Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Need a chronograph

You have to shoot at least 10 shots to get a clear idea of the average speed of a given load, and the more you shoot, the more accurate your idea will be. That's prohibitive for load development.

I've used the older-type versions from PACT and a couple of MagnetoSpeeds. The PACT-style units take while to set up and don't always work well on cloudy days. The MagnetoSpeed attaches to the barrel, which throws your POI, so you can't test for accuracy and speed at the same time.

I'm getting a Garmin so I can test for accuracy and velocity at the same time. I'm really interested to see what 100- and 200-shot averages look like with a couple of loads.


Okie John

Agree 100% with Okie John……..
My Pact skyscreen chronos were great……
Until the wind came up….. or if the sun was low in the sky…….. or the clouds rolled in….. (which sometimes helped!)
If you buy a skyscreen model, set it up as far from the muzzle as the cords allow. Muzzle blast has a negative effect on ES/SD. Too close and both numbers are skewed.
The Garmin is so easy and always works. I take everytime i go to the range. It has never once failed to record a shot. It is a significant improvement indeed.
I set up both the Lab Radar and the Garmin to compare……… velocities were within 5 fps of each other. A huge thing for me was the Garmin picks up shots from suppressed rifles. The Lab Radar did not.
FWIW: the Garmin is the way to go.

How are you going to handle the temp changes??

I'll probably make notes and study how the changes correlate with the data, then ask a lot of questions on the 'fire. Fortunately, temperature swings here aren't very big and we rarely reach the extreme ends of the scale. Hunting seasons rarely get below freezing and summers rarely get above 90F.


Okie John

Buy my fully functional magnetospeed so I have an excuse to buy a Garmin.

Cool, I'd be interested in seeing your results.

I make it a practice to get multiple chrono sets at different temps to upload into my ballistic software. Normally I just go for 10 shot strings, or for however many shots I'm practicing for. I've got some loads for a couple of my precision rigs that might have that many rounds total, but all were purposely shot at different temps.

If you get a Garmin, please pay attention to the owners manual about operating it below 15F, they aren’t joking. I used it at 20F and it ate up the battery quickly. I went out last Friday and we used it in 37F temps for more than 4 hours and it only used 23% of the battery charge. When I used it at 20F it was for less than 2 hours and used over 30% of the battery life. I’m in no way complaining, as I know how batteries and cold temps do together. The older I get, the less I like to shoot in temps below 25F or so.

If you can swing it, just buy the Garmin or the nearly-here new Labradar compact. No muss, no fuss, no futzing around with homemade stands for the MS, no bullet holes in your electronics, and no annoying other shooters with setting one up.

You really only need one kidney you know………..

I really like the Pro Chrono. They work great and are really durable. Price stayed at $99 for years. Pay a few dollars more and you can get one with all the latest wireless features.

Get one of these. Spend a little extra now and save in the long run.

Ya know, looking at what you'd pay for some of Gamin's GPS units, I bet Garmin could sell their chronograph for $125 and make money. However since Lab Radar can get people to pay $600 for theirs, Garmin has proven it can charge $600 and sell them ALL DAY LONG.

Nice and simple, and convenient. I'll pick up one soon.

At least the high cost, is slowing down everyone buying one. IF they sold them for $125.00 I bet they'd be back ordered for the next 3 to 5 years.

so they get to $600.00 by $125.00 for the Chrony and $475 for instant availability.

I had a labradar and magnetospeed then sold them both and bought a garmin. The garmin is very simple but is a PITA to download data. I'd be willing to bet that prices will come down once the new caldwell and smaller labradar units become available. If I needed another chrono right now I think I'd take advantage of the depressed market for used labradars, if I could wait - I'd see if the caldwell technology is as good as they say it will be. Just my .02

My son bought one off amazon for a c note. Works good.

Haven’t looked to see if it’s still there but there was a Labradar in the classifieds yesterday afternoon.

Not mine btw.

That's the fact. Lots of very high quality chronos on the used market now because their owners bought Garmins.
If money is tight - buy one of those. If not - buy a Garmin (or be first in line for Lab Radar, et. al.'s response to the Garmin).
I wouldn't buy anything that attaches to the barrel. Regardless of its accuracy it's going to affect your groups and prevent doing velocity measurements and valid load work at the same time.

Best of luck,
Rex

Any speculation as to an availability date for the new LabRadar smaller unit and/or the new Caldwell Doppler units?
Thank you,

LabRadar shows an expected date on their pre-order page. They were originally expecting to ship them about now, so who knows.

https://buymylabradar.com/products/labradar-lx-new-product

I had Garmin Xero for about six months now and in my experience it's the best one out there, double the price than Magneto which I have but well worth extra $300.

A question for those of you with the Garmin Xero: Is the rechargeable battery replaceable?
Thank you,

Documentation says it's not user replaceable. If it gets to that point, plug in an external battery pack.