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Different Chronographs
I have owned 6 different ones over the last 10 years and they all have given me problems at one time or another.Here are my experiences and conclusions.
1 Master Beta Chrony..really starter model. Will give you fits on different days depending on the clouds and sun...moderately accurate
2 GERMAN MADE pvm xxx VERY EXPENSIVE, very accurate. Power hog...ate batteries.Somewhat small shooting window ( our rangemaster shot mine!) Biggest gripe was the connections did not seem field worthy...gradually loosened up. ( they were basically a tv cable connector )
3 CED millenium...Version 1...I liked this unit..so I decided to buy one and by then, the Millenium II was out...gave velocities up to 200 feet per second slower than version 1. We ran them in parallel and could not understand the crazy variations. Called CED corresponded with Charles somebody supposed to be the owner. I asked him if he could calibrate the newer version. Man did I get an education then...apparently according to him, not possible . He sent another unit and we got same results. New one way slower than the first version which we thought was pretty accurate having confirmed in the field the FPS . Sent them all back and he never returned anything to us!
4 Bayonet style Magneto speed..early version. I like this unit. We set one up in parallel with an Oehler 35P and the Magneto speed unit gave readings uniformly consistent with an Oehler placed 12 feet ahead of it>Pros...easy to setup...accurate. Cons...gives great readings as far as FPS...BUT you are hanging a weight on your barrel and with our rifles it changed the the bullet impact and the groups as well. I think that it is perfect if you already have an accurate load that groups well and just need to know the speed.
5 Pro Chrony. Another inexpensive unit, although I think it is better than the Beta chrony
6 Oehler 35P. My current and "go to" chronograph. Well proven design. Always works even when shooting window is a "little" off. Takes a few minutes to set up. And as with all the others (except magneto speed), if you are at a public range you have to set it up on cease fire. I always enlist the help of the range master. They are generally accomodating...but you do have to make sure your rifle is locked on target and then place the unit and then go to bench and look through scope (on low power) to make sure you are firing your bullet in the shooting window.If it is off you wait until next cease fire.
Well, those are my experiences and my conclusions. I think almost any of the cheaper units will work for pistols .. but if you need utmost accuracy...such as for long range then you should buy one of the more expensive units.
I want one of the LabRadar units in the worst way. Very accurate (doppler radar). speed at 2 different places like muzzle and 100 yards should help in verifying BC's. And NO set up issues...just park it along side and do a few little setup things and shoot. Sounds like the answer to all my issues I hope!
Hope this helps somebody! 30-338
I have owned 6 different ones over the last 10 years and they all have given me problems at one time or another.Here are my experiences and conclusions.
1 Master Beta Chrony..really starter model. Will give you fits on different days depending on the clouds and sun...moderately accurate
2 GERMAN MADE pvm xxx VERY EXPENSIVE, very accurate. Power hog...ate batteries.Somewhat small shooting window ( our rangemaster shot mine!) Biggest gripe was the connections did not seem field worthy...gradually loosened up. ( they were basically a tv cable connector )
3 CED millenium...Version 1...I liked this unit..so I decided to buy one and by then, the Millenium II was out...gave velocities up to 200 feet per second slower than version 1. We ran them in parallel and could not understand the crazy variations. Called CED corresponded with Charles somebody supposed to be the owner. I asked him if he could calibrate the newer version. Man did I get an education then...apparently according to him, not possible . He sent another unit and we got same results. New one way slower than the first version which we thought was pretty accurate having confirmed in the field the FPS . Sent them all back and he never returned anything to us!
4 Bayonet style Magneto speed..early version. I like this unit. We set one up in parallel with an Oehler 35P and the Magneto speed unit gave readings uniformly consistent with an Oehler placed 12 feet ahead of it>Pros...easy to setup...accurate. Cons...gives great readings as far as FPS...BUT you are hanging a weight on your barrel and with our rifles it changed the the bullet impact and the groups as well. I think that it is perfect if you already have an accurate load that groups well and just need to know the speed.
5 Pro Chrony. Another inexpensive unit, although I think it is better than the Beta chrony
6 Oehler 35P. My current and "go to" chronograph. Well proven design. Always works even when shooting window is a "little" off. Takes a few minutes to set up. And as with all the others (except magneto speed), if you are at a public range you have to set it up on cease fire. I always enlist the help of the range master. They are generally accomodating...but you do have to make sure your rifle is locked on target and then place the unit and then go to bench and look through scope (on low power) to make sure you are firing your bullet in the shooting window.If it is off you wait until next cease fire.
Well, those are my experiences and my conclusions. I think almost any of the cheaper units will work for pistols .. but if you need utmost accuracy...such as for long range then you should buy one of the more expensive units.
I want one of the LabRadar units in the worst way. Very accurate (doppler radar). speed at 2 different places like muzzle and 100 yards should help in verifying BC's. And NO set up issues...just park it along side and do a few little setup things and shoot. Sounds like the answer to all my issues I hope!
Hope this helps somebody! 30-338
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