Chronographs

[Darklyte27]

So since im getting into reloading what kind of chronograph should I get?
I would like the best bang for the buck, but if a better one can be hand for 10-20$ more or so Id like that.

I have no idea about them so what brands are good? what works? without spending alot? to me, i think a good one that works fine would be under 100$ or so.

thanks

[Jicko]

Any Shooting Chrony "Master" unit, with the remote display.

Midwayusa got them. In ur price range.

[Ugly Dwarf]

I have a shooting chrony "Beta" master. Depending on where you buy it, it should put you back $115-$140.

The remote is very handy for reading results from the bench prior to a cease fire (and for not taking a lot of time during the cease fire) at the public range. The 6 strings of (up to) 10 is handy for the way I do load work up (10 shots at each powder charge). The printer looks handy, but honestly, I jot down notes in a binder as I go and I think I'd just have to copy from the printouts to the binder once I got home if I did it that way.

If I really wanted to work with the numbers, getting the PC interface cable might be nice to be able to work with the numbers in Excel... but I don't see me doing that and I didn't get that cable.

I don't have a second chrony to benchmark with, but this one gives me numbers comparable to what I expected based on load tables... So I "Think" its accurate.

[NRAhighpowershooter]

I have thechrony "Beta" as well.... works well for me.....

[Darklyte27]

Ya I didnt think id need a printer, i could just write it down myself.
Now whats the deal with the remote? you can see the fps closer?

I think I could do without the remote though, why else would you want one?

[rksimple]

I've had 2 chrony's. I think they were the Beta model. Both were temperamental; strange readings, errors, fickle depending on light, etc. I've been using a pro-chrono for the last year and love it. For 100 bucks you can't beat it.

[Asherdan]

I have the basic Shooting Chrony F-1 Master. The 'Master' in the Shooting Chrony line indicates the remote readout. It's been fine for three years of use for me. I like the remote for a couple of reasons:

>It puts the LCD on the bench where you can't crack it with a gas check

>You can reset the chrony when the guy a bench over is shooting a fuffenboomer with a muzzle break and your chrony errors out from his muzzle blast without waiting for a line break.

I didn't worry about a printer or any connectivity. I make my notes along with the fps strings in my notebook and sit back at home and enter the string data into a little excel template I put together to break down High/Low/Average/SD/Spread/ES.

They're running under $100 last I saw. Easy setup and storage too.

[Ugly Dwarf]

Ya I didnt think id need a printer, i could just write it down myself.
Now whats the deal with the remote? you can see the fps closer?

I think I could do without the remote though, why else would you want one?

Perhaps I should clarify. The "Remote" I have displays the readings at the bench, instead of on the chrono face itself. The chronograph is going to be located ~10' from the bench - reading the display shouldn't pose too big a problem, but it's not as easy to read as having it close at hand.

Additionally, if you decide you want to switch strings, delete strings or review previous strings, you'll need to be able to access the buttons. By having the "Master" remote, you've got access to all the functions at your bench. I've seen people use a long stick to poke the buttons on their chronograph for these purposes and others have bought (or rigged up) a switch to move between screens. The wired one button remote should work just fine, but I'd be afraid of knocking my chrono over if I kept poking it with a stick.

I typically shoot at a public range with scheduled cease fires. If I need to access my chrono, I need to wait for one of those. If cease fires at your range sessions are determined by you, access to the functions from the bench is less valuable.

Good luck with the purchase.

EDIT - I don't know which models offer this (I believe Alpha and Beta do), but I will note that having the chrono calculate Avg Velocity, Extreme Spread and Standard Deviation for you is pretty nice. The math isn't that hard, but it's one less thing to do.

[Kiba]

After messing with a couple of Chrony's and a Pact, I now have a CED Millenium 2.

Short of a Oehler (which aren't available at the consumer level anymore, and a bit large and cumbesome to transport) I wouldn't buy anything else.

The CED is very repeatable and accurate compared to a 3-gate Oehler that a friend has, and I've had the CED work in conditions at the range where the other brands return false readings, inconsistent readings, or no readings at all. I've had guys at the range setup just a couple benches down come up to ask if my CED was working in the current light or fog conditions because their Chrony or Pact wasn't... and they were surprised to see that it was. I'm using the standard setup, not the optional IR setup.

The standard Chrony's are small and have a very short gate to gate distance which doesn't help in the accuracy department. The Pact chronograph has a longer gate distance, but the frame is fixed and it takes more room to store and transport. The CED has a 2' gate distance but the base folds in half so it all fits in a very small carry case; their optional nylon bag is very nice and worth the $30. It also has the option where you can mount the heads a longer distance apart, and you simply go into the controller and change the gate distance.

Plus, the main display is huge, it has a built in memory, comes with the USB interface cable, and comes with the software to download your shot data. You put the main box on your bench so you can store, change strings, reset it, etc, all right from the bench. All I do is write down the high/low/string # on my sheets so there is no confusion when I get home and download the data. The display is big enough to read velocities on a spotting scope at 300 yards if you want to set it up downrange. The USB link and software is nice too-- I have all my load data in excel and link the chronograph data to it so I can check it later if I want to revisit a load. The provided software outputs the strings by individual shot velocities, ES, SD, Average, High, Low, and can mark the individual velocity with an F for "flyer" if it's outside the range you specify.

Oh, another nice touch... the CED base unit has room inside to hold a spare 9V battery. It's a real drag to get to the range and setup only to realize your battery is dead or it dies after 5 shots or so and nobody has a spare. Been there, done that....

[Darklyte27]

So you put your chrono 10 ft away from the bench you shoot from?
you have the remote unit next to you so you can see what the chrono is showing.

Perhaps I should clarify. The "Remote" I have displays the readings at the bench, instead of on the chrono face itself. The chronograph is going to be located ~10' from the bench - reading the display shouldn't pose too big a problem, but it's not as easy to read as having it close at hand.

Additionally, if you decide you want to switch strings, delete strings or review previous strings, you'll need to be able to access the buttons. By having the "Master" remote, you've got access to all the functions at your bench. I've seen people use a long stick to poke the buttons on their chronograph for these purposes and others have bought (or rigged up) a switch to move between screens. The wired one button remote should work just fine, but I'd be afraid of knocking my chrono over if I kept poking it with a stick.

I typically shoot at a public range with scheduled cease fires. If I need to access my chrono, I need to wait for one of those. If cease fires at your range sessions are determined by you, access to the functions from the bench is less valuable.

Good luck with the purchase.

EDIT - I don't know which models offer this (I believe Alpha and Beta do), but I will note that having the chrono calculate Avg Velocity, Extreme Spread and Standard Deviation for you is pretty nice. The math isn't that hard, but it's one less thing to do.

[Jicko]

http://www.shootingchrony.com/introduction.htm

[ocabj]

I've got the Chrony Alpha, IIRC. Whatever the Red one is. I had the basic green F1. The only reason I got the Alpha is because it was cheap at the time and I wanted the LCD unit separate from the chronograph for easy viewing.

As far as all the standard deviation, average, high/low, etc., I just do that all on paper. As fun as it may be putting this stuff in an sql database for record keeping and statistics, it's just not worth the time to me.

Most of the time, all I want to know is what the basic average velocity is for general reference. After that, all I care is if the the ammo can hold 1MOA or better and can make it out to the desired range.

[jandmtv]

I got a Shooting Chrony Gamma master with the printer, and I didnt think I would keep the printer because I figured I would just write the numbers down, but after the first time I used it, I was hooked on the printer!

You will not regret getting the printer, but make sure you get a master chrony so you will have the remote display (as others have said)

[anyracoon]

Plus 1 for the Shooting Chrony Gamma master with printer! I've had mine for several years. Its nice to staple the print outs right to the target.

[tankerman]

Go with the CED.