Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters the new Garmin chronograph / Tester

I have had an Oehler 35, a pro chrony, still have a lab radar and magneto speed V3, purchased the Garmin out of interest and promised ease of set up. Out of them all, I used to use the MS V3 the most due to ease of set up, until the garmin came along. I have fired probably 700 or more rounds over it in the last 6 weeks, 17 caliber to 30 caliber, 22 lr, crossbow, sling shot, muzzle loader and pistols from 22lr to 480 ruger, it missed all of 2 shots from the muzzle loader. Why? because the speed was set to 1700fps or less and after 2 shots not registering, I put it on the 1700-5000 fps setting and it read every one just fine since, they were going over 1900 fps. I have placed it beside and under barrels, outside of the 5-15 inch range they suggest. Fired over it in weather from 20-70 degrees and in fog and rain. Never skips a beat. I don't mind the app for what it is, gives high/low/average and SD/ES. I don't shoot competitively and need to correct down range velocity beyond 100 yds to correct BC, but if I did I kept my lab radar and can do that. I'm hopeful as new versions come out, and over the air software updates are done with tens of thousands of reports coming inform it, garmin will continue to make it better, but that's little stuff. Correlating FPS values from the lab radar, MS V3 and Garmin have been very very close, usually between 1-5 fps for each of them. I will give them kudos, so far, for me, it is a better mouse trap.

i will wait a year and see if there are some more improvements ,i still have my other 3 chronographs and to be honest if you compare reloading books most are close on the velocities too.

My model 33 is 37 years old.
Somehow I just don't see the thing holding up.

dave

The old fellow came right over to my bench and said,

“It's a what? A Garmin? I never heard of them. The trouble with you youngsters is you think that these new inventions are the bee's knees. They don’t always work so good, you know. I got an older chronograph that never gave me a lick of trouble. It's a 1950s gas model. I had to pump it a couple of times to get it to turn over.”

“What?”

“Are ya deaf, son? I said, I had to give my chrono a pump. Beside the gas tank there is a pump. You unscrew a brass knob, put your thumb over the hole in the knob and give it a couple of pumps to prime her. I still got it, but my son says I can’t use it because they don’t make leaded gas anymore. How does yours work?”

"I dunno. You just put it on the bench, turn it on and start shooting."

The old fellow replied, "Oh. So it's an automatic. Mine was a stick. I bought it after reading the ads in the back of Field and Stream magazine. I can remember like it was yesterday. It was the June 1956 edition. The ad said,

Are you tired of relying on factory ammunition for your hunt? Make your own and save! And don’t forget the chronograph!

"So I bought one. It's a real beauty. She’s fire engine red, with chrome trim, and big, ole fins on either side of the dash - a Stutz-Packard 1000. Their slogan was, ‘Welcome to the Future!’ It sure beat the heck out of the older, steam driven chronographs...”

Here we go, all cased up and ready to be thrown in the back of the Hilux.

Don't even have to screw it together.

Interesting, just got another update on the Garmin.

God bless the less fortunate. Amen.

pete53,

Seems like a pretty good review/test and none of us had to send lhead71 the $20 either.



I should maybe stay upstairs at the campfire as every time I come down to these other fora my loonyism gets a boost. Might have to look into one of them newfangled gadgets

Okay...now it is bloody well finished!

Well that’s pretty f’in cool. Definitely appeals to my OCD side.

I carry a notebook and pencil to the range.

They still make pencils?.....

He found one under the couch….😊