Chronographs?

[four70nitro]

Not looking to start a Lee vs. Dillon type argument, but I am thinking about buying a chronograph.

I've been doing a bit of reading on the subject and have yet to form an opinion one way or another -- but the subject seems to be nearly as polarizing as the Lee vs. Dillon debate.

I'm interested in which chronographs people are using. Whether they like them or not. What they like about them. What they don't like about them. Whether they've tried others brands before settling on the current brand and so on.....

Thanks in advance,

Dave

[runfiverun]

get the best one you can afford.
then build a little protector for it.

[gofastman]

I had a Shooting Chrony, hated it, the thing just radiated poor quality.
I plan on getting a Pro Chrono Pal

[Wal']

I had a Shooting Chrony, hated it, the thing just radiated poor quality.
I plan on getting a Pro Chrono Pal


Had my Shooting Chrony for some 10 yrs or more still seems to be working well. :D

[Ausglock]

My Shooting Chrony was brand new back in 1995. Still going strong and reading very similar to high priced Chronographs.

[XWrench3]

i have a "Chrony" brand. i bought it on sale at midway for around $100.00 shiping included. it seems to work fine. i have managed to shoot one of the rods. which is some oddball size. not straight american, not metric. i am thinking they got a deal on some funky sized wire, and bought a boat load of it. my brother is a machinist luckily, so he was able to turn down normal sized metal to replace it.

[hermans]

Designed and built my first chronograph 30 years ago and cannot imagine casting and reloading without one. One of the best value for money chronographs these days would be the CED Millenium with IR(Infra Red) screens. The screens should be put in an enclosure, commonly referred to as a coffin box. This would ensure constant lighting conditions, and would give accurate readings all year round, any time of the day, even at night.

[ku4hx]

My PACT2 has served me admirably for many years. If I were in the market for a new one that's what I'd get.

Mine's very similar to the Model 1 shown here:
http://pact.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=18&Itemid=69

[sagamore-one]

I have a chrony and an Oehler. Oehler is absolutely the best. It is the unit that all others are judged by. In my humble opinion.

[shooting on a shoestring]

Good question. I bought an Oheler 35P back in the 90s. It is one of the "high dollar" unts. It has 3 screens. I have mine placed at 2 foot spacings. There is a printer unit with the LED display that sits on the bench beside me and there are 25 foo long signal wires that run out to the sky screens that tho boolits fly through. The sky screens have removable diffusers (shades) to help with lighting conditions. The printer prints every shots numbers as well as statistics max, min, extreme spread, mean, standard deviation.

The 3 screens means it has a proof channel. The first screen is a start screen. A boolit over it starts 2 timers running. The middle screen 2 feet behind the start screen is the proof channel stop screen and a boolit over it stops the proof channel. The third screen is 4 feet behind the start screen and a boolit over it stops the main channel. The unit then looks to see if the velocity between the proof channel and the main channel are the same (with in 5% I think it is), if not, the units "flags" the data. The print outs show both velocities so you can decide / diagnois the issue.

Chronography is a bit of an art. It is dependent on light, the direction of light used to make the boolit shadows that trigger the screens. Chronographs are also suseptable to ambient radio waves and can give you erroneous data. The proof channel is a great tool to show problem readings.

I paid about $400 in the 90s. Could have bought a good gun for that price then. The Oheler has been more valuable to me than another gun would have been.

The Ohelers' skyscreens are all fully replaceable, and the do get replaced. Shoot ove a chronograph enough and you will shoot part of it.

[zomby woof]

I've had the cheapest shooting Chrony for 15 years, does fine by me. It tells me velocity, that's what I want to know.

[fredj338]

If all you want to do is check the occasional vel, then any will do. If you want to shoot groups & get chrono readings, avoid the Chrony line, even the most expensive uses the same super cheap screens. I use an Oehler, best available IMO, but expensive today. The CED is the best on the market for the money. Good screens, computor linkable, easy to use.

[olafhardt]

I think I'll stick with the cheap ones.

[fecmech]

I have the Oehler 35 and have had it over 20 years. As a previous poster described it is a nice machine. I have never used any other kind so I can't comment there but the Oehler has never given me any trouble.

[UtopiaTexasG19]

Some brands are known to swell up between the time you pull the trigger and the bullet reaches the chronograph. :)
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l46/mpawelek/DeadChronograph006Small.jpg
If I was a better shot I would have hit the "O" instead of the "Y".

[malt]

I have the pro chrono and it's fine fore my needs, if i were to replace it i wold go for the CED M2 Chronograph Set or may be the MagnetoSpeed VI.
Whit MagnetoSpeed VI you don't have to worry about killing it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wVmEqjsoH0

[fstreed]

I bought my first Chrony over 20 years ago. Still have it, but left it in a storage unit along with most of my reloading gear when I moved from West Virginia to Oregon several years ago. So about a year ago I bought another. It works about the same as the first one, which is pretty well. I have learned a few tricks about running them over the years. They work better on a cloudy day than a bright sunny day. I have a thin piece of opaque packing material that I lay across the top of the sun shades on bright days. Also I watch the display after I shoot. If it goes blank for a second or two and then displays the same number as the previous shot it means that it picked up your new shot and it was the same as the previous. If the display doesn't go blank then it means it didn't register that shot.

My original had cardboard "screens" with a cutout to shoot through. They have been shot up and taped together with duck tape until there isn't much of the original material left. My new one has the metal rods, which I replaced with wood dowel stock. I haven't shot the rods (yet) but figure the Chrony has a better chance of surviving a shot to a wooden rod than a piece of metal.

I set it up on a cheap camera tripod and use an old battery operated "adding machine" with a roll of paper in it to record shots. After each string I tear the paper out and write the load on it. Then when I get home I run the numbers through an old scientific calculator I bought back in the 1980s to get the average velocity and standard deviation.

Works for me. After using one for awhile for load development I wouldn't want to be without a chronograph. If I was starting over I might start with a different model, there are a lot more choices now than there were in 1990, but I am used to the Chrony brand and so I'll stick with it.

[Sensai]

I've had a Chrony Beta Master for a number of years, and it has served me well. It continues to do so. Being somewhat of a gizmo junkie, I had to have one of the new MagnetoSpeed chronographs. I haven't had a chance to do a shot for shot comparison of the two, but I have high hopes for the MagnetoSpeed. It's a new design that uses magnetic field fluctuations to trigger instead of light. One of my biggest peeves with chronographs is that they're all subject to erratic behavior with changing light conditions. This MagnetoSpeed can be used in the dark, if you want too. It also doesn't need to be set up in front of the firing line at ranges, it mounts on the barrel. I've used it a few times, and like it a lot. Like I said, I'll be interested to do a head to head comparison with my Beta Master. I think these guys may have invented the next generation of chronograph design.

[DeanWinchester]

Some brands are known to swell up between the time you pull the trigger and the bullet reaches the chronograph. :)
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l46/mpawelek/DeadChronograph006Small.jpg
If I was a better shot I would have hit the "O" instead of the "Y".

I have one that is fixin' to look just like this. Shooting Chrony's suck. Mine was telling me that my 130g cast boolit from a 9mm Glock was running 1850-1900fps this weekend.

It's never gave accurate results since I took it out of the box. I'm going to see what the velocity of a Lyman 525 is when it hits the digital readout.


Find an older Oehler if you can.

[MrXrings]

Have had a shooting chrony for years and it's been fine. Have managed to hit the rods a few times, it's much easier to do than you think. Mine has the remote display which is nice to have. Can't justify paying more for one.

[PbHurler]

I own an Oehler 35P as well. I payed ?$350.00 for a new one from Oehler back in the day (1986?). I did send the base / printer unit back to them for refurbishment about 3 years ago; the printer rollers had hardened and shrunk, so I would get overlapping printouts due to paper slippage. This has been the only "issue" I've had in what, 23 years?, not bad. Oehler replaced the printer for $60.00 with shipping. This was just prior to them reintroducing them. I'll echo the praises already stated, & I wouldn't hesitate to buy another if I had to, although they've gone up in price. I chose Oehler because at the time, Oehler was the eldest manufacturer of chronographs, (Biggn's for Govt. work too) so I figured they new what they were doing. I don't know if you can beat their customer service after the sale.

[376Steyr]

Pact Model 1 if you're on a budget. The expensive part sits on the bench with you. If you manage to shoot it, you have bigger problems...

[H.Callahan]

I've had a Chrony Beta Master for a number of years, and it has served me well. It continues to do so. Being somewhat of a gizmo junkie, I had to have one of the new MagnetoSpeed chronographs. I haven't had a chance to do a shot for shot comparison of the two, but I have high hopes for the MagnetoSpeed. It's a new design that uses magnetic field fluctuations to trigger instead of light. One of my biggest peeves with chronographs is that they're all subject to erratic behavior with changing light conditions. This MagnetoSpeed can be used in the dark, if you want too. It also doesn't need to be set up in front of the firing line at ranges, it mounts on the barrel. I've used it a few times, and like it a lot. Like I said, I'll be interested to do a head to head comparison with my Beta Master. I think these guys may have invented the next generation of chronograph design.
Sounds interesting, but I would have a problem with it if it attaches to the barrel. Attaching stuff always seems to change POI. Not so bad for something permanently mounted that you can adjust your sights for, but for something that is only on occasionally.....

[MrXrings]

Didn't Oehler stop selling to the public a while back?

[PbHurler]

Didn't Oehler stop selling to the public a while back?

They HAD discontinued the 35P; but about two years ago went back into production. As a matter of fact, during some correspondence I had with them; just prior to their re-introduction, they would put you on a waiting list for the purchase if you ordered one. Then you'd get an email of the scheduling of your order & when to expect completion & shipment. They're very good with communications regarding orders. They've always provided warranty & repair services for their units.
I've just got nothing bad to say about Oehler.

http://oehler-research.com/model35.html

[UtopiaTexasG19]

I have a neighbor down the road that places his chronograph within 3 feet of his target and generally shoots at 100 yards. Says he wants to know the velocity when the bullet reaches the target, not right out of the barrel. He is a much better shot than I am and has never hit his chronograph!

[prs]

Competition Electronics ProChrono Digital Chronograph is what I had for quite a long time and used it for black powder cartridge, smokeless, and even shot gun. Little tricks to use to keep soot or shot cups from messing-up the results, but it faithfully worked great IF the sky was overcast, yet bright. Sky screens or no, that condition with the sky was the key to consistent results. Then last year, I got to trying some new 40SW loads and I put her out of her misery. Bought another that evening just like the old one.

prs

[captbligh]

I've had a PACT Model 1 for about 10 years and have been very satisfied. The only issue that I've had is that the sky screens need to be shaded - I suppose because of the very bright Arizona sky. I normally use a garden umbrella and set it up so the shadow falls on the sky screens. If shaded, the chrono seems to be very accurate. Got it at Midway including the screen bar, carrying case and chrono for about $100.

[frnkeore]

I have a first model Chrony, bought in '87 and a Pact, Model 1 that I bought to replace it. I shot through the cardboard holes for a short time with the Chrony, then made my own arangement and after a short while, I discarded that. I shoot through my skyscreens w/o anything above them. If the sun is at a angle that it dosen't get to the "eye" it works fine. If it is, I find some kind of shade to cover the hole.

Since I bought the Pact, I really haven't used it very much, because of the ease of setup for the Chrony and the space difficulty of transporting the Pact. The fact that I used the Chrony for so long probably has something to do with it also.

I've had a GC hit the top edge of the metal and I have holes in the face of it from black powder granuals hitting it. I made a Lexan shield for that (you also need to cover the skyscreens with Saran Wrap to keep the residue out).

When I use a chrono, I'm mostly interested in the ES and SD and the Chrony will do that, either by manually recording or auto with the later ones.

Frank

[Wolfer]

Competition Electronics ProChrono Digital Chronograph is what I had for quite a long time and used it for black powder cartridge, smokeless, and even shot gun. Little tricks to use to keep soot or shot cups from messing-up the results, but it faithfully worked great IF the sky was overcast, yet bright. Sky screens or no, that condition with the sky was the key to consistent results. Then last year, I got to trying some new 40SW loads and I put her out of her misery. Bought another that evening just like the old one

prs


I had the model before this one. It worked great for many years but eventually got glitchy. Sometimes it worked great, sometimes it wouldn't work at all. I called the company about getting it rebuilt, sent it back, they couldn't find anything wrong with it. Offered me a trade for 75.00 I think. I took it and got the same model as pigeon roost slim has. Works great in most weather conditions. CE was great to work with and I recommend them highly.

They're also made in the USA