Best chronograph for the $$$?

[Ol` Joe]

I think its a little picky about the lighting conditions.

All of them are funny in some lighting conditions. Try placing a piece of "Scotch brand" frosted tape over the screen slots and see if it helps. I`ve seen it straighten out a chrony that was acting up a time or two. I don`t claim it to be a cure all though, just a band aid.
Shading the screen sensors also fixes the problem if you have a piece of cardboard or something to keep the direct sun off them. Don`t set up under a tree. The sun peeking through the swaying leaves from the breeze sometimes causes the reading to be eratic.
Enjoy your new toy. You are often going to be shocked at what your loads are really doing ........;<)

 

[yammerschooner]

I have a Chrony Gamma Master. It has issues on bluebird days. If I were to do it all over I would go with a CED.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

The PACT 1 XP has a 24 shot memory. You can edit the strings to eliminate any error if it happens and it won't effect the other readings. You are provided High, Low AV, ES, SD and AD readings as well as being able to review all shot readings.

I don't think it has a printer feature.

 

[azar]

Thanks ArchAngel. The model you are talking about is the basic Model 1 correct?

If that's so, a 24 shot memory really isn't a lot to crow about. The nicest benefit is the electronics are not next to the screens like the Shooting Chronys.

 

[yammerschooner]

The shooting chrony gamma master I have brings the screen back to the shooter. Everything other than the bluebird day issue mentioned above is good.

I like the printer, as I can rip off the tape and throw it in with the exact brass I used for any particular load.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

azar,
I know a 24 shot memory isn't a lot but it's way more than I need. I'm using it to check velocities on my load work-ups so all I really need is 10 or so rounds to get a good test on speed.

PACT currently has only 3 models in production, the Model 1 XP (which I own), the Professional XP and MKIV Championship Timer & Chronograph.

I wasn't looking for a lot of the things you seem to want. I was only looking for a dependable Chronograph that would be easy to use and give me accurate readings. I got exactly what I wanted with the Model 1 XP. I was lucky it was on sale and it cost me only $110 instead of $130. I'm happy since it does what I need it to do and it does it very well.

 

[azar]

ArchAngelCD,

You know, that's all I thought I wanted when I started this thread. But I wanted others input to be sure I'd be happy with my purchase and not buy something that was missing that "killer feature". The pact was my first choice for a while but it's the current $130 price tag that's keeping it from being the clear winner. As long as what people say here is true and that more-or-less all chronys have similar internals and each of them will do a decent job of it, then I don't see the need for me to spend more on a CED or Pact. I can see the draw of them and given a bigger budget I'm pretty sure I'd bring home the CED M2 or Pact XP Pro without too much thought.

I don't currently reload for pistols, nor do I plan to start in the near future, so the fear of hitting the chrony with an errant shot is probably unfounded and not worth weighing too much of my decision. The "extras" like average velocity, high and low, etc are again nice to have but not necessities. Same goes for the printer.

I'm leaning towards the Beta Master or Alpha Master, although a bit more towards the Beta. I can currently get the Beta Master for $108.44 at Mid-South Shooters Supply and the Alpha Master for $95.19. The Beta Master can record 60 shots (10 strings of 2 to 10) and can be upgraded for 1000 shot memory for a small fee. An add-on printer can be attached as well. With the master models the display and a good portion of the electronics are on the bench with me as well. Not 100% what I want, but it's getting there. And the price tag is definitely more Christmas list friendly.

I'm still open to more suggestions and personal experiences if you'd like to share.

 

[Asherdan]

Let me throw this a different way...

Additional memory, features and add on printers are all extra cost and complexity when you're out on the range trying to focus on shooting straight. The less crud you have to muck around and set up and trouble shoot the more time and mind you free up for the fun part. I have a simple Shooting Chrony F-1 Master. It puts the display and the expensive part of the unit on the bench with you and is generally simple and accurate.

Now, the fact that we're all putting up our opinions here shows we have or have access to a computer of some sort. What I do is run up and excel template for each test session with load and data categories tied to all the good stuff I want to know about. I leave the muzzle velocity cells blank and print it out on the way to the range. I sit the piece of paper under the F-1 head unit on the bench and fill in the shot velocity cells as I run them off. Then I take my hard copy and type up the data and let the spreadsheet do the calculations for me and display the data I want to know. I make my notes on the same page and save the file as well as printing it off for the three ring binder I keep with my load dev workups with my reloading gear. I figure why invest money in duplicate equipment? If I get all ansty I'll throw my laptop in with the reloding gear and take a sammich break at the range and put in my data to see what's working out.

I'm probably nuts but here's a sample from my last range session anyways...

Range Dat w/ Chrony - 071110							
Rifle	Bullet Type	Weight	Diameter COL	Powder	Primer	 MAX Chg MAX MV
1895G	Laser Cast FP	350	.459"	2.525	Re 7	CCI 200	  47	1850
1895G	Laser Cast FP	350	.459"	2.525	2400	CCI 200	 25	1350
1894	Hornady XTP	240	.430"	1.6"	2400	CCI 300	  21.5	1700


Charge	  MV1	MV2	MV3	MV4	MV5			
GG 45g	  1742	1743	1706	1686	1729			
GG 25g	  1401	1349	1426	1430	1350			
94 19.5g  1592	1589	1566	1583	1578			
94 20g	  1669	1662	1660	1680	1655			
94 20.5g  1771	1762	1760	1766	1749			
								
Charge	 Hi - V	Lo - V	Avg - V	E Spread	Std Dev			
GG 45g	 1743	1686	1721	57	        22.09			
GG 25g	 1430	1349	1391	81	        35.47			
94 19.5g 1592	1566	1582	26	        9.18	
94 20g	 1680	1655	1665	25	         8.66	
94 20.5g 1771	1749	1762	22	        7.34

 

[azar]

Asherdan,

It looks like you have everything well put together and I must say that I like your ideas and your setup. You've reiterated what some other people have said as well, although quite a bit more in depth. Your line of though was how I was leaning before starting this thread. I told my wife "If you want to get me a chronograph for Christmas just get me the F1 Master. It's also currently on sale for $80." But once I have a chronograph, If I decided I liked some of the extra features, purchasing a new one would probably be seriously frowned upon by the wife.

I think I got wowed by features and the "gee-whiz" factor of some of the other more expensive chronographs. The biggest one was having all the important electronics on bench (CED, Pact). While I do agree with everything you say, I think that it would be nice to have some of those extras at the range with me. Plus, I don't mind a little extra cost for some of those features if it helps "future-proof" it in my mind. So, I still lean towards the Beta Master and Alpha Master as my #1 and #2 pick.

But thank you for your input!

P.S. Are you willing to share your excel spreadsheet with the rest of us?

 

[Black_Talon]

P.S. Are you willing to share your excel spreadsheet with the rest of us?

Yeah, what he said! ^

 

[Asherdan]

Open offer, PM me with an email contact and I will send any member an excel file with 5 shot and 10 shot string templates on separate tabs ready to go.

I'll probably have to get 'em out after the holidays, just to inform.

I'm really not knocking the extra chrony gear like the printers and such. Using Excel to display data specifically the way I want it as part of a data archive system that works for me was a no brainer 'cause I do that type of stuff for a living anyways. YMMV.

 

[azar]

Best Tripod for the money?

Santa was kind enough to bring me a chronograph for Christmas. The Shooting Chrony Beta Master if you are interested. I gave my wife...er...Santa a list of three (Pact XP, Beta Master, Alpha Master) and let her pick one. Although I did say that the Beta Master was my first choice. Unfortunately, it has snowed every single weekend since Thanksgiving until this one! While great for those who ski or snowboard, not so great for shooting. So I'm ready to get out and finally break in the new chrony.

One thing I forgot to ask for Christmas was a tripod, not remembering that you really need one to mount the chrony on. How tall does it need to be? Any particular recommendations or best places to get one on short notice?

 

[GaryL]

Out of curiosity, has anyone tried putting a piece of cardboard with a 5" hole in it between the screens to look through to help avoid hitting the unit?

If you can't see the target beyond - might want to adjust aim - if you can, it seems it'd take quite a flinch to tag the unit.

 

[Eagle103]

Azar, I was able to find a nice old tripod on Ebay for about $15. I detest Ebay but this one was all steel and aluminum, not like most of the junk you buy today.
GaryL, I wonder if that wouldn't mess up the sensors.

 

[azar]

Thankfully for todays range session I was able to borrow my fathers tripod which I gave him for Fathers Day last year. There was about 2 feet of snow on the ground which meant I had to kick up a nice little patch to clear the way for the tripod. With all the snow, I couldn't see which target holder lined up with my bench at 100 yards and I ended up placing it too far left. So I had to wait 15 minutes for the next cease fire. At the next cease fire the range officer said that no other people had signed up to run the range that day (the RO's are volunteers who get free memberships and keys to come anytime they want), so the range would be closing after the next round.

So, with all the setup to get everything going I only got to shoot one group (6 shots) but the Chrony seemed to work fine! I was surprised at the velocities recorded. They came in probably about 100fps slower than I would have expected. Although the sun was a bit to the side of the chrony and the chrony was tilted slightly forward due to unevenness of the snow (something I hadn't noticed until the cease fire had ended), so the readings could have been off due to that. But at least I didn't get any shots that the chrony was unable to read at all.

Reloading just got a good deal more fun...

 

[GaryL]

Eagle303 - the sensors are about a foot apart. Should be fine to put something in between. The sensors are looking at the sky screen (or the sky).

 

[JNewell]

I've bought a couple of decent lightweight tripods on e*ay for <$10 (before shipping). Hard to go wrong at that price...

 

[threefeathers]

I now have a Pact chrono and I love it. However I am an ACE on Chrony's. (5 of them.) My son's won't let me use theirs.

 

[Nom de Guerre]

I have an Oehler 35P. It took a while to find a good used one. Several came and went very quickly before I was able to jump on them. It took me about 3 months to find mine.

I love it. A buddy of mine and I went to the range today to chronograph some test loads that we are working up. He has an almost new PACT Mark IV XP, that he has only used once before. He won it in a competition match. Today it wouldn't work. It seemed to have a short or something, and he kept getting an error message saying the screens triggered simultaneously. This was without trying any shots yet. He tried unplugging everything, and setting it up again, but the same error message came up. It would alternate between the "ready" readout and the error message every few seconds even when just sitting there. He was pretty frustrated, but we both ended up using my 35P, and he was pretty happy with the results.

It's pretty nice to have the built in printer. We would shoot a string, and press the summary button to get the evaluation of the string. You just rip off the printed info, and stick it in your book (after notating the powder charge on it). It makes for easy record keeping, and minimal work at the range.

The standard distance between the primary screens is 4 ft. Then there is a proofing screen that goes between the two primary screens. You can stretch the two primary screens to 8 ft and beyond I believe by just changing some dip switches inside the unit. I don't have the manual close at hand, so I can't lookup the maximum distance between primary screens. I am just using it with the 4 ft spread, and it seems to work very well, and it's not too bulky. I notice that many chronographs use a 2' spread, and no proof channel.

In any case, if you can find a good used Oehler 35P for a not too unreasonable price, I give it a high recommendation. I don't think there is a better one made for the individual shooter (not commercial) market.

 

[Winger Ed.]

Ya don't hear much about the Oehler chronos.
But I sure like mine.
I just put it up & use it.
So far, it hasn't acted goofy or done anything crazy.

.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I now have a Pact chrono and I love it. However I am an ACE on Chrony's. (5 of them.) My son's won't let me use theirs.

That's why I like the PACT 1 XP, you shoot at inexpensive plastic while the expensive works are on the bench next to you.