Chronographs... worth it

[pikergolf]

I have a gift certificate from Cabelas and thinking of buying the Caldwell Precision Chornograph. It has an accuracy of +-.25% which works out to around 7 fps error. Are these tools worth it for load development.

[catnthehat]

Some people swear by them and some swear art them!
If you use it for what it is which an instrument to develop consistent and accurate loads in a particular rifle, it is worth it.
if you buy one and get frustrated because your 6.8 Screaming Garbanzo Bean wildcat will not get the velocities you want, then it is not worth it at all.
Cat

[elkhunter11]

You can develop safe accurate loads without a chronograph, but a chronograph is a handy tool that takes some of the guesswork out of load development. There have been a few times that I thought I had a load for a rifle, and running it over a chronograph convinced me to either keep working up the load, and a couple of times that it convinced me to back off the powder charge.

[Salavee]

Originally Posted by pikergolf

I have a gift certificate from Cabelas and thinking of buying the Caldwell Precision Chornograph. It has an accuracy of +-.25% which works out to around 7 fps error. Are these tools worth it for load development.

Without a doubt. Along with a copy of Quickload they are indispensable.
I cant see a serious handloader being without one.

[KazIce]

I’m going to do it for my loads this spring. I look at the load data for my 7mm rm from Lyman and then I look at the box of my hornady American white tail 154 gr interlocks and it says 3200 FPS. That’s better than the top end of most loads in the book, I seriously doubt that these bullets shoot 3200 FPS. Maybe 3200 FPS at sea level and in a vacuum environment. Still love the round off the shelf, it’s superb.

I’d prefer to know what I am truly shooting and not what it could be or maybe be shooting. And hey, if those AW rounds are 3200 FPS it’s a benchmark to work with.

I was thinking of the Caldwell units, but based on the reviews I will likely go with the magneto speed chronograph instead. Just seems easier to work with and more consistent regardless of light conditions. More money; but hey who counting anymore I’m having fun lol.


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[Pathfinder76]

I don’t know how people do without

[Savage Bacon]

I just bought someone a MagnetoSpeed as an Xmas gift.

I can't wait to open it!

[32-40win]

Shame that Cabela's doesn't handle a Magnetospeed. But, Caldwell will function, just have to watch for days with intermittent small clouds whizzing thru, it will mess with them. Sunshades help, but they need consistent light, all sun, or all cloud.

[marky_mark]

I would find a different use for the gift cards and get a magnetospeed or a labradar

[Dubious]

How do you know if factory ammo is just marketing or your ammo is any good with out a crono? Holes in a paper only tell you about holes in paper.

[DiabeticKripple]

I thought i was doing good on my reloads until I got a chronograph.

Being able to measure velocity, therefore pressure is huge.

also sd and es help to fine tune the load to optimize accuracy.

its a must have for a reloader.

[elkhunter11]

Originally Posted by Dubious

How do you know if factory ammo is just marketing or your ammo is any good with out a crono? Holes in a paper only tell you about holes in paper.

The truth is, that for the average hunter, all they really need is to know where those holes will be at the distances that they shoot. Whether the load produces what it says on the box is really not a concern, if you learn the trajectory of the load , by making holes in paper, at the distances that you will shoot. A chronograph is much more useful to the handloader.

[blackburbot]

They help, but they are not the end all tool. Lots of precision loads were built without chronys. I have a labradar, and it tells me how fast and consistent thoses velocities were. Butstill rely on what the groups tell me at distance. Learnt to reload without one and back engineer velocities to plug into programs to show drops. Groups havent seen that much improvement if any using the labradar, might of sped up some aspects...

Its like a microwave oven...many meals were cooked and reheated before they were around

[markg]

I would absolutely tell you to get a chronograph. I would also caution you against getting the Caldwell. I had one and had some issues.

I would not buy that style of unit ever again. I suggest buying either the Magneto SPeed or Labradar.

Take you gift card and buy some bullets or powder and save up for a chrono worth purchasing.

[DLab]

The Caldwell's are the brand I see most at the Range and also the brand I've seen have the most issues,which is why I bought a Pro Chrono Digital in this style of Chrono, ZERO complaints with that unit the 5 years I owned it.
Having said that, I have a Magneto Speed now and yes, Chrono's are handy for load development.

[Dubious]

Originally Posted by elkhunter11

The truth is, that for the average hunter, all they really need is to know where those holes will be at the distances that they shoot. Whether the load produces what it says on the box is really not a concern, if you learn the trajectory of the load , by making holes in paper, at the distances that you will shoot. A chronograph is much more useful to the handloader.

The first thing guys do when they buy there ammo from a box is look at the weight then speed then drop if they know a little more they might care about bc. They also keep that same 20 rounds for 10 years so you know for sure there not out shooting different distances or regularly practicing they site in once then blame falling on it when they miss.

Cronos are great I love my LabRadar it’s expensive but gives me a lot to look at. I would also recommend a weather meter like the weatherflow so you can gain on site weather info for powder temp stability and other external ballistics readings. StrelokPro is another great tool that works well with a crono it can pair all the data you gathered and line it up with your exact scope and reticle to show you where to aim in real-time wind and distances with some Bluetooth laser range finders.

[sns2]

Piker, there are literally thousands and thousands of them in use. Is there better? Sure. But do you need the best? The answer to that question can take you down rabbit holes. If you've got the cards then give er. If the only drawback is you need cloudy or sunny then big deal. You live in Southern Alberta. Pretty damn sunny place

[pikergolf]

Originally Posted by sns2

Piker, there are literally thousands and thousands of them in use. Is there better? Sure. But do you need the best? The answer to that question can take you down rabbit holes. If you've got the cards then give er. If the only drawback is you need cloudy or sunny then big deal. You live in Southern Alberta. Pretty damn sunny place

I think I will get it, I don't have the budget for the others. Maybe if I was younger and was spreading the cost over many years.

[elkhunter11]

Originally Posted by Dubious

The first thing guys do when they buy there ammo from a box is look at the weight then speed then drop if they know a little more they might care about bc. They also keep that same 20 rounds for 10 years so you know for sure there not out shooting different distances or regularly practicing they site in once then blame falling on it when they miss.

Cronos are great I love my LabRadar it’s expensive but gives me a lot to look at. I would also recommend a weather meter like the weatherflow so you can gain on site weather info for powder temp stability and other external ballistics readings. StrelokPro is another great tool that works well with a crono it can pair all the data you gathered and line it up with your exact scope and reticle to show you where to aim in real-time wind and distances with some Bluetooth laser range finders.

Unfortunately, there are people so clueless, that they don't hesitate to shoot at animals at 500 or even farther without actually verifying their trajectory at those distances by shooting targets. I witnessed one fool so stupid, that he sighted in his Browning 270win with his brand new Huskemaw scope at 25 yards, then bragged to his buddy that with his new scope, he was now good to 800 yards, and then packed up his gear and left. Someone that stupid is not going to bother with a chronograph, and they have no clue about wind or the effects of temperature on trajectory.

Then again, before chronographs were widely available at reasonable prices, many of us did shoot at varying distances, as far as we would ever attempt a shot at an animal, and we were far more competent, than the fools who blindly trust technology , in place of actual shooting.

As far as the Caldwell goes, it is influenced as much or more by light conditions than my Chrony units were, so you need to keep that in mind. An incorrect treading is no better than no reading at all, and my chrony would suddenly gain 100fps if the lighting conditions changed.

[Scottmisfits]

I have the Caldwell. While I know there are others out that are better, and I do occasionally get an error reading (maybe 3% of the time) I like the compatibility with the smart phones and tablets. I plug it in to my device and I can capture and save all of the shots, save different groups, imbed pictures in with those saved groups. It tells you the velocity of each shot, average, SD, and ES, no math involved, jfz just there.

Just make sure that you are far enough away from the muzzle blast or you'll be reinstalling the light shields after every shot.

[Dean2]

Never used a Caldwell but have used Shooting Chronies for decades. Lots of guys complain about them but if you pay attention and set them up right they are pretty much fool proof. I would never be without a Chronograph of some sort. The Labradar is really great, but at the price, you need to do a lot of load development before they actually make senses. I don't care for the Magneto as you can't shoot for group and velocity at the same time.


Get one you can afford and try it out. You can always move up later and used ones re-sell very easily. My bet is you will be very happy with the new info you can gather.

[elkhunter11]

Originally Posted by Dean2

Never used a Caldwell but have used Shooting Chronies for decades. Lots of guys complain about them but if you pay attention and set them up right they are pretty much fool proof. I would never be without a Chronograph of some sort. The Labradar is really great, but at the price, you need to do a lot of load development before they actually make senses. I don't care for the Magneto as you can't shoot for group and velocity at the same time.


Get one you can afford and try it out. You can always move up later and used ones re-sell very easily. My bet is you will be very happy with the new info you can gather.

Out of curiosity, I shot a group with my Christensen with my Magnetospeed installed. The magnetospeed actually had less effect with this rifle than removing the brake. Yet many people use a brake for load development, and then remove the brake while hunting. While I don't develop loads with the Magnetospeed installed, I also don't develop loads with a brake installed, if the brake won't be used for hunting.

[Dean2]

Elk, I haven't owned many guns with brakes and I would never hunt with a brake on. The only one I have currently is a 460 and you would never want to shoot that without the brake, trust me. Good hearing protection is an absolute must when using it to hunt.

I do have a Kahntrol brake that can be installed on a few of my rifles and I have used it for load development, particularly on the 7 RUM. In my admittedly limited experience with brakes I have never seen a Brake make a difference in group size though it seems it possibly could, but I have seen POI shift from removing them. With the Magnetospeed I tried there was a very definite change in group size with it off or on.

[elkhunter11]

Originally Posted by Dean2

Elk, I haven't owned many guns with brakes and I would never hunt with a brake on. The only one I have currently is a 460 and you would never want to shoot that without the brake, trust me. Good hearing protection is an absolute must when using it to hunt.

I do have a Kahntrol brake that can be installed on a few of my rifles and I have used it for load development, particularly on the 7 RUM. In my admittedly limited experience with brakes I have never seen a Brake make a difference in group size though it seems it possibly could, but I have seen POI shift from removing them. With the Magnetospeed I tried there was a very definite change in group size with it off or on.

In either case, you are hanging weight off of the end of the barrel that can effect harmonics, but our results obviously indicate that different rifles will be effected differently.

[Dubious]

If your going to go with magneto speed or LabRadar just know the LabRadar is only(lol) rated to 4000 FPS. If you have a 22-250 or any of the other death rays you may want to lean towards the magneto speed or something else.

[DrQuack]

I have a Labradar and an Oehler 35P. I really like both of them and each has their advantages. Chronograph data is integral in how I choose to develop loads. Of the two, the Labradar is more user friendly and easier to setup/take down during each range session.

[rugerfan]

Originally Posted by catnthehat

Some people swear by them and some swear art them!
If you use it for what it is which an instrument to develop consistent and accurate loads in a particular rifle, it is worth it.
if you buy one and get frustrated because your 6.8 Screaming Garbanzo Bean wildcat will not get the velocities you want, then it is not worth it at all.
Cat

Well now I want to build a 6.8 screaming garbanzo bean. What do you supposed it would be based on?

[Dubious]

Originally Posted by rugerfan

Well now I want to build a 6.8 screaming garbanzo bean. What do you supposed it would be based on?

Me to wonder if there’s a 25 cal version

[Dean2]

Originally Posted by Dubious

Me to wonder if there’s a 25 cal version

My all time favourite for name of a wild cat cartridge is the ** Calibre Eargersplitzen Yaggerboomer

[Dick284]

I’ve had a chronograph for over 30 years(F1 Chrony) and yes it still works.
I bought a Magnetospeed model a few years ago, and is it ever convenient, except if you are trying to shoot groups and chronograph at the same time.

I’ve used both chronographs simultaneously and any velocity differences I’ve seen is likely the 15 feet difference in the instrument to the muzzle or within the normal range of velocity variances. Making translucent total coverage screens for the Chrony is the key to repeatability and less errors due to lighting changes.

I chased numbers way back when, and finally settled, on shooting groups at 300 yds or a respectfully long distance given the cartridge, and if I see decent results I then chronograph with the magneto, and record my findings and create a ballistics chart given the resultant values. I might compare two similar loads against each other, and make a decision based on the statistical data, but I usually just flog the chrono rounds into the 100 yd backstop as having a bayonet hung off the barrel doesn’t give groupings any validity anyways.

After I’ve settled on a load, it’s back to shooting at distance to validate the values in the ballistics program.