Your Recommended Chrono for Handgun and Rifle?

Rockrivr1 said:

Yeah, I know. I'm behind the curve and should have bought these things a long time ago.

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I don't think you're "behind the curve." I'm 72, been shooting since I was knee high, and don't think I had a chronograph until I was well into my 40s. And that "range finder" thing -- my oldest (45) daughter's fiancé has one, I still don't.
At any rate, my chronograph is a plane old Chrony F-1. It works, it tell us how fast the bullet was going that passed over it, and I'm sure we paid less than $75.00 for it. It doesn't have a remote readout or reset though, so if it needs reset, one of us has to walk downrange to do it. But that's not a problem -- our usual "range" is the county gravel pit, and there's seldom anyone else around.
Our F-1 doesn't do averages or standard deviations either. But a pencil, notebook and a $5.00 pocket calculator works for averages, and standard deviations are easy to find one we get home from shooting by plugging the numbers into an Excel spread sheet on this computer.
The only time I've ever cussed my Chrony F-1 was the time I left it on from the last time we went shooting, Its battery was dead, and I had to have my wife drive back to the house (about 2 miles) to get a new one. Since then, I keep a fresh battery taped inside.

If I was buying a tradition light-gate chrono right now it would probably be a CED M2 with the infrared sky screens. The infrared screens really makes is agnostic to most environmental conditions (ie bright sun, clouds etc).

My current chronograph is a Shooting Chony Alpha Master. The remote display/control module is nice as all you data is at the bench with you not up at the chronograph. It folds up nice and small which is nice for transport. The indoor lights for it are a real pain to use though.

That said I am saving my money for a Lab Radar. I have use them several times before and there is just so much more data you can get with it. If you get serious about it you can use it to calculate the BC of you projectiles from you gun. The geek in me really wants one and hopefully I will get one later this year.

The CE ProChronoDLX is a great buy for mid-range price chronographs. It has built in Bluetooth and great apps for phones and computers. You sometimes find it on sale (Midway) for $100.00, but even at the list price of $139 it's a good deal. Very accurate and easy to use.

I have 3 or maybe 4 chronographs, not sure if one has been returned yet since I loaded it out.

This is the one I use the most.



Not because it’s the best, but because it works, cost me $20 and thus is always with me. The more expensive ones seem to hang out with my safe queens.

I don't think you can hardly go wrong now days. I used a friend's prehistoric something or other in the late '70s. Then Oehler, and two PACTs. We set up the Oehler and PACT in tandem one day to see if their was any appreciable difference in recorded velocities. There was not. Were I buying a new chronograph now days though, it would be one of the Labradars...

LabRadar.

Second the prochrono DLX. The Bluetooth connection is pretty slick.

I’ve had a bushnell engage 1300 rangefinder for a little while and am happy with it.

For full disclosure these are the only chrono or rangefinder that I have any experience with.

Rockrivr1 ; Thanks for starting this thread. I know things are a lot different than back in 1997 when I got my Shooting Chrony but I'm not up to speed on any of it. Still got my Chrony. It still works. Had it upgraded with a remote and increased memory about 2008. Tested it vs. another Shooting Chrony once and they both seemed to agree. Now I'm hearing a lot about the newer stuff like LabRadar and others and wondering if I'm becoming a dinosaur in the chronograph world. I'll be following this thread.

I have an F1 but am restricted in the winter to indoor shooting. My F1 doesn't work indoors with the lighting used at the indoor range I am a member of. Have to wait until the weather is decent and the outdoor range opens up.

I have only owned one and it is a Labradar. Cost some money but easy to set up and provides a lot of data. Can down load to spreadsheet if you really like to play with numbers. After some fiddling, I was able to blue tooth it to my phone which could come in handy when shooting with a long rifle so you don't have to push the buttons. Every now and then I get a reading that just seems way off so I delete it and it recalculates. The only down side I can see, is your buddies and people at the range want to borrow it. I just use a mini photo tripod and it works fine for bench rifle or indoor range with hand guns. Now if I was shooting on private property, I might be just as happy with one of the screen versions.

Spade5 said:

I have only owned one and it is a Labradar. Cost some money but easy to set up and provides a lot of data. Can down load to spreadsheet if you really like to play with numbers. After some fiddling, I was able to blue tooth it to my phone which could come in handy when shooting with a long rifle so you don't have to push the buttons. Every now and then I get a reading that just seems way off so I delete it and it recalculates. The only down side I can see, is your buddies and people at the range want to borrow it. I just use a mini photo tripod and it works fine for bench rifle or indoor range with hand guns. Now if I was shooting on private property, I might be just as happy with one of the screen versions.

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Your buddies are far less likely to shoot your Lab Radar than a traditional light gate chronograph.

I would run a labradar if I had the money. Right now I’m using a Caldwell. It has a jack and cord to plug into my iPhone and the app records the results and you can put in the load info. Some funny readings at times. Very finicky about distance from muzzle. I got that worked out and it’s fine now. It was a gift but I think they’re in the $200 range

I only have experience with one chronograph. I bought a Labradar two years ago I believe, and it is a fantastic product. I can get velocities at varying distances including right at the muzzle, and I think out to 100 yards. I believe it is rated to accurately measure velocities up to something like 5000 fps, but you can check the manufacturers website. It is easy to use, and seems very reliable. You also remove the possibility of accidentally shooting the unknit, and it isn't reliant on light to work properly. There is also an app that will connect to your phone.

There are four minor down sides as I see it. One, the cost is high, but I believe in buy once and cry once. Two, you'll need a stand or tripod to use it, so there is an extra cost. Three, I feel the battery connection, which will work with any USB battery pack and a micro connector is a tad fragile. The cord is heavy duty and the weight of it seems to be not so good for the connection. I'm not having problems, but I need to make sure the battery cable and cord are strapped to the tripod. This gets cumbersome. I would highly recommend using a set of rechargeable batteries instead of a USB battery. The fourth is that at longer distances it can be a little hard to get lined up, but taping a soda straw to the top and that helps.

The cost is obnoxious, but it's a really awesome system when you get one running. View it as an investment rather than as a new toy. Be sure to give the unit enough time between shots, like 1.5 seconds, or it won't pick up each shot.

The Caldwell works fine at a price of about $100. But you will shoot it, since it is downrange. If you don't your buddy will.

I bit the bullet and bought the Labradar at $500+.

To a guy like me, the ability to measure muzzle velocity with a chrono I won't shoot is a big deal.

I have an Oehler 35P Proof chronograph, a Competition Electronics ProChrono chronograph and a MagnetoSpeed chronograph. For handguns, I prefer the ProChrono because it sets up easy on a camera tripod and I have the bluetooth transmitter that sends measured velocity to an app on my cell phone. For rifles, I prefer the Magnetospeed because everything can be installed and adjusted right at the bench, it doesn't require good lighting conditions, it doesn't trigger off other people shooting nearby, and I don't have to aim it downrange where it can pick up other peoples bullets. I haven't used the 35P in years - I used it when performing ordnance gelatin tests.

"PRS?"

Could not find it at:

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...bbreviations-acronyms-and-terminology.370999/

Could have just missed it, though, with how big that list is.

Enlighten this old coot, please? I'll probably smite my forehead when you tell me, of course.

Terry

I've always mooched off of other's chronos. Having used a bunch of different ones, the only one I plan to buy is a Labradar.

Oh, OK, thanks. Maybe they ought to add it to the acronym list if I didn't just plain miss it.

Terry

Shawn Dodson said:

I have an Oehler 35P Proof chronograph, a Competition Electronics ProChrono chronograph and a MagnetoSpeed chronograph. For handguns, I prefer the ProChrono because it sets up easy on a camera tripod and I have the bluetooth transmitter that sends measured velocity to an app on my cell phone. For rifles, I prefer the Magnetospeed because everything can be installed and adjusted right at the bench, it doesn't require good lighting conditions, it doesn't trigger off other people shooting nearby, and I don't have to aim it downrange where it can pick up other peoples bullets. I haven't used the 35P in years - I used it when performing ordnance gelatin tests.

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If you do not mind answering,

Do you have the lesser or more expensive MagnetoSpeed? Looking for something for old military surplus rifle loads on an indoor range that would be a pain to get approved for light dependent chronies.

boom boom said:

If you do not mind answering,

Do you have the lesser or more expensive MagnetoSpeed? Looking for something for old military surplus rifle loads on an indoor range that would be a pain to get approved for light dependent chronies.

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Get the more expensive Magnetospeed. Why they sell the cheaper one without all the features is beyond me.

For the price of the expensive magneto-speed your 80% of the way to a Lab Radar and Lab radar works will all semi-auto handguns.

I had (still have) an Oehler 35P for years, but switched to a Labradar a couple years ago.

Expensive, but worth it due the the exportable reports, Bluetooth APP, and the insanely quick setup. I now chrono loads probably 4xs as often as I ever did as it's practical during practice sessions. Multiple data points at differing temps will make your output from your ballistic app that much more better.....

A practice session with a couple friends, using the LabRadar while engaging steel: