of shots at distance and actual drops.

[firstcoueswas80]

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/product/index/caldwell-ballistic-chronograph?a=1812388&pm2d=CSE-SPG-15-PLA&utm_medium=PLA&utm_source=Google&utm_campaign=CI&gclid=CLySpKLfxM4CFVBbfgod5MwAcg

 

 

You can take mine out and try it if you want since we live in the same neighborhood.

[rossislider]

I use the ProChrono and have been very happy with it. It has be very accurate and consistent. When I bought it several years ago I looked at several good ones, but opted for this as it seemed to have very high reviews across multiple websites. I've seen several of the other one mentioned in use, and they also seem to be pretty good options.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Competition-Electronics-ProChrono-Digital-Chronograph/dp/B0028MTBJ4

 

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/852429/competition-electronics-prochrono-digital-chronograph

 

http://www.chuckhawks.com/pro-chrono.htm

 

Regardless of which one you get, follow Lance's advice and be sure to shot at long distances to validate your velocity and the data you get from your ballistic program.

[trphyhntr]

I have a Chrony. It serves its purpose to get me an idea of velocities, which I validate and adjust with a lot of shots at distance and actual drops.

do you ever compare the actual drops you come up with to the shooter app using velocities from the chrono?

[muledeerarea33?]

I use a chrony aswell. I've compared to a few ballistic apps in the past. If all the input tes info is correct it's been close. If you don't have the info correct or off some (temp, wind, pressure etc.) it's way off.

[trphyhntr]

I use a chrony aswell. I've compared to a few ballistic apps in the past. If all the input tes info is correct it's been close. If you don't have the info correct or off some (temp, wind, pressure etc.) it's way off.

i see

[pwrguy]

I have a Chrony. It serves its purpose to get me an idea of velocities, which I validate and adjust with a lot of shots at distance and actual drops.

 

What he said. You just need to get close, nothing beats real world long range shooting, I don't care how much you spend on a chronograph

[lancetkenyon]

 

I have a Chrony. It serves its purpose to get me an idea of velocities, which I validate and adjust with a lot of shots at distance and actual drops.

do you ever compare the actual drops you come up with to the shooter app using velocities from the chrono?

 

Garbage in, garbage out. Like muledeerarea33 said, if you input bad info, you get bad info back. I am usually pretty close. But I true my velocities, and keep religious records of different shooting conditions and results, so I can verify what my ballistic apps tell me. It gives you a lot of confidence when you shoot in a different environment than you normally do, and can make a good first round hit on a far away target.

[CraigK]

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/product/index/caldwell-ballistic-chronograph?a=1812388&pm2d=CSE-SPG-15-PLA&utm_medium=PLA&utm_source=Google&utm_campaign=CI&gclid=CLySpKLfxM4CFVBbfgod5MwAcg

 

 

You can take mine out and try it if you want since we live in the same neighborhood.

Thanks Casey, I appreciate the offer. May have to get with you sometime.

 

Thanks everyone for the replies. Just looking for a few brands to research and wanted to hear what others were using. A Chrono for me wouldn't take the place of actual drops and true velocities. I just want one to compare loads from time to time.

[WampusCat]

More than one way to skin a cat for sure. If you go the cheap route make sure you keep fresh batteries in it when you head to the range.

I've had issues with a couple cheaper models, specifically random odd numbers and complete failure to recognize a shot. I am far to OCD with load development and data to finally make a trip to the range only to watch a chrono do weird things. A chrono is your friend when precision loading. When I find out a friend is a Iiar I don't keep them around very long. I can't stand the thought of spending so much time and money, taking every precision step along the way and then being comfortable with mediocre inconsistent results.

If getting close is all you are after, and for some that may be all you need, I wouldn't waste money on a cheap chrono. Punch some numbers in your computer and you will be in the same ballpark. Plenty of programs and/or documented data out there to get you a starting point.

Looked forever at other options and borrowed a friends magnetospeed. Made my decision pretty quick. I got a magnetospeed V3 on sale for $250 and the sporter can be had for less than $200 . Messing with the harmonics by hanging on the barrel was my chief concern. The effect hasn't been nearly as bad as I worried about but the data is spot on and verified against high end Oehler models and Doppler technology. They can be switched from rifle to rifle in seconds, in fact the setup is quicker than any traditional screened model. They work!

My goal when loading for accurate rifles is to eliminate as many variables as possible. An accurate chrono will help you do that. I am the the poster child for frustration caused by a chrono that produces false data, no matter how much I saved initially with the cheaper model.

[firstcoueswas80]

Hey Lance I got a question for you. So when I was testing the loads for my 28 Nosler I have the chronograph set up about 15 feet away from the muzzle so that the muzzle Blast from the break wouldn't mess with it. My average velocity was about 3185 with an ES of 14 (3196, 3182, 3184). I have heard that the true muzzle velocity is on average one foot per second faster) per foot that the chronograph is from the muzzle. So my question is should I add in those 15 feet to my speed or just leave it as it is? I would imagine 15 feet per second isn't going to make a huge difference overall.