chronograph

[Chuckhunter]

Not here to sing the praises of a chronograph, nor will I dismiss their value. They are a tool that can give you valuable information when used properly and give you fits when used improperly. I have a magneto speed but do not use it to work up loads. Don't want anything hanging on my barrel as it will affect the load work up once you take it off. Once I have my load worked up I strap it on, get my avg. velocity, E.S. and S.D. Plug all pertinent info into QL., adj. burn rate to match average velocity at temperature then log all information. You'll be happy you did this if you are shooting competitively and decide to change powder lots and your load moves to another zip code. A quick check through the chronograph will tell you where you are and will also help you quickly get back to where you should be. Very simple, very helpful saving you time and components. As long as I'm shooting competition I will always have one. Just another useful tool.

 

[Baer45]

I also have both and although I like the Labradar, it is a,pain to get synced with whatever rifle I am shooting and suppresors being what I use all the time I end up using my magneto most of time because I can be shooting in 5 minutes instead of fiddling with the Labradar set up...if I had to choose one I would keep my magneto speed..

 

[sundance]

I had a Chrony Master for 17 years and it recently died. (I have a 100 yard range at the house and used that chrono 30-50 times every year.) .I traded it back to Chrony for a new one .New one arrived a few days ago and fell apart when I was putting the rods in it for the first time. I would not recommend that chronograph.

 

[6MMsteve]

A chrono won't help bad bullets, bad barrels, and the other thing

 

[BRatigan]

After more than 50 years of shooting I finally broke down and purchased a chronograph. The model is the Competition Electronics ProChrono DLX. The unit was very easy to set up with traditional diffusers and metal supports. Sat on my Leitz Tilt-all tripod without a fuss. Bluetooth worked on my Android phone at the range perfectly and I also linked it with my mainframe.
I decided I would run three known loads through it with my Win 94 Rifle length barrel in 30-30 to see what numbers I would get. I mostly wanted fps as I already expect 1-1.5 inch groups at 50 yards with iron sights from sand bags.

So here is the data and loads.

Load 1
Bullet: Sierra 150 gr FN #2000
Case: Federal
Powder: RX-7 at 27.9 grains
Primer: WLR
Shot 1: 2312, Shot 2: 2313, Shot 3: 2324, Shot 4: 2282, Shot 5: 2290
Average = 2304, Extreme Spread of 42, Standard Deviation of 16.
This load shot very well and showed only slight primer flattening. This load was point of aim.

Load 2
Bullet: Sierra 150 gr FN #2000
Case: Federal
Powder: Winchester 748 at 33.8 gr
Primer: WLR
Shot 1: 2163, Shot 2: 2207, Shot 3: 2268, Shot 4: 2209, Shot 5: 2179
Average = 2205, Extreme Spread of 105, Standard Deviation of 36.
Also very accurate with normal primer appearance and shoots 2 inches low with my sights.
All shots for the loads were made using one sight setting.

Load 3
Bullet: Hornady 160 FTX
Case: Federal
Powder: Winchester 748 at 29.8 gr
Primer: WLR
Shot 1: 2026, Shot 2: 1984, Shot 3: 1967, Shot 4: 1973, Shot 5: 2019
Average = 1993, Extreme Spread of 59, Standard Deviation of 24.
This load provided the tightest group with normal primer appearance. It shot 5 inches low with my sights. I am going to bump this load up to 31.5 gr and gather that data at a later session.

This is just a first look at the equipment and results with the unit 15 feet in front of the muzzle.

I believe these numbers are good, but others please feel free to chime in.