How many of you use chronographs to check your reloads?

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Nordeste

Nordeste

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Hi all:

I plan on start reloading my own 9mm stuff for my IPSC practice soon. I still have to undergo some training (mandatory here), get my permit and all the reloading gear, but I'm already trying to learn as much as possible here and there. This is a good place to do so ;).

In a Spanish firearms forum I read about people complaining of inconsistent powder qualities in different powder batches, them being from the same manufacturer. In particular it was from Vectan's BA9, which is widely used for this caliber here, as far as I've seen. People were getting different results with the same powder load, depending on when they bought their powder (different batch). That made me think about the convenience of having my own chronograph to check the results of my reloads. My plan is to make my loads so they stay above the minimum power factor (125) so I get quicker follow-ups. They're not cheap, around 150€ here, but I still think it's worth the investment.

How many of you do this?. Do you chronograph your ammo or you feel there's no need for it?.
 
For IPSC (called USPSA here) your ammunition has to make power factor. At matches your ammunition will be chronographed to make sure it is at the correct PF. You don't have to own a chronograph yourself though, many folks in the club you join will have one.
 
The folks here are top notch but for IPSC specific questions you might want to check out the forums at brianenos.com
 
The low pressure plinking , not so much , but Hi end hunting EVERYTIME !

I also chronograph my cast lead HP boolits to see how an alloy acts as speed increases.

It was very eye opening to chronograph some of my "ole stand-by loads" surprising to say the least, both up & down in FPS.

Now that I own a chronograph ,I`ll never be without 1 now .
 
I used to do it all the time and then one day I shot it.:banghead: One shot one kill.:D Well now I am not really trying to develop a lot of new loads, not near/above book max anyway so I have not elected to spend the cash on a new chronograph. Rather spend it on extra primers to put away and just use my established loads for now. I will in the future get a new one for sure. For those loading near/at/above MAX, then I would say a chronograph is a must when developing a safe load.
 
I check them all. Every little bit of data can be helpful. Eye opening sometimes.
 
I hope to have one soon

I have been researching different ones i am leaning towards the RCBS AMMOMASTER I like the features that it has
 
I never thought I really needed one since I reload for Hunting purposes 99% of the time. I use good quality hunting bullets and published load data most of the time so I have a general idea of velocity... I'm constantly concentrated on accuracy so I adjust the load for best accuracy and good shootability...

I have a lot of gun specific load data now that would be interesting to chrono for the sake of knowing exactly, all I know is the meat hits the ground with these accurate loads.
 
I've had some real surprises over the chronograph.

Power pistol with 230gr Hornady HP-XTPs using the Hornady manual loads are WAY too hot in my hands. Repeatably.

Also, it helps a lot with my Garand since the max 30-06 loads are too hot for the system, so I try to monitor velocity as a rough surrogate for port pressure to make sure that I'm keeping things mild enough.

I think that if you use the chrony to push the envelope of velocity and pressure by upping the load until you get to some above max load, you are looking for trouble. If on the other hand you use it to make sure you're not running things hotter than you thought, it's useful.

It's also nice to have an accurate velocity to plug into your ballistics charting program.

The down side is that they are really finicky and my Beta Master frequently blows it with wild velocities, an interface that makes it easy to overwrite your data, and real sensitivity to blast from neighboring lanes. Better than nothing, I suppose.

-J.
 
Hunt480 said:
I never thought I really needed one since I reload for Hunting purposes 99% of the time. I use good quality hunting bullets and published load data most of the time so I have a general idea of velocity... I'm constantly concentrated on accuracy so I adjust the load for best accuracy and good shootability...

I have a lot of gun specific load data now that would be interesting to chrono for the sake of knowing exactly, all I know is the meat hits the ground with these accurate loads.
Click to expand...
I'm pretty much the same way. The published data is close enough for what I'm doing and I'm not a highly analytical person once I step away from the office. To the OP, I imagine that if you really like to tinker you'll need to have one at some time. Same if you're trying to confirm power factor.
 
Don't use one. Since all my reloading is for hunting or plinking ammo I never found the need. Like some of the other posters, I find the published data close enough for me.
If I was participating in serious target work I would definitely have one.

George
 
I use a chronograph.

I like to "calibrate" my firearms with factory ammunition. It tells me if my barrel is fast or slow and some other tidbits of information.

I chronograph loads as I am working them up. The chronograph helps me tune the loads.

I do not use the chronograph alot. If I am not doing something new, it may sit idle for months, or even years at a time. If i shot some competition that used power factor or the such, I would probably check those lots of ammunition.
 
I used mine a lot when I first received it as a gift from my wife. I use it sporadically now. Using it and logging the data is the easy party. Correlating what data you collected with what you are doing at the reloading bench is another story.

P.S. If you are contemplating getting a chrony do your self a favor and consider a model with a printer. It's the one thing I would do over.
 
I suggest you ask your range manager to let you use the one he has. That´s what I do.
Almost all shooting ranges in Spain have a Chrony, thats for sure.
It´s shared by all the members, as it happens in mine.
If this helps you I load RG 9mm Plated bullets TC 122 grainers with 5 grains of Optima A yielding a very consistent 1120sh fps speed in CZ75, Glock 17 and HK USP. OAL is slightly less than 28 mm (1.10 "). The only vectan powder I find usefull is BA10 for 32 and 38. It´s the equivalent to Bullseye, but slightly faster. Stick to Optima A as the most versatile powder for handguns, It´s like Alliant Unique and perfect for 9mm Luger.
I´m also a foreigner in this forum and I´ve learnt here much more than in any course in our beloved country.
 
I just got back from shooting with a Chrono for the first time. Very enlightening as most of my loads were close to what I expected. And a few were eye openers well below what I thought they were. If nothing else I've got data with my components and can go from there.
 
A chronograph is a very useful tool, especially so for competitive IPSC shooters whose ammo will be tested for minimum PF at a match.

To be sure that your 9mm ammo makes the 125 PF on any given match day (summer or winter, at sea level or at altitude) consider a PF of 130-135 to give a useful power margin while still being fairly soft shooting.

Can you purchase more consistent powders in Spain?
 
Up until recently I just used the chroograph for bragging on the internet.
a) My 223rem 33 gr Vmax goes 4200 fps
b) My Kel-tec 9mm does 124 gr 1336 fps
c) my 380 158 gr did 1187 fps
d) my 32 S&W long revolver 85 gr did 1413 fps
e) etc


But now I am hunting over sage brush for big game and want to hit an animal in the kill zone at more than 510 yards [my current record].
For this, I NEEEEED to know my bullet's velocity to make a trajectory table so I can dial the elevation turret after I have ranged the distance to the animal.
 
I use a Chrony on occasion if I'm working up a new load or finding the velocity of a super accurate load. I like the idea of having it available. I've had mine for over 20 years and it still works fairly well.
 
If you compete, yes you need to be able to chrono your loads.

I started reloading and worked up a good feeling accurate round for USPSA/IPSC competition.
I later bought a Chronograph. I had to break down 300 of my reloads, because they were loaded just a little to light. You really cannot tell by "feel" if your load is good for competition.
Additionally, your load needs to be far enough "above" minimum power factor, to allow for temperature changes, altitude changes, reloading press and powder deviations. I try to stay close to 130PF to be able to guarantee at least 125PF.

Hope this makes sense.
 
Chronograph

When i get my crony it will NEVER be used to produce over max loads this is asking for severe trouble loading beyond the listed Max loads if anyone does this they should just use factory loads
 
With the large number of decent inexpensive chronographs on the market, it just makes sense to purchase one and use one. Every firearm is an individual, plus the wide variations of different reloading components, makes it a worthwhile thing to spend 80 bucks on.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr
 
tale of woe:
i am a police officer. (thats not the woe bit) i took up reloading and started with .243 win and .30-06.

I asked our work firearms testing team if i could use one of thiers over the weekend. "yeah no problem" was the reply.

So i duly picked up the chrono and looked at it. It was like a metal box with a tube through the middle.

I said "are you sure this is ok for centrefire rifles, they are pretty powerful"
reply ; "of course Steve, we are the police testing department, we know our stuff!"
I said "ok" and took it away. i had misgivings but thought "these are the experts"

I set it up in the testing range i use...

first shot straight down the tunnel with a .243.

I went to check it and every bit of glass and sensor was smashed. I picked it up and it rattled in a sickening way.

"oh, f**k"

So this one was also DRT but with no bullet strike. When i took it back i appologised fairly profusely... whilst reminding them of the previous conversation.

I have not used one since. I am a hunter, i load to hunt and i practise a bit. If i had a chrono i would chase speed - when in my world accuracy is the real king.

As for loading over max... the book data is the law... don't load higher.

However, all rifles are different, some cases are different there are a huge amount of variables. if at max in a larger capacity rifle round there were absolutely no pressure signs then a more accurate load might be found by increasing by half a grain increments until a pressure sign is observed. conversely some rifles will show pressure signs before the book max is reached. this is not advice it is an observation only.
 
^ 80 bucks?. Anywhere online?. I'd like to check that. 150€ is the cheapest I've found around here. We pay custom taxes for international purchases upon a certain value, but perhaps it's worth it.

Thanks for your replies, gents, they have been quite useful. And yes, we used to have a chrono in our shooting club, but it looks like it's gonna be down for some since some smartas* shot it :banghead:. They're to replace it soon but even if they do it tomorrow, I wouldn't be able to get access to it every time I wanted to, so it makes sense to have my own one.

My thought is to manufacture two types of reloads. One that would be slightly over the minimum 125PF for my IPSC practice, and another hotter one, resembling the Fiocchi stuff (rather hot) that we use at work for those days I practice with my service pistol.
 
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