Chronograph Questions

[CB900F]

Drunken;

Production resumed in 2010 & I got my pricing information on Oehler's current website. You buy directly from them as I understand it, I know that's the way it was when I bought mine. I'll betcha 100 rounds of .22lr ammo right here & now in public that you can get one if you want one 'bout $600.00 worth.

900F

 

[Fine Figure of a Man]

Drunken;

Production resumed in 2010 & I got my pricing information on Oehler's current website. You buy directly from them as I understand it, I know that's the way it was when I bought mine. I'll betcha 100 rounds of .22lr ammo right here & now in public that you can get one if you want one 'bout $600.00 worth.

900F

Thanks, I'll look it up. Do I have to give those 22's to you or shoot em at ya?

 

[Reloadron]

Doublehelix;

I've had my Oehler 35P for somethng like 30 years now, bought it sometime in the 80's, I know that. The price isn't much different than the Labradar, particularly if you buy some of what Lab views as accessories, such as the padded carrying case. The Oehler now comes with a case.

The Oehler can be a bit of a PIA to set up, but if you get things laid out beforehand & think about it, it isn't any too bad. I use the 4 foot screen spacing exclusively anymore & have a stand built to hold the rail properly & stabilize it. Having a 4 foot setting allows the check channel to be 2 feet, & the accuracy is there. You see, the Oehler is not one, but two separate chronographs, the two foot channel checks the 4 foot & alerts you if something literally doesn't add up. Also, the timer & printer stay on your bench, really hard to shoot 'em that way. The downrange bits can be shot, but now you are looking at minimal money to replace parts instead of buying a new chrono.

The unit prints out every shot in the string & summarizes with high, low, average, spread between H & L, and standard deviation. As distance increases, S/D becomes more important as variation in velocity inevitably means different impact points when you get "out there". Single digit S/D's are the holy grail.

I'm a long term happy owner.

900F

During the early 90s my wife bought me an Oehler 35P which still works great today. Years ago the selection was much more limited, like buying an AR 10 or AR 15 making choosing easy. Today's chronographs are feature packed including LabRadar and just about all have a PC interface. Figure the features you want and go for it. While a chronograph is not a must have the right one sure can be a nice to have,. I never regretted my wife buying the best when she got mine as a gift.

Ron

 

[Hondo 60]

but I hate the downsides (light issues, clouds, wind, lead poisoning, need a cold range to setup, lots more to carry and setup, etc.).

The best time to chrono is on a cloudy day.
Wind is not a factor unless it's blowing leaves & stuff thru the sky screens.
(maybe a wizard of oz tornado or something)

Yes, it's a bit more to carry, but not a ton.

I use mine when there's no one else around - which for me is most of the time.

Lead poisoning??? not sure I understand that one.

I have one of the $100 models & can't justify the price of a Labradar.
Probably never gonna get one.

 

[R.Ph. 380]

Haven't gotten a chance to get out and try it, but I picked up a MagnetoSpeed Sporter for my rifles with a bit of retirement cash. Hope I can interface it with my laptop.

 

[jmorris]

Lead poisoning??? not sure I understand that one.

They are shooting the chronograph instead of shooting over it.

 

[GBExpat]

Lead poisoning??? not sure I understand that one.

Should have been in quotations.

 

[jmorris]

Should never happen. No reason to chronograph a load that can't stay inside 6" at 10 feet and they can pick up a bullet passing over the screens higher than that.

Then again AD's and ND's happen all the time too and they shouldn't either...

 

[Reloadron]

While not covering everything this link covers several common setup problems which can bias your chronograph readings. This is directed at traditional chronographs using sky screens.

Ron

 

[Bbear]

Add another happy magnetospeed user to the list. I have the Sporter version and use the little skewers to make sure I don't nail the bayonet portion. Accurate reading in all weather conditions. Valuable information for reloaders and for use figuring out drop approximations for distance.

 

[Hondo 60]

They are shooting the chronograph instead of shooting over it.

Ah, duh!

Back in the early 1980s OA “Bum” Phillips, head coach of the Houston Oilers, said:
"There ain’t but 2 kinds a coaches,
Them that’s been fired & them that’s gonna be fired."

My observation of chronograph users is somewhat similar:

There ain't but 2 kinds of chronograph users...
"Them that's shot theirs,
And them that's gonna shoot theirs."

I'll admit, I'm in the first category.
Scoped rifles are the bane of a chronograph's existence.

 

[CB900F]

Drunken;

You ain't got no .22 nuthin' that can stretch it from Iowa to the middle of Montana.

Let me introduce you to gopher shootin'. Bring 1100 rounds with you. My hundred & two bricks for yourself. That'll set ya for a good weekend, unless you've got some spray-n-pray semi, an itchy trigger finger, and they charge.

900F

 

[LoonWulf]

My ProChrono has its on dedicated tripod, so i just pop it up and then position myself to shoot thru it cleanly.....I pick something on the berm, or even just a section of the berm, to shoot at rather than trying to shoot at a target thru it. This allows me to adjust for a slight miss placement of the chrono during set up. Another thing is chronos generally want the bullets closer to the screens not the sensors, so there isnt any reason to be shooting at the narrow part of the V.
That said, **** happens, while i aint shot my chrono yet im not gonna say i wont LOL.

 

[35 Whelen]

I have been kicking around the idea of getting a chronograph for a long, long time.

My problem is that I keep thinking that I need to get a Labradar for so many reasons, but the cost keeps me from pulling the trigger.

I can always get a less expensive chrono I guess (~$100 range), but I hate the downsides (light issues, clouds, wind, lead poisoning, need a cold range to setup, lots more to carry and setup, etc.).

I was looking to get a Labradar with my tax refund, but bought a Dillon XL650 instead for the same price, and obviously the XL650 is going to get a *LOT* more use over the years than the Labradar.

So...

-Tell me again why I *need* a chronograph. How will it help me?
-How much of a pain really are those downsides I list?
-Is this just a "shutup and buy one" sort of thing?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

You're a handloader, therefore you NEED one. They're the best tools for handload development available to a common man without spending a small fortune.

I've been using chronographs since the introduction of the relatively inexpensive ones back in the '80's. I seriously think I've owned just about every one out there. ALL of them eventually started giving me problems and in almost every case the problems were light related. Either glare due to the position of the sun giving inaccurate readings or poor/no readings in low light. I've managed to shoot 2 or 3 and in every case I was getting poor readings and was trying to shoot closer (lower) to the unit.
Enter the Pact and their infrared screens. No more problems. Heck they'll even read in complete darkness. Their only downside is the need for AC power. Fortunately I can set mine up right outside the door of my shop. If I couldn't I'd rig up some sort of portable power such as a small battery pack and an invertor.

I've seen the Labradar but I'm guessing it can't be used on handguns?

35W

 

[jmorris]

You're a handloader, therefore you NEED one.

I wouldn't go that far, I loaded for several decades without one. I have 3 now and they are another tool in the box but I could still find an accurate load without them.

 

[cfullgraf]

I've seen the Labradar but I'm guessing it can't be used on handguns?

The LabRadar works great with handguns.

The Magnetospeed has some difficulties with handguns although the current model can be used with certain handguns with certain features. I do not have the current version of the Magnetodpeed, mine a V2.0, so I am not familiar with the changes they have made.