Chronographs (NEED ADVICE)
I would like to buy a chronograph in the next few days. I don't know the first thing about them but I think the time has come as I'm ready to start using surplus powders. I know the measure of speed won't let me know if I'm heading towards a too much pressure fiasco. What I am looking to do is develop loads that won't beat up my arthritis too much. I have never looked to develop the fastest load. I want to reduce recoil and chase accuracy.
I have never used a chronograph before or really discussed them with anyone that has.
I see there are several manufacturers out there and I don't have any ill feelings toward any of them, so I'm open to all opinions and recommendations.
I appreciate you taking the time to advise me on this purchase!
Bill
Another vote for Chrony...
I have had both an old (early 1980s) Competition Electronics model and, recently a Chrony Gamma Master. In both cases, the electronics reside in a module that sits on the bench out of the line of fire and is connected to the sensor screens via a cable (2 cables in the case of the old CE model).
Both served me well for a number of years. The sensor screens on the CE model took a number of #8 shotgun pellets and bullet grazes over the years and the unit started to act erratically, so I took advantage of the Chrony trade-in offer and sent them the old CE model and got a substantial discount on the high-end Chrony unit. I also bought the leather case, which keeps everything (Chrony, printer, printer paper roll, shades, support rods and instruction sheets) in a neat package that fits in my range bag along with all the other little things I take to the range. The only extra item I need is a tripod to support the Chrony case/sensor screen unit.
The way to prevent shooting your screens is to sight along the barrel (gun on sandbags), both from the top for centering over the sensors and from the side to check height above the sensors. You should be able to look along the barrel and see the target aligned with the muzzle of the barrel through the window formed by the sensors at the bottom, the sensor shades at the top and the support rods on both sides. If you can do that you won't shoot the sensors or chrono and you'll be able to see the target through your sights. Adjust the sensor support tripod (or hospital table) until everything is aligned.
I've had the Chrony for several years and I will soon have to order a new set of sensor screen shades because the old ones are cracking. I also need to send the electronics module back to Chrony to have the LCD display replaced. During a cease fire, one of our range masters walked between my bench and the tripod and got cought in the cable (wasn't looking where he was going) and pulled the unit off the bench and onto the concrete, with the impact causing a big dark spot in the upper right corner of the display. The Chrony still works, but the last digit is a bit hard to read. I also need to take the cover off the printer and see if I can re-solder the connector (where the cable connects to the Chrony unit) to the circuit board. It's loose, but still works.
The nicest thing about the Gamma Master Chrony is that you can get a cable to connect the unit to your computer and download the Chrony memory to a ballistics program for further analysis. When I bought the Chrony, I bought the cable and their ballistics software so I could directly import the data. I've never seen any company send out a product they knew didn't work as a production item, but that's what I got. It wouldn't even load onto the computer, so I called them and asked. They said they knew it didn't work because the programming wasn't completed yet, but they sold it anyway. I sent it back and got a refund. Generally, though, I've been really happy with the Chrony.
I've been far less happy with the ballistics software packages that are available. They seem to be geared toward Joe Average hunter who's too lazy to look up the ballistics tables for factory ammo in catalogs or on the net. Most of those currently available were written to run on a 486 processor-based computer running DOS or Windows 95. They will allow you to input data from external sources, but it must be done manually - very slow and tedious. So far, I haven't found a ballistics software package that is designed specifically for the handloader/experimenter. I'd like to see one that does NOT have any factory ammo look-ups or bullet or cartridge drawings in it, allows direct importation of chronograph data, allowing the data to be input both into the analysis/graphing section and to a log for annotation and later retrieval, and the ability to overlay and compare graphs of various loads. I would appreciate a look-up of ballistics coefficients of all currently produced J-bullets (not just one manufacturer), with the ability to add new listings as product lines evolve and to allow us to add data for various cast bullets. The software should include a comprehensive shooter's log and a section where we can catalog the contents of our safes. Any suggestions? If I knew Visual Basic I'd write my own program.
Regards,
Stew