I'm thinking that I NEED a chronograph!
Thoughts?
My thoughts? You don't need no stinking chrono!
People have reloaded successfully for decades without the help from chrono by following published load data and following accuracy trends of holes on target like the ladder test and OCW load development.
If you want to produce more consistent rounds, I would suggest accurate scale (beam or digital) with .1 gr resolution verified by check weights and calipers verified by caliber specific pin gages (as wear on calipers occur at different places on gear/rack) before getting a chrono.
BTW, this post lists basic reloading equipment for measuring with standards to verify them -
https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...tal-scale-for-the-money.841900/#post-10932746
And I shot USPSA matches to over 80 percentile and reloaded over 600,000 consistent rounds without a chorono before finally getting one several years ago.
Price is definitely a factor. I don't want to totally cheap out but, I'm also on a tight budget.
I am not on a tight budget (spent over $175,000 during past 25 years of shooting/reloading and have almost unlimited budget secondary to wife's hobby budget for retirement) but I "cheaped out" when Caldwell (
owned by Smith & Wesson) went on Black Friday sale for price I couldn't pass up.
I use the chrono 10-15 feet away from the muzzle as indicated by the manual -
https://www.btibrands.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/chronograph-and-kit-master-instructions.pdf
The free Caldwell Ballistic Precision app is downloaded to my phone/tablet using the supplied cable and is particularly beneficial if you want to shield/armor the chrono so you don't shoot it while still being able to access all the chrono data. (I have never shot a chrono but many have
). The Caldwell chrono has worked well for me in bright sun light, overcast/cloudy days and even near sunset and I found key to obtaining consistent readings is shooting closer to the "windows" on top of the chrono (But this means aiming closer to the chrono
).
The app reports ambient temperature (
But not the actual temperature of the powder if you are testing temperature/reverse sensitivity) and allows me to add notations along with date stamp so I don't need to take any notes during chrono testing.