Which Chronograph?

[Raythemanroe]

LabRadar worked 100% once I set it up correctly.. It is much better than the other chrono's I have owned. The troubles is user error..

I love being able to get velocities during a match or shoot off when testing something new..


Ray

 

[Clucknmoan]

Realistically how much does one use a chronograph. Seems like a lot of money just sitting there for most of the time.

I use my LabRadar ALOT, the previous ones, not so much. The easier they are to set up, the more I use them.

I love the 3 screen Oehler, but it's a pain to set up. So were all the others I have owned for that matter. I like the idea of not having to hold up everyone else while I set the chrony up 10 feet down range. A lot of the time here there just isn't the option of setting anything up 10 feet in from of you... steep road bank or a burm. That was one of the big selling points for me.

I made a little benchtop mount out of a 12x12x1" piece of wood and a 1/4x20 bolt, it stays mounted to it. Sets up in literally 20 seconds when I get my rest and rifle set. Literally take another 20 seconds to move it to a rifle that's laying prone, or to your buddies rifle on another bench.

Mine isn't finicky at all. I think most of the issues are probably user error as someone stated above. Just not through the learning curve yet.

 

[Tim Singleton]

Labradar far and away
You will find yourself using it more because it's so easy to setup

 

[T-shooter]

I may regret it but I just purchased the Superchrono. I've read and seen everything online. I know the setup has to be exact. Yet again, it's small and only only part, no rods and sunscreens. If I don't like it, I'll sell it later. It's half the price of a Labradar and has twice the warranty. I have a ProChrono Digital to compare it against. That one is a pain because lighting conditions makes it either miss a reading, get a duplicate over and over, or be way off. The last time I used it everything was within 5-8 fps for 20 shots and the last 2 shots were about 80 fps faster.? The angle of the sun was getting lower and the chrono may have also got hot in the mid-upper 80° temps plus being in direct sunlight. Reflective bullets also screws up the readings, especially .223's. I'll test and post the results in a week or two. It'll either work or it won't.

 

[Raythemanroe]

I got tired of buying Chronographs, bought the LabRadar and I can tell you it's a keeper..


Ray

 

[T-shooter]

I got tired of buying Chronographs, bought the LabRadar and I can tell you it's a keeper..


Ray

If this one isn't accurate enough, I'll buy a Labradar in the spring. At least I would have a whole season while it was under warranty. The Superchrono may also be useful to put downrange to get a reading and to check the ballistics. It's tiny and I can shield it.

 

[Raythemanroe]

If this one isn't accurate enough, I'll buy a Labradar in the spring. At least I would have a whole season while it was under warranty. The Superchrono may also be useful to put downrange to get a reading and to check the ballistics. It's tiny and I can shield it.

The radar reads out to a hundred yards, you can set it to read 5 different distances out to a hundred..

 

[Rogmay]

I have a couple Oehler 35's, got one from my dad, the other off ebay, both work great, do they take a little to set up, you bet, but they work great, they're accurate and reliable, I just take the extra 5-10 min to set up and I'm good to go! Don't get me wrong, the easy of use of the lab radar seems pretty slick as well.

 

[Ledd Slinger]

Below is a link to an excellent article comparing various chronographs including the Labradar, Magnetospeed, and CED. Great read for anyone who is in the market for a new chronograph or wondering about the differences between doppler radar, magnetic, optical and acoustic technologies used by various brands. Very thorough testing by the writer. He gives excellent points of all strengths and weaknesses from a completely unbiased mind. Hope this gives good insight to the OP.

https://www.shootingsoftware.com/doppler.htm

 

[Mozella]

There are some great buys out there on Oehler 35's right now. I have owned mine for over 25 yrs. and it is still going strong. I have heard more than a few people having issues with the Lab Radar. Realistically how much does one use a chronograph. Seems like a lot of money just sitting there for most of the time. Just my personal opinion.

Paul

www.boltfluting.com

The Oehler 35 has a well deserved favorable reputation, but I'm reminded of my "state of the art" Radio Shack Model III computer which cost over $3000 and had 32K memory. Storage was on a 8kb floppy. Now you can buy a 1 tb hard drive for less than 50 bucks. Back in the day, nobody even knew what a terabyte was.

Electronic sophistication and performance increases every day it seems, while prices come down nearly as rapidly.

For example, the Oehler 35 has a clock speed of only 4mhz while the Caldwell has a 48mhz clock speed. One uses a mix of analog and digital processing and the other is purely digital. Which one do you think is better at slicing time into tiny parts in order to calculate bullet speed? Which one has electronics which are more stable?

Ever wonder why the gentleman shooting next to you has such wonderfully low ES and SD numbers? Perhaps his vintage chronograph simply isn't up to the task of measuring speed as accurately as a newer device.

These days, especially when you're talking about electronic devices, performance and price of this year's product isn't easy to compare with something designed a few years ago, and especially if you're talking about something designed prior to 1989 like the Oehler.

I like a vintage Studebaker but the current bottom of the line Kia is a better car.

 

[Berger.Fan222]

Below is a link to an excellent article comparing various chronographs including the Labradar, Magnetospeed, and CED. Great read for anyone who is in the market for a new chronograph or wondering about the differences between doppler radar, magnetic, optical and acoustic technologies used by various brands. Very thorough testing by the writer. He gives excellent points of all strengths and weaknesses from a completely unbiased mind. Hope this gives good insight to the OP.

https://www.shootingsoftware.com/doppler.htm

Another vote for LabRadar by a satisfied owner. The review linked above is accurate and spot on.

Mine missed a few shots when not well aligned, and alignment is more important for bullets with smaller diameter bases than with larger diameter bases. Get a mount (like a tripod) where you can easily adjust the alignment, and you'll be happy. Also happy to report that the procedure in the linked review for determining BCs is accurate and works really well.

 

[Ledd Slinger]

T-Shooter,

A member just posted his CED M2 for sale on Sunday. Doesn't have all the features of the Caldwell G2, but at $125 asking price I think it would be a pretty good deal. Here's the link.

http://forum.accurateshooter.com/threads/ced-m2-chronograph-with-ir-screens.3932332/

 

[T-shooter]

T-Shooter,

A member just posted his CED M2 for sale on Sunday. Doesn't have all the features of the Caldwell G2, but at $125 asking price I think it would be a pretty good deal. Here's the link.

http://forum.accurateshooter.com/threads/ced-m2-chronograph-with-ir-screens.3932332/

Thanks. They are going for about $199. I looked at them and they were rated high especially with the light source. I have already ordered the Superchrono. Hopefully I can get some accuracy and consistent readings out of it.

 

[Rogmay]

In relation to the older "state of the art" chronographs, I believe that's what Bryan Litz used to verify the lab radar was on when it first came out! My groups and my drops seem to match my Oehler so I guess I'm good with mine.