I’m in the process of building my reloading room and custom loading several different calibers. What chronograph do you all recommend??? TIA

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Just fer schitz n' giggles.



I employ a Shooting Chrony for load development. I'm on my third unit. Are they the best? Don't know and don't care. Are they 100% accurate, once again, don't know and don't care. I set mine up about 10' from the muzzle and let her rip.

In each of the following groups, no adjustment was made for windage or elevation. I was shooting for groups during load development.






That standard deviation will never happen again, but what the hey!

BTW, the 46 gr. RL-15 is my go to load for the 308 Win.








I will load different powders and different load densities of each powder.

I've even been anal enough to try six or seven different primers with one load.




I went with the CCI-400's.

I use the CCI-400's in most of my 17-22 caliber loads.

I will shoot everything in one session, typically allowing for the barrel to cool a bit.

From this, I am able to decide what load I want to employ to kill critters.

I will trade accuracy for velocity 11 times out of 10 as I'm a short range meat hunter.

and of course, YMMV

ya!


GWB

PS: The 308 Win was a Cooper M22 Varmint Extreme. The 223, was a lefty Cooper Varmint Extreme.

I like the way you roll GWB.

A Shooting Chrony and a Lead Sled work for me too !!!!

Is the Magnetospeed any good? I've never seen one, let alone tried one.

Never ever ever ever a lead sled..

CE optical and a LabRadar.

I use one of these: https://www.cedhk.com/ced-m2-chronograph

However, mine isn't one of the newer chronographs they now offer. I think I bought mine in about 2005 but not sure. I have had very good luck with it and their customer support has been great. JMHO I don't use a lead sled, never could see a use for it. I shoot .338 Win Mag a lot and .375 Ruger is my most used hunting rifle. The CED works very well for everything and I also shoot a wide variety of varmint rifles. Works very well for everything, .223, .22-250 AI on up.

I am with GW on the Shooting Chrony...works fine for me.

I'm still using the Shooting Chrony F1. I've used Magneto and it was finicky trying to get it lined up with taper of barrel. My buddy brought out his lab radar and it was finicky too, especially for the price. Can't get much cheaper or simpler than shooting through an F1.

my shooting Chrony Beta Master has given years of service.

CED.

Shooting Chrony

As the Captain of the Luddite Society, I am still using the Oehler M33 that I bought in 1978!

I have upgraded to the Skyscreen III screens (1990 vintage?).

That Oehler set up cost me an entire month of Marine Corporal pay at the time (about $300).

I am hoping to use this machine until I croak!

If I were starting over, I'd get a Labradar.


Tim

Labradar.

I have a Competition Electronics and like it. I have had it for several years. I also have an Oehler that is older than dirt but still very good just a bigger pain to set up than the Competition.

Shooting Chrony here too. I recommend getting the cable so you don't have to walk as much.

Got a old first model CED.
Still works fine, just has the serial port and the old software is only for old versions of windows.
I fixed up a very old work laptop with Linux and use a serial port console set up on it. Then dump the data (shot strings) when I get home or plug the laptop in the truck and grab them right there.

Don't use it much anymore, I used it a lot when I was competing in LR matches.

Don't shoot whatever you get!

Good luck

Last I heard is that Shooting Chrony is no more. Closed, gone, went the way of the DoDo.

LabRadar for me, simple and quick setup

Still using my 33 from the 80's, including the original screens, which have had multiple bandaids from friendly fire.....




If forced to replace, it would be hard to go past a 35.......

CED if budget is a concern.

Lab Radar if not.

The Shooting Chony was way too light-sensitive for me. I like the Magnetospeed. True muzzle velocity in all lighting conditions, cheap and usually easy to set up.

Labradar

This post should tell you what people think of a shooting chrony. I still use it for comparison, but I believe a magneto is more accurate. My shooting chrony still shows what I think is faster than actual at times.

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/13027605/1

I was using a Pro-Chrono but, since I shoot at a public range, I purchased the Magnetospeed V3 chrono. I won't be going back to the Pro-Chrono. When I first got it, I tried the different spacers on 2 of my rifles for which I was reloading, so that I would not waste time at the range doing this. After that, it was easy to install on each barrel. Another advantage of this chrono is that it did not miss recording a single shot, unlike my Pro-Chrono. I recommend the V3 version highly.

Some enterprising gunwriter could do a lot of good by using a labradar unit to test and publish negative acceleration rates for a range of projectiles.
Excluding wind it should be a fairly consistent number based on projectile size and shape. .

You mean actual real world ballistic coefficients.

Started with a chrony and now use Magneto speed.

It is less trouble to set up.

I had either a mid '80s Competition Electronics 1st. It was a screaming pile of unrepairable schidt. My Oehler has been fine since the late 80s. The only complaint is that late afternoon is kinda sketchy when the sun gets too low so I try to plan accordingly.

It seems silly to shoot over the head/control unit because schitt do happen. Skyscreens are cheap in comparison. The Oehler is a bit of a pain to set up if there are other shooters at the range but I will use it til it croaks. If buying new today I would either get another Oehler or look closely at a Labradar.

A magnetospeed might work using Mule Deer's extra front rest setup, but otherwise would be a pain to swap between guns because I take 4 or 5 rifles to the range. I'm also unsure how it would work on a pistol.

Just checked you are correct, no where to be found

Litz has done that...

I've had a Pro Chrono for years and if the battery isn't getting weak and the sun is just right you get good readings. I bought a Magneto Speed a couple of years ago and now that's what I use 90% of the time.
Since the MS unit will change your point of impact I usually find an good load using the OCW method then chrono that load.

I've had two Shooting Chrony chronographs. They generally worked, but I don't believe they are accurate enough to rely on the statistics they generate. That said, I think just about any chronograph that will function is better than none at all.

These days, I'd only use a 35P (which I've been using for five or six years) or a Labradar. I'd probably give up my 35P for a Labradar, but only because of the ease of setting one up.

I've never used a Magnetospeed, and that's because I've never wanted one. If my methods for load development were different I might be open to using one, but I'd rather collect velocity data the same time I'm collecting accuracy data. Some claim that the Magnetospeed doesn't affect their POIs or accuracy, and that may be true with some barrels (I'm thinking very heavy barrels, but I sure don't know) but I just don't believe that. Hunting rifles are not benchrest rifles, but I know that the barrel tuners seen on benchrest rigs don't move much at all but still have noticeable effect. I don't see how hanging an object of some mass near the muzzle won't have considerable and maybe even significant effect.

It may partly depend on where you do or can shoot.

I had a Pro Chrono that was cheap and worked great, but I rarely could use it, unless I drove four hours away to my friend's farm.

Most ranges I have been to won't allow you to set up a chrono in front of the shooting benches, like this one:



So, I use a Labradar. I used to have a Magnetospeed, but I gave that away when I got the LR. With the LR, you can shoot multiple rifles over it in succession without changing, securing, and getting the right number of the pads on the MS for the next rifle barrel. Some people love them, but I find them too labor intensive. The LR also will track the bullet speeds for varying distances downrange. so, you can do a rough check on the B.C. of your bullet.

Measuring BC on a bullet at 100 yards or less is not of much use. On mine, set to high power, I don't get readings much past 100 yards with .30 cal bullets. Less than that with smaller bullets.

Radar systems that will read the bullet to reasonable distances (800 + yards) are quite expensive (over $100K, I think...don't own one).

There is a more affordable option for measuring BC on the way. The Oehler System '89 can be set to measure Velocity only, Time of Flight only or both. If you set it up to measure both, it also gives BC based on the velocity and TOF measurements.

I've got a Beta system and have successfully gathered lots of data at about 1 mile. I've also verified it worked at 2 miles (I was not doing the shooting).

Dr. Ken has been working on it a few years and, I believe, has got the bugs worked out. Should be here soon!

Last I heard it will be less than $2,500 for a system. Many people have scopes that cost more than that!

got mine in 81. Still use it today. Bear

Labrador’s are so easy to use, but speedy. And not too good for 22 or lower calibers, but that’s what I use.

Picked up a ProChrono DLX from a buddy month or two ago. It replaced a 30year old Shooting Chrony. I ended up selling the Shooting Chrony and am happy with the ProChrono. I think it is probably the best of the cheap chronographs.

Prochrono works.

Exactly but numbers with units in ft/s^2 (or ft/ms^2 is probably more useful) as opposed to a coefficent.
BC is a unitless coefficient. Right?

That would allow for an easy estimate of velocity or energy at distance X, Y and Z.


BuefordB,
That's why I figured a gunwriter could get a loan of one of the high dollar units...

If they tell you the time of each velocity measurement (or the delta between them) you can find the deacceleraton rate..

Kids got me a Caldwell for Xmas. Seems to be pretty good. A friend got the same one and we compared them side by side and they were extremely close readings to each other.

Xmas day was pretty cold here so we set it up on the front porch and picked up some dry elk turds from the front yard and shot them through with a wrist rocket sling shot. Competition was as fun as going out shooting. Grandkids even got in on it.

Anyway if you buy the Caldwell don’t get the tripod with it. It’s crap.