Post by: jeff100 on July 26, 2008, 09:43:23 PM
I've been reloading since I was a kid, close to 30 years now. I've accumulated a heck of a lot of equipment during that time. But I never had a chronograph. I used to judge the velocity of my rifle loads by checking bullet drop, but that never seemed very accurate. A couple of years ago I was looking for more reloading equipment to buy (I have almost everything), and I finally spent the money on a chronograph, a low end Shooting Chrony. It wasn't difficult learning how to set it up, mounting it on an old camera tripod I have. After using it a couple of times, I'd never ever be without a chronograph again. It's completely changed my confidence in my ammunition development, especially for hunting. Shooting Chrony has a standing deal where you can trade in your model for a model with more or better features. Being so pleased with how much this tool has enhanced my reloading ability, last fall I traded up to one of their deluxe models. I'll be trying it out tomorrow at the range as I sight in a couple of rifles and test out a handful of different reloads. Tuning up for the upcoming bear/cougar season...
Using a chronograph has removed any guess work from my ammunition development and testing. I love it...Jeff
Post by: ICEMAN on July 27, 2008, 01:17:42 AM
Post by: Bookworm on July 27, 2008, 06:19:59 AM
Post by: AWS on July 27, 2008, 08:51:40 AM
Prices on chrono's have come down it price so much that they now availible to most reloaders.
The only draw back is that they tend to make you want to go for that next 100 fps.
AWS
Post by: actionshooter on July 27, 2008, 09:37:14 AM
Post by: jeff100 on July 27, 2008, 11:05:48 PM
Quote
I couldn't see reloading without a chrono. Knowing what yout loads are doing is kinda the point of reloading
Yeah, I can appreciate that, I feel the same way now. Back when I was raising kids, I couldn't afford tools like this, so I never had one till a few years ago. The point of reloading in those days was so I could afford to shoot more and more often. I used to rely on primer analysis, bullet drop, etc. to 'guess' at what my loads were doing.
Today I spent the day at the range with my new upgraded chrono. Man I love this tool. Very glad I upgraded...
As for velocity, one thing I've learned over the years, fastest is rarely most accurate. Usually as I'm working up a load following published load data (I have about a dozen load manuals I've collected over the years), I'll see my groups start out somewhat large, then tighten up and tighten up as the velocity increases. There would usually be a point where as I increased velocity even more, my groups would start to open up again. Best accuracy was where I always stopped, assuming I didn't hit max recommended load or my primers weren't starting to flow back around the firing pin.
Seldom have I found max loads or max velocity to be the most accurate load with any combination of caliber, barrel, bullet components/powder...Jeff
Post by: WA Redneck on July 28, 2008, 11:54:20 AM
Post by: Intruder on July 28, 2008, 01:21:29 PM
Not essential but pretty close to being essential.
Post by: WDFW-SUX on July 28, 2008, 01:32:42 PM
Post by: MountainWalk on July 28, 2008, 02:42:08 PM
I agree, what a great tool. We refer to it as the highspeed lie detector!
thats funny.