• Watch Out for Scammers!

    We've now added a color code for all accounts. Orange accounts are new members, Blue are full members, and Green are Supporters. If you get a message about a sale from an orange account, make sure you pay attention before sending any money!

Chrono's are they worth it?

B

Broken_Reticle

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Jan 25, 2011
131
0
44
Philadelphia Tn
I have $150 left to spend on my reloading setup. I have found a couple on Midway on sale. How important should they be in a reloading system? I am loading for distance, not 100 yard groups.

Will 150 get me something serviceable?

Thanks for the advice.

Reloading .308, .223, and 9mm for now.
 
Re: Chrono's are they worth it?

Very important tool for the reloader. There is no other way to know your MV and es. Before I got one I would rely on manuals to tell me tht this powder charge would yield this velocity from the test rifle. Once I ran those loads over a chrono through my rifle my loads were travelling several hundred fps slower...any of them in your price range are better than none at all. Just remember to keep a few bucks back for a tripod
 
Re: Chrono's are they worth it?

Must have, but DO NOT buy anything made by Chrony, I shot mine on purpose, I replaced it with a CED M2, more than 150 but the ease of use and accuracy are worth it to me.
 
Re: Chrono's are they worth it?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 427Cobra</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Must have, but DO NOT buy anything made by Chrony, I shot mine on purpose, I replaced it with a CED M2, more than 150 but the ease of use and accuracy are worth it to me. </div></div>

sure ya' did
wink.gif


In my experience, the Chrony brand chronographs are good to provide data as to consistency of loads; SD, ES, etc...the velocity part of Chrony's chronos has not been so great (again, in my experience). This is where shooting and actually developing your dope is paramount to increasing success.
 
Re: Chrono's are they worth it?

The amount of bullets and powder you’ll save tweaking loads would buy a couple chronys. I have the older CED. It's been a good chrony and the expensive part is out of the danger zone. I was always skeptical of a chrony named ‘shooting chrony’.
smile.gif
 
Re: Chrono's are they worth it?

Competition Electronics Pro Chrono Digital is another one that should be on your short list
 
Re: Chrono's are they worth it?

With the Ced, can you replace the plastic folding part with say some aluminum tubing to make it a bit more stiffer/sturdy?
 
Re: Chrono's are they worth it?

If you're serious about long range shooting and load development a chrono is a must.
A Chrony is better than nothing. I got the best Chrony with Cabela's bucks from work, tested it against 3 others.
Oehler p-35, Rcbs bullet type, and Millenium, it was within 10fps of all of them.
Freind who owns Millenium managed to shoot his 4 times before it shit the bed. Bought new sensors, now it reads 100fps slower at 3000 fps accross the board. Now he needs the side pieces.
One quirk with my Chrony, you must shoot it in the upper 1/3 to get consistant readings, go close to sensors and it reads way fast.
No matter which one you buy, I recommend testing it against another.
 
Re: Chrono's are they worth it?

From what I've been learning here, the Magnetospeed is the chrono to buy.

Check it out here, there's some threads about it. Almost impossible to shoot it. Though I'm sure someone will find a way.
 
Re: Chrono's are they worth it?

I've been getting by without one. If you have a range to shoot distance then I would go off of actual bullet holes not printed data.
 
Re: Chrono's are they worth it?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Sean the Nailer</div><div class="ubbcode-body">From what I've been learning here, the Magnetospeed is the chrono to buy.

Check it out here, there's some threads about it. Almost impossible to shoot it. Though I'm sure someone will find a way. </div></div>

I would really love to pick one of these up but I only have one concern. Since this is actually attached to the barrel will it affect the harmonics and possibly throw off your accuracy node from when there is nothing attached to the barrel?
 
Re: Chrono's are they worth it?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: RobertB</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I've been getting by without one. If you have a range to shoot distance then I would go off of actual bullet holes not printed data.</div></div>

DOPE is an acronym that stands for "Data on Previous Engagements."

Today, we have ballistics calculators that tell us how our drops change with differing altitude conditions and elevations.

It is possible to figure out dope without a chronograph, it is just extremely difficult. With your velocity, BC info, hundred yard zero, and atmospheric conditions, you can get on paper quickly at long range and fine tune your BC based on observations.

Without velocity data, you are setting yourself up for failure. I had a factory load that I had not chronied. I went out trying to make up drops for it based on factory data. It was a frustrating experience, and yes, I burned through about $40+ worth of ammo trying to hit paper at long range. In the end, I came up with some dope that I didn't have confidence in.

From a handloading perspective, it is nice to be able to do load development and groupings at short range. You can look at SD's in the chrony to tell if you are doing well. You can also look at your velocities to see if they are even feasible at long range. If you have the most accurate load ever, but the ballistic calculator tells you that you will be at mach at 1,000 yards, it is probably not a good load for 1,000 yards.

For me, my 1,000 yard range is not very accessible, so it is critical to do all or most of my load development at short range before confirmation at long range.
 
Re: Chrono's are they worth it?

Has anyone modified a CED M2 to make it longer? That was one complaint I have read that the sensors are too close together....
 
Re: Chrono's are they worth it?

I'd think if you extended it, it would have to be reprogramed somehow. The reading you get is from a set distance apart.
I may be wrong though.
 
Re: Chrono's are they worth it?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Has anyone modified a CED M2 to make it longer? That was one complaint I have read that the sensors are too close together....</div></div>

Mine is the older model, not the M2. I have 2' and 4' screens.
 
Re: Chrono's are they worth it?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Bear24</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Sean the Nailer</div><div class="ubbcode-body">From what I've been learning here, the Magnetospeed is the chrono to buy.

Check it out here, there's some threads about it. Almost impossible to shoot it. Though I'm sure someone will find a way. </div></div>

I would really love to pick one of these up but I only have one concern. Since this is actually attached to the barrel will it affect the harmonics and possibly throw off your accuracy node from when there is nothing attached to the barrel?</div></div>

I like mine. So far it appears that it does not affect group size, but does affect POI. So it seems you could use it for load workup, but you wouldn't want to zero with it. My suggestion would be to do a normal OCW load workup without it, and then use the magnetospeed to ensure you have good ES. For long range ES is what I really care about anyway.
 
Re: Chrono's are they worth it?

I also recommend the Competition Electronics' Pro Chrono. Mine seems accurate and is definitely reliable. Two other members at my range also have one and like it. One of these uses the Pro Chrono to establish ballistics for students' rifles as part of long range rifle courses. Their's gets a lot more use than mine and they have nothing but praise for the Pro Chrono.
 
Re: Chrono's are they worth it?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Carter Mayfield</div><div class="ubbcode-body">

DOPE is an acronym that stands for "Data on Previous Engagements."

</div></div>
It really irks me when this gets stated as 'fact'. It's a "bacronym" at best.

Just a pet peeve of mine. Sorry for the interruption.
 
Re: Chrono's are they worth it?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Gene Poole</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Carter Mayfield</div><div class="ubbcode-body">

DOPE is an acronym that stands for "Data on Previous Engagements."

</div></div>
It really irks me when this gets stated as 'fact'. It's a "bacronym" at best.

Just a pet peeve of mine. Sorry for the interruption.</div></div>

You know, I was always told that. I try to figure out the etymology of the word, and it looks pretty hazy.
 
Re: Chrono's are they worth it?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Broken_Reticle</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Has anyone modified a CED M2 to make it longer? That was one complaint I have read that the sensors are too close together.... </div></div>

I have not done this but you easily could. Just get a pole that's 2x or 3x as long. The only thing you would have to change is multiply the FPs that it spits out by the multiple you elongated the base.
 
Re: Chrono's are they worth it?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Broken_Reticle</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I have $150 left to spend on my reloading setup. I have found a couple on Midway on sale. How important should they be in a reloading system? I am loading for distance, not 100 yard groups.

Will 150 get me something serviceable?

Thanks for the advice.

Reloading .308, .223, and 9mm for now. </div></div>

I've seen others trying to use these inexpensive chronographs over the years with wildly varying results. The inexpensive chronos have improved tremendously over the years but they are still far from ideal. The barrel mounted chrono seems like a good idea if all you care about is velocity data which is really what you want as a reloader.

I have a PVM21 which is a big improvement over all of the other chronos simply due to the sensor system used and the fine granularity of the time base. The best of the last generation chronos was the Oehler 35 which is about four times the price of the better skyscreen type chronos but it was well worth the extra cost. The PVM21 is similar in price to the Oehler but offers a much more compact package and has a much more reliable sensor system with a huge sweet spot when compared to all other chronos on the market.

If I was going to buy an inexpensive chrono today and I had a plain barrel I would buy the barrel chrono. Otherwise CED is the way to go.

HTH!
 
Re: Chrono's are they worth it?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Carter Mayfield</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> <div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Gene Poole</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Carter Mayfield</div><div class="ubbcode-body">

DOPE is an acronym that stands for "Data on Previous Engagements."

</div></div>
It really irks me when this gets stated as 'fact'. It's a "bacronym" at best.

Just a pet peeve of mine. Sorry for the interruption.</div></div>

You know, I was always told that. I try to figure out the etymology of the word, and it looks pretty hazy. </div></div>

NRA American Rifleman has run a column called "Dope Bag" since like 1921. Here's what NRA Firearm Museum has to say:


<span style="font-style: italic">Thank you for your inquiry to the National Firearms Museum.

Doping the wind is an old shooter's term. The carrying case any older competitive shooter would take to the range was called a dope bag and would be filled with all the necessary items for the firing line. Knowing which way a wind was blowing (and how fast) was an esoteric skill that the old time shooters seemed to be able to pull out of their dope bag when needed.

Old Sea Girt and Camp Perry range stories will sometimes refer to individuals that religiously noted the amount of windage under certain conditions, jotting this information down in a book kept in their dope bags.

Museum Staff</span>
 
Re: Chrono's are they worth it?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: FALex</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 427Cobra</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Must have, but DO NOT buy anything made by Chrony, I shot mine on purpose. </div></div>

sure ya' did
wink.gif


</div></div>
Yea, he did.
 
Re: Chrono's are they worth it?

chronographs really help.I`ve owned 4 different units...buy what you can afford....the more exspensive ones are more accurate and consistant.
Go in with a buddy...on a unit...???
bill larson
 
Re: Chrono's are they worth it?

I have a 300 yard range on my farm... so I pretty much have to get everything solo...

I worked out my budget.. I can get the CED M2

Thanks for the info guys..
 
Re: Chrono's are they worth it?

I find it a bit amusing, and more than a bit annoying, that the NRA makes a comment about "older competitive shooters" carrying such things to competition, when they're still very much in use today. And knowing wind conditions, and how they play out at various places in any given range is still vital to a shooters success, especially in those matches which don't permit sighters, such as the NTI or the President's Hundred. At Perry, for example, a 15 mph wind from 9 o'clock means something very different if you're "in the tunnel" dowm on the little end of the range, as opposed to being squadded on point 126 of the same relay. We still rely on those data books just as much as the "old timers" did way back when. The NRA would know this if they ever bothered to learn anything about their own damned matches, rather than just trying to drive shooters away.
 
Re: Chrono's are they worth it?

yes, a must have. before i had a chrono i was just guessing my speed and trying to make a drop card with that or using a ballistics program with wrong input data. crap in, crap out.
 
Re: Chrono's are they worth it?

I just ordered the ced m2 myself. Got the ir sensors, battery pack, and carrying case. Guess every damned thing I could find. Are the ir sensors able to completely replace the regular sensors ?? Meaning if I put the ir sensors on, daylight, cloud cover, overall lighting conditions that effect the regular sensors would be eliminated in relationship to accurate readings? This is pretty much what I have read but you guys with the m2 know better than I. So thanks for any responses.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Benjo
Help with chrono result in graph form
Replies
26
Views
539
b6graham
b6graham
D
OCW results (Chrono)
Replies
7
Views
684
Winny94
W
Turbwhistle
Dillon xl650
Replies
61
Views
3K
Turbwhistle
Turbwhistle
I
Jump to reloading now or wait
Replies
27
Views
2K
EJ1001
E
H
308 and wind at 100 yards
Replies
19
Views
2K
straightshooter1
straightshooter1
Top Bottom
Back