How To Not Shoot The Chrono

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My chronograph hits were due to thinking I could just snap off a string offhand without resting the gun and aligning it. Wrong.

The last chronograph run I did, I wanted to shoot for velocity and group to save ammo.
Aligning rifle, chronograph, and target looked tedious but I got it right on the second try. A great advertisement for Labradar if I were doing as much as I used to.
A cheaper way would be a laser boresighter and a card in the chronograph window.
 
Based on what I'm reading, being a "viejito" doesn't play into it very much.

I hope you are able to replace the chrono. It is always nice to know how fast those puppies are moving. Part of the fun.

Good luck.
 
GJeffB said:
Somehow this just seems too elementary, but gotta ask.
Background: viejito, shooting and reloading for ... ~50ish years. Retired, newly found disposable income gets me my first ever chronograph. I received a nicely configured tripod for Christmas last. Nice range, concrete shooting tables, etc. Now, enough blah blah ...

If I'm **sighted in up close**, .22lr rifle, .38sp 2", .45acp 1911, .45 Colt NMBH, soon .45-70 rifle, and I have the up close aim point target closely beyond the chronograph, why would I be the guy that has shot his chronograph?

-jb, discounting yank/flinch/etc
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Can't say for sure but in my case I was getting downrange velocity, 100 yards, because I don't trust calculators. I don't want to calculate or guess what my bullet's doing at the distance where it actually hits the deer/pig/coyote/whatever... I want to KNOW how fast the bullet out of my rifle or handgun is moving, shooting my average load, and what it will be doing where and when it hits. We're talking load development here, not everyday practice. At that range, 50-150 yards, the gap between the screens and the chrony just ain't that big and I'm not THAT wonderful a shot. It happens. Goes with handloading versus just reloading the same recipe over and over again. That's also why I use cheap chronies, too. :D Paid $90 for the first, a "Chrony Master" same for the second, an "F1" - which I forgot about and left overnight, with a battery, and it rained :( - and just paid $75 shipped to my PO Box for the third, also an "F1" only it's a few years old, NOS-ANIB, not new. I don't really need the latest, greatest, $10K chronograph. I'm not a competitive shooter, I'm a conscientious hunter. The little camera-size chrony's are fussy but they work good enough, I'm a real patient kind of person, and they're cheap, just like me. ;)

Good luck and don't worry. Every biker drops a bike, eventually and every shooter hits a chronograph, eventually. :(
 
George P said:
The chrono is set at 5' from the muzzle (as per the chrono directions) and I shoot through the middle of the skyscreens. This isn't that hard
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If I am remembering correctly my Caldwell instructions stated that I should place the Chrono 15 feet from the muzzle. Perhaps if I used the 5 feet I would not have shot it so often.
 
Herman B said:
That's too far away. Try 6-9 ft from handgun muzzle.

My compadre laid my chrono to rest with a 158 gr 38 Spc, through-and-through!
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The Shooting Chrony Master and F1 are inexpensive but work fine out to 100+ yards. They're just optical but they work as long as a bullet crosses the path. I know muzzle velocity is what most people want and you're right but the way you said it makes it sound like chronographs ONLY work at 6-9 ft. and that's not right.
 
1. Take the time to align your chrono perfectly in line with the target.
2. Bench your rifle if you are prone to flinching or are simultaneously shooting for group size or POI.
3. Understand that your bullet is leaving the barrel 1" to 3" below your line of sight.
4. Avoid shooting on the peripheries of your window.
5. Consider the odds of your bullet jacket flying off, particularly if you're pushing light bullets with a hot load in a fast twist. Similarly consider what a wad, sabot, or gas check may do if you are using those.
 
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I was about to do a load work up with an ar, was testing with factory ammo first. All was good till I decided to try the new bipod I had just installed. I went from shooting off a bag to the bipod, as soon as I saw the chronograph tipping over, I knew exactly what I had done wrong. I was thinking it was odd that I could see the display in my scope, just as the trigger broke. I wouldn't have imagined I would ever buy a labradar, considering the cost, but I got one a few days later.

All it took was a split second, seemingly innocuous decision, to make an absolute fool of myself.
 
GeoDudeFlorida said:
Can't say for sure but in my case I was getting downrange velocity, 100 yards, because I don't trust calculators. I don't want to calculate or guess what my bullet's doing at the distance where it actually hits the deer/pig/coyote/whatever... I want to KNOW how fast the bullet out of my rifle or handgun is moving, shooting my average load, and what it will be doing where and when it hits. We're talking load development here, not everyday practice. At that range, 50-150 yards, the gap between the screens and the chrony just ain't that big and I'm not THAT wonderful a shot. It happens. Goes with handloading versus just reloading the same recipe over and over again. That's also why I use cheap chronies, too. :D Paid $90 for the first, a "Chrony Master" same for the second, an "F1" - which I forgot about and left overnight, with a battery, and it rained :( - and just paid $75 shipped to my PO Box for the third, also an "F1" only it's a few years old, NOS-ANIB, not new. I don't really need the latest, greatest, $10K chronograph. I'm not a competitive shooter, I'm a conscientious hunter. The little camera-size chrony's are fussy but they work good enough, I'm a real patient kind of person, and they're cheap, just like me. ;)

Good luck and don't worry. Every biker drops a bike, eventually and every shooter hits a chronograph, eventually. :(
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GeoDudeFlorida said:
The Shooting Chrony Master and F1 are inexpensive but work fine out to 100+ yards. They're just optical but they work as long as a bullet crosses the path. I know muzzle velocity is what most people want and you're right but the way you said it makes it sound like chronographs ONLY work at 6-9 ft. and that's not right.
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I also owned a chrony F1 and my second current one is a Master. Great no frills chrono and does what you need it to do. It's inexpensive and works fine but unfortunately chrony went out of business and made me sad to see them go. Bought my first 1 in 1988 and it would of lasted 40 years if I didn't shoot it :(. Iirc they replaced my shot one for free and just charged me shipping.
 
unwashed said:
unfortunately chrony went out of business
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Yup. Makes me kind of sad, too. I didn't use the warranty. Figured why should they pay for my mistake. Still got the previous Master and the drowned dark green F1 models somewhere, in a box, as a reminder to use the grey stuff between my ears once in a while. ;)
 
I'd set up the chrono screens without a target on the other side
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When using the chrono I just chrono, I do accuracy testing later, that way all I have to worry about is missing the chrono.

Because it only takes a second of lapsed concentration out of all the hours of use, the odds are simply against us.
It took years, but.......
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This is NOT how to press the delete string button.
( a hair high and left);)

Never had to but I understand CE will replace one for 1/2 price if it dies from lead poisoning.
 
I probably didn't word the question/thought properly, but Jim Watson and a couple others kind of got to where I was going:
Aligning rifle, chronograph, and target looked tedious but I got it right on the second try ... A cheaper way would be a laser boresighter and a card in the chronograph window.
Click to expand...
I get the whole sights-above-the-boreline issue. I envisioned the equivalent of a long wooden dowel sticking out of a bore, over the chronograph, touching a target right behind the chrono. Then looking through the sights (scope/open/peep/whatever) and marking the target exactly where the sights line up, thus accounting for POA vs POI.

Thanks for all the replies. Now I can't wait to get the new chronograph to the range and not shoot it :)

-jb, more complicated than necessary as usual
 
Dudedog said:
Never had to but I understand CE will replace one for 1/2 price if it dies from lead poisoning.
Click to expand...

I did, but by the time I paid shipping of the wreckage and half of retail, I could have caught a new one on sale for not much more money and less fuss. I had already paid to have the old one's corded remote connection repaired. The new one's connection did not last, either. FLG said if they would pay 50 cents instead of 15 cents for the plug, it would hold up.
 
I always go for accuracy over velocity. After I have found a good load and I'm sighted in, then the chrono comes out. Get it lined up perfectly and it's not gonna get shot. It may take quite a few trips walking back and forth to get the height and angle just right.

In close to 20 years, mine never got hit. Then I let a buddy shoot over it. I think around the 3rd trigger pull he clipped the back of it. It still works but it broke the rear sensor housing. Little super glue got it back to usable.
 
Both of the chronographs that I have shot were from trying to get a string done in haste. The first was trying to get done before the heavy rain shower started. I jerked the trigger and centered a 45 caliber slug in the display of the Chrony. The second was a hasty set-up with my prairie dog AR-15 because of other time commitments. I forgot about the scope/barrel offset and a 204 Ruger round exploded the Chrony.

The good that came out of the failures is I upgraded chronographs with each replacement.

Since my last shooting of a chronographs, I've updated equipment three more times as new and better technology was introduced. A CED M2 was my third chronograph with auxiliary lights followed by a Magnetospeed V1 and finally a LabRadar. I still have these chronographs although the LabRadar is the only one that gets used these days.

Finally, I've been using chronographs since the early 1990's so it is not like I'm replacing them every other weekend. The first two were destroyed over a period of 20 years or so.
 
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GeoDudeFlorida said:
I don't trust calculators. I don't want to calculate or guess what my bullet's doing at the distance where it actually hits the deer/pig/coyote/whatever... I want to KNOW how fast the bullet out of my rifle or handgun is moving, shooting my average load, and what it will be doing where and when it hits
Click to expand...
This would be the Jeopardy answer for the question " What is a Labradar"
 
I believe the main chrono-killers are the AR guys who forget that their high sights are far above the bore axis. But as was said, anyone can shoot one.

To me there are 2 main things to improve your chances...
  • Set up a target in the distance which utilizes a very small bull. A 1 to 2 inch black dot bull at 30-40 feet works really well. Check the path with line-of-sight and make sure the bullet's path is at least 6" above the body of the chrono as seen from the bench, before setting your gun on the bench.
  • Use chopsticks in place of the steel rods commonly supplied. The wood will splinter without damaging the chrono; if struck, the steel rods will break important plastic parts.
Hope this helps.
 
rfwobbly said:
Use chopsticks in place of the steel rods commonly supplied. The wood will splinter without damaging the chrono; if struck, the steel rods will break important plastic parts.
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Mr. Wobbly, you just earned your pay for the week. ;)

Great advice and I'm using it! :)
 
Got a great Idea!!! Tape a long laser pointer to the end of the barrel. Don’t let the laser touch the chrono. Bam! safe Chrono
 
GJeffB said:
I get the whole sights-above-the-boreline issue.
...
-jb, more complicated than necessary as usual
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As one final check, I put my eye as close to the rifle barrel as possible and sight down it. If it's above the chrony, GTG. I especially like the post that suggests using chopsticks. Maybe kerbab sticks, but I'm gonna use that one.

Re: "more complicated than necessary." My friends - who are engineers - think I am O.C.D. It got me through engineering school and a career of 35 years. Occupational hazard. PTSD.

Above all, kerbab sticks and chronies are wear-out items, which is engineer-speak for "eventually you'll have to replace them."

For the record, I have not shot my chrony... yet.
 
I bought my Pact Model One in the early '80s .... never shot any part if it until about four years ago .... since the "brain" on the Pact sits beside you on the bench and only the "eyes" and bracket are in the line of fire.

Clipped the plastic eye holder one day ..... ordered an whole holder and replaced ...

The Pact has flat plastic arms to hold the diffuser .... managed to cut one completely into ....like cutting a playing card ....nothing a small piece of aluminum and a few pop rivets couldn't fix ...

Did bounce an arrow off a metal rod on a friend's chronograph ....later that day someone stuck an arrow right thru the heart of it ... DRT!
 
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