Is a chronograph necessary?

[wildfan99]

I've posted this on other forums to get other thoughts and opinions both hunting and target shooting...


I've been reloading for a few years, mostly rifle and shotgun, MAYBE a little handgun stuff.

I load for hunting and clays, not competition.

I've never owned a chronograph, but I'm interested in thoughts about how necessary they are for average target shooting and hunting.

I see them much more useful in precision shooting, but who wouldn't want tighter groups for more ethical kills and better clays scores.

I follow load data closely and rarely run max load data, so I've never really been concerned with over pressure.
I don't go outside published data, but I'm never sure about bullet speeds.

I have the tendency to change published cases, bullets, powders, and grains and use different manuals to get where I want to be.

Thoughts?

 

[60723]

Not really necessary but nice to compare different loads

 

[DaveTooley]

A chrono gives you a velocity number. Thats all. The target provides the rest of the information.

 

[LCazador]

A chronograph will give you information so you can calculate accurate bullet drop and trajectory so you can make an ethical kill.

 

[Stugots]

A chrono gives you a velocity number. Thats all. The target provides the rest of the information.

WRONG, It can also provide key statistics such as average velocity, standard deviation (SD), and extreme spread (ES) to determine ammunition consistency. This data is essential for accurate long-range ballistics, checking for safe pressure levels, and developing consistent handloads.

 

[Homerange]

A chrono gives you a velocity number. Thats all. The target provides the rest of the information.

But you can do without that when shooting the same load at longer ranges and adjusting velocities in a trajectory calculator so to match the measured drop.
This backwards method will give velocities in the ballpark of real numbers.

Having a crony just makes it simpler.......yet other factors start to play like the actual projectile performance where at long range it is common to tweak bullet numbers for trajectory calculators drop to perfectly match measured results.

 

[Turkeytider]

Not really necessary but nice to compare different loads

Absolutely. I use mine to compare factory loads. Compared to hand loads, it’s trying to pick the “ best of the worst “. My chronograph showed me one of the primary reasons it’s so difficult to string successive hits on small targets ( 2”-4” gongs ) at 500 yards shooting factory match .223 ammo.

 

[Dixie Reckt]

I've posted this on other forums to get other thoughts and opinions both hunting and target shooting...


I've been reloading for a few years, mostly rifle and shotgun, MAYBE a little handgun stuff.

I load for hunting and clays, not competition.

I've never owned a chronograph, but I'm interested in thoughts about how necessary they are for average target shooting and hunting.

I see them much more useful in precision shooting, but who wouldn't want tighter groups for more ethical kills and better clays scores.

I follow load data closely and rarely run max load data, so I've never really been concerned with over pressure.
I don't go outside published data, but I'm never sure about bullet speeds.

I have the tendency to change published cases, bullets, powders, and grains and use different manuals to get where I want to be.

Thoughts?

Its really nice having one if you care about accuracy. It sounds like you don't care about accuracy much though. Those manuals are always extremely conservative, you can put in more powder.

 

[Dixie Reckt]

WRONG, It can also provide key statistics such as average velocity, standard deviation (SD), and extreme spread (ES) to determine ammunition consistency. This data is essential for accurate long-range ballistics, checking for safe pressure levels, and developing consistent handloads.

WRONG - my chronograph only tells me a velocity number. I have to use excel to get SD, ES, all that other shit. WRONG WRONG WRONG SO WRONG!~!~!!

 

[Bottom Fodder]

From what your saying no spend that money on powder and bullets

 

[old codger]

No not absolutely necessary. But a chronograph is the only way you will know the velocity of your load. Without one you are only guessing.

 

[Bottom Fodder]

WRONG - my chronograph only tells me a velocity number. I have to use excel to get SD, ES, all that other shit. WRONG WRONG WRONG SO WRONG!~!~!!

That’s interesting mine tells me avg., ES, SD and even PF. Have I got the only one that does that?

 

[CJ6]

What did we do before "Affordable" Cronos?
Answer....We shot our dopes.
So Cronos are nice, but not absolutely necessary.

 

[spencercoc74]

I’m of the opinion that sometimes too much data is a bad thing.

A chronograph is both the best and worst thing I’ve purchased for reloading. If I were just going by group size I would have been done load development months ago. But no, I have to chase “acceptable” numbers. I spend a fair bit of time weeding through the reports determining which ones are relevant, changing my process, then repeat. I want to get closer to my goal which sadly is no longer on paper but on the chronograph. This is actually great for my anxiety and gives me something fruitful to put my mind to.

If you get a chronograph, determine what you’re going to use it for and only use it for that purpose. You can go down that rabbit hole in a hurry.

 

[hpshooter]

Not absolutely necessary but a good analytical tool to evaluate the consistency of your loading practices via ES and SD. I loaded for many years without one and depended on the results on the target, as Dave said. to let me know how the loads performed.

when I got into USPSA shooting in the 80's I had to be concerned about "power factor" of the ammo calculated using the bullet weight and velocity so I purchased a Pact chronograph and found that my great match ammo was not very consistent. This finding lead to better case prepping, different powder and primer selection, and replacement of the main spring in the 1911 every year. Scores went up and always was above the threshold on power factor to make major with a lighter load that I had used in the past to cover up the the wide spread in SD an ES.

Same story with F class and XTC loads. Actual knowing the velocity of the loads in known distance types of competition was not at the top of my list.

BTW, if you know the BC of the bullet you are shooting you can shoot a single target at 25, 50, 100, 200, and 300 yards and use a ballistic table to check the drops at each range and get pretty close to knowing the average velocity of the 5 rounds you fired doing the testing.

 

[kenhwind]

A traditional chronograph, NO!
We have a Chrony and haven't used it in years because it takes too much time and two people to set it up. If it is not aligned with the target there's a good chance of shooting it. I have used it before and had to do the math myself. The one we have has the printer.

Now one the new Garmin's, yeah, I just haven't bought one yet.

 

[joshb]

I like knowing my velocity but more importantly, I like knowing the variations of velocity for my loads.

 

[ELR LVR]

What did we do before "Affordable" Cronos?
Answer....We shot our dopes.
So Cronos are nice, but not absolutely necessary.

^^^ This
Even if I chrono a load, I still verify DOPE out in the field to confirm or adjust as needed
by shooting 3 different yardages 100,600,1000
Sometimes the calculated trajectories are not always spot on.
And Scope height plays a good factor there too
---
I used to use a Chrono all the time, when i was chasing speed
Once I stopped chasing after speed, the chrono sat at home, and I just looked at what the target was telling me.
if the target didnt look good = tweak load, change powder, change primer, adjust seating depth
---
Once you map out a Dope chart by shooting 3 different yardages, this will tell you your velocity anyway
---
The new Garmin Xero are pretty bad ass though, no need to set in front of the gun, so no danger to the chrono

 

[DaveTooley]

In 48 years of competitive shooting I've never used a chronograph to tune a rifle. The target tells all. Do I need and use velocity data? Yes but it's just a very small part of the accuracy equation.
It sure as hell doesn't tell me anything about pressure. Only the brass or primer can do that.

 

[Kevin1990]

A chronograph will give you information so you can calculate accurate bullet drop and trajectory so you can make an ethical kill.

So will establishing a DOPE and practicing at those distances.

To the OP. A crono is cool to have in your situation, but not necessary at all. I use my chrono after load development and then put it away. How far do you plan on shooting? If your like 400 yards and in I just don't see how a chrono would provide anything meaningful, to your situation. Just my inexperienced opinion.