SSL
Gold $$ Contributor
Having gotten sick and tired of the hassle of using my old Shooting Chrony with its requiring a tripod adjusted perfectly, precise leveling, correct distance, sensitivity to lighting changes and inability to 'see' certain bullets and calibers, I managed to find an opened but unused, MagnetoSpeed Sporter from a dealer at a very good mark-down. The Sporter is the cheapest of the MagnetoSpeed offerings but fits my needs perfectly without a bunch of 'bells and whistles' I wouldn't use anyway. When the unit arrived, it was so well packed in its original box that I doubt if it had ever left it. I certainly can't re-pack it as well as the factory did!
I have used it now on all of my rifles and an XP100 (all pre-established accurate loads), and the only failure to read occurred on the first two shots of my .223. My fault... I didn't have the strap tightened correctly and allowed a 'droop' to the sensor unit. Once I figured that out and slapped my forehead, the rest was easy. Using the factory default sensitivity, I successfully chronographed loads through my .17 Remington (skinny barrel and two loads each with 20 and 25-grain bullets) without a hiccup, .223 with muzzle brake (four different loads), .22-250 (one load...not changing that one!), .243 with heavy barrel (two loads), my XP100 7mm BR (two loads) .280 Remington (three loads) and .30-06 (three loads). Even those tiny .17s at over 4,000 fps were recorded without a miss.
Part of the reason for choosing this unit is that I test loads right from my gun/loading room to a 100-yard backstop. This allows me to move back and forth from my shooting bench to my loading bench (10 feet away) to load cartridges for testing as needed without having to load a bunch and then take them out to my range (plus stay in heat or air conditioning during weather swings). Being on the second floor, the idea of a chronograph that requires a surface in front of the muzzle is out of the question and the weight of that little sensor bar is nominal. The other reason is the insanely simple setup.
Many decry the idea of POI shifts when using this unit, but my long-time practice has always been to develop the most accurate loads with a given bullet/load combination, pick the best ones and zero for them. I then chronograph using the same loads, but with the identical bullets that I have pulled from unacceptable loads to save my pristine bullets for target or game. Seems like that pile never completely goes away. Chronographed results are then loaded into Strelok Pro to give me a decent working picture of what extended ballistics should look like. Actual zero with and without the MagnetoSpeed attached varies from none to an inch or so, depending on the barrel and cartridge and, even though relatively consistent, I wouldn't trust a zero derived from groups shot with anything attached to my barrels anyway.
It can handle 1/2" to 1" barrels and accommodate up to 2.7" in length muzzle brakes or flash-hiders.
The only slight confusion is in getting used to scrolling through the various settings, error reports and read-outs (Minimum, Maximum, Average, SD and ED as well as Sensitivity Level), but it soon becomes second nature and actually quite logical.
Bottom line? Perfect for my application, though not usable with normal length handgun barrels without a lot of jury-rigging and luck (I'll keep my old Chrony for the rare times I need to chronograph them or even a muzzleloader - with the screen and sensors carefully protected by a steel plate of course). It may not be the best for your use, but it sure beats fiddling with tripods and such and is certainly cheaper than the Labradar units or even the MagnetoSpeed V3 series. I'll keep it!
I have used it now on all of my rifles and an XP100 (all pre-established accurate loads), and the only failure to read occurred on the first two shots of my .223. My fault... I didn't have the strap tightened correctly and allowed a 'droop' to the sensor unit. Once I figured that out and slapped my forehead, the rest was easy. Using the factory default sensitivity, I successfully chronographed loads through my .17 Remington (skinny barrel and two loads each with 20 and 25-grain bullets) without a hiccup, .223 with muzzle brake (four different loads), .22-250 (one load...not changing that one!), .243 with heavy barrel (two loads), my XP100 7mm BR (two loads) .280 Remington (three loads) and .30-06 (three loads). Even those tiny .17s at over 4,000 fps were recorded without a miss.
Part of the reason for choosing this unit is that I test loads right from my gun/loading room to a 100-yard backstop. This allows me to move back and forth from my shooting bench to my loading bench (10 feet away) to load cartridges for testing as needed without having to load a bunch and then take them out to my range (plus stay in heat or air conditioning during weather swings). Being on the second floor, the idea of a chronograph that requires a surface in front of the muzzle is out of the question and the weight of that little sensor bar is nominal. The other reason is the insanely simple setup.
Many decry the idea of POI shifts when using this unit, but my long-time practice has always been to develop the most accurate loads with a given bullet/load combination, pick the best ones and zero for them. I then chronograph using the same loads, but with the identical bullets that I have pulled from unacceptable loads to save my pristine bullets for target or game. Seems like that pile never completely goes away. Chronographed results are then loaded into Strelok Pro to give me a decent working picture of what extended ballistics should look like. Actual zero with and without the MagnetoSpeed attached varies from none to an inch or so, depending on the barrel and cartridge and, even though relatively consistent, I wouldn't trust a zero derived from groups shot with anything attached to my barrels anyway.
It can handle 1/2" to 1" barrels and accommodate up to 2.7" in length muzzle brakes or flash-hiders.
The only slight confusion is in getting used to scrolling through the various settings, error reports and read-outs (Minimum, Maximum, Average, SD and ED as well as Sensitivity Level), but it soon becomes second nature and actually quite logical.
Bottom line? Perfect for my application, though not usable with normal length handgun barrels without a lot of jury-rigging and luck (I'll keep my old Chrony for the rare times I need to chronograph them or even a muzzleloader - with the screen and sensors carefully protected by a steel plate of course). It may not be the best for your use, but it sure beats fiddling with tripods and such and is certainly cheaper than the Labradar units or even the MagnetoSpeed V3 series. I'll keep it!
