shooting chrono

[stevemiller]

Looking into buying a new chronograph anyone have any good suggestions?

[jrebel]

Tag....mine doesn't seem to like my .243 loads.  Don't know if it's cause it is to small or two fast.  Maybe a combo of small and fast, but it gives me an error more often then not with .243. 

Works well with all my .270, .308, etc. 

Mine is the Chrono alpha F1 ( I think ).  Originally bought it for archery which it works great for.

[actionshooter]

I have used several and currently use a Pro-chrono, but have recently been schooled on this subject.
 The magneto-speed is (from what I have learned) the only truly accurate chrono on the market.

[yorketransport]

If you can swing the money, the Magneto Speed is pretty hard to beat. I've had an Oehler 35p, Shooting Chrony F1 and and Alpha, and now the Magneto Speed V3. The Alpha Chrony gave good velocities, but wasn't always reliable. The Oehler gave excellent readings, but was a pain to set up. The Magneto is relatively fast to set up, gives good readings, and isn't affected by the weather. It makes using the chronograph less of a chore.

Andrew

[stevemiller]

that magneto-speed does seem pretty accurate 

[b23]

I bought a Magnetospeed a few years ago when they first came out.  At the time, my dad had an Oehler 35 and it was hands down the best chronograph I'd ever used.  When I first bought my Magnetospeed there wasn't hardly any information out on them yet and knowing my dad's Oehler 35 was an excellent piece, I shot them inline with one another to compare the accuracy and consistency of my new Magnetospeed chronograph.  After doing so, I was more than pleased.  Typically, the Magnetospeed reads a few fps faster than the Oehler but that's because it measures bullet speed right at the muzzle instead of however many feet away you have your chronograph set up.  The Magnetospeed sets up and is ready to use, literally, in 1-2 minutes.  Weather has zero affect on these things.  You can, literally, use them in complete darkness because light has nothing to do with how they work.  I've used mine all the way down to my 17HMR with those tiny little 17 grain bullets and it worked flawlessly.  They do, sometimes, affect point of impact though.  Haven't had them affect group size but it does seem to shift POI a bit and more so on guns with smaller contoured barrels.

I sent my Magnetospeed to a friend in Montana that also had an Oehler 35P and he shot it inline, with a variety of different rifles, with his Oehler as well.  His results were nearly identical to mine.  After using my Magnetospeed, they both now have their own.  The results of the comparison between the my Magnetospeed and Oehler 35P that were done in Montana were posted on another site and if anyone was interested in seeing the spreadsheetand reading the comments, I'm sure I could dig up the link.

[h20hunter]

I use a basic Crony

http://www.shootingchrony.com/products_SCMMCM.htm

I've used it for small and large calibers, my bow, and shooting home made paper "zingers" as we called them at a target using a rubber band. It works just fine, is very simple, and as long as you don't blast it should last a long time.

[stevemiller]

Ok so after a lot of looking around I bought the PROCHRONO DIGITAL from COMPETITION ELECTRONICS,I have to say this thing is awesome,Not one miss,huge shooting frame,No errors at all.I set it at about 12 feet as it says between 10 and 15.I am also very impressed with my loads as well I duplicated 6 shots from 10.308 Win. 2482 2482 2482 2482 2482 2482 2525 2525 2564 2564 hi lo diff 82 fps. IMR 4064.bull barrel savage 26 in. barrel. 

[b23]

Congrats on your purchase and not trying to rain on your parade but those numbers would actually concern me something was amiss.  To get a couple rounds to duplicate is rare but six in a row and that many exact doubles is unheard of.

[stevemiller]

Not in a row,just dupes for the 10 shot group.hmm,I guess it might be rare dont know,never had a chrono before.I am very consitant with each round I make so why wouldnt they be that close.I think the chrono will duplicate rounds if they were within a certain margin of each other,How rare is it to have rounds show on the chrono to be say 1-10 fps diff. in a load set up?

[stevemiller]

I checked around a little and it does seem odd,I will have to do this again with another set up and see what happens,if it does it like this again I will call the co. and ask them whats up.All the speeds were believable so just a matter of why they would dup;icate so much.Pro shooters get within 5 and they are happy. 

[yorketransport]

I wouldn't worry about the deviations. I expect single digit standard deviations from my loads most of the time, depending on powder. The best I had was an extreme spread of 6 fps and an SD of 3 fps for 15 shots. Ironically, that load didn't shoot the best. It was a load with a 9 fps SD!