PACT Pro XP

[Slip Shooter]

I have an old Chrony F1 chronograph that dose not do well in sunlight and have restricted it's use to overcast days. That being said, I am in the market for an upgrade and considering the PACT Professional Chronograph XP with 2 MKIV skyscreens and built in printer. Dose anyone own one of these and what is your opinion of the it vs the Oehler Model 35 with 3 skyscreens and printer. Looks like the Oehler is about $120 more than the PACT.

 

[Deavis]

I own one and I have mixed feelings about it. The chronograph is a physically attractive unit and fairly well built. The printer is slow but not painfully slow and to be honest I never use it. The most attractive feature is that you can easily download your shots to the computer, however, you cannot download the calculated data (STDEV, HI/LO, etc...) The unit rarely misses shots and if it does, it is normally my fault for not placing the round properly. The menu is easy to navigate if you read the manual but it is still clunky. Deleteing shots is always questionable and you can lose an entire string if you try to delete the first shot (maybe this has been fixed in the new firmware but who knows, see below)

One draw back is that the serivce from Pact is, in my opinion, marginal. I had to send my unit back in for a firmware upgrade and it took almost 2 months to get it back. I sent a letter with some comments about the service/unit and didn't receive an answer or phone call. There is no page dedicated to firmware and software updates on their website meaning you have to call and ask them for news. There is no way of knowing what bugs the firmware fixes and if it is worth it to send it back. In addition, the download software was finally introduced 1 year after the chrony, which was very frustrating to me.

Would I buy it again? Probably not. The selling feature for me was the download capability and ballistic computer.

 

[Thirties]

I have an older model PACT chronograph. The thing works fine. I had a problem with the printer which they repaired quickly. I was able to get two replacement sensors quickly, which I shot by mistake.

My problem with PACT is that the instruction manual is seriously lacking in clear instruction, and, calling on the phone, the "clarification" isn't much better.

They have a good concept, but they do not have good marketing and PR skills.

The dang thing does work, although it is next to impossible to delete a single shot in a string, and it is very easy to wipe out an entire string. The trick is to set yourself up at the proper distance, and aim at the proper location. Then everything works 100%.

.

 

[jmorris]

I have both the Shooting Chrony and the Pact XP. The ballistic computer is a nice tool to have. That being said, I use the Shooting Chrony most often.

 

[Slip Shooter]

Thanks for the input folks. I decided not to go with the PACT Professional XP or Oehler. Instead, I have ordered the PACT Model 1 XP with remote display. I decide I really did not need the Ballistics calculating features, computer interface and printer of the Pro XP. PACT has upgraded their Model 1 to XP recently, with Glint Guard 2 detection and MK VI Skyscreens including a mounting base, all 3 of which were not available with the older Model 1. I really don't need a printout of data as I do all that at the bench between shots and use Ballistic Explorer software at home.

Once again, thanks to those of you who responded, it really helped. I was about to order something I probably would not have been happy with. The model 1 XP will be an upgrade for me over my older Chrony F1 which restricts me to overcast days here in the sunny South.