Chronographs

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dchamp
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Chronographs

Post by dchamp »

After reading posts concerning chronographs on the ’Tuning a load to your rifle quickly and economically’ thread, I thought I’d start a new thread and offer my observations and experiences on various chronographs I’ve had or have. This is strictly my opinion based on my personal experience with them and not by any stretch an analysis based on any scientific reasoning.

First I’ll list the chronographs in order of my preference and then offer up my uneducated opinion for each, for what it’s worth.

1. Labradar, 2. Competition Electronics ProChrono, 3. Oehler P35, 4.MagnetoSpeed V3, 5. Caldwell Ballistic Precision Chronograph, 6. Super Chrono

1. This is by far the best chronograph I have come across. Is it perfect, no, but pretty dang close and it gives a lot of information and has been the most consistent. I find one of the difficulties with LabRadar can be in setting it up. It has a very narrow Vee notch top center and can be difficult to line up with the target but after a little practice it's not bad. Another is you need to keep the barrel and muzzle within a certain distance from it in order to get good results.

2. My son and I have used the ProChrono for years. It has always given us good consistent results weather permitting. The only down side is it’s a optical unit and has the problem all optical units have and that is sun angle and cloud shadowing. But for the price it’s hard to beat.

3. Oehler has been the standard to measure all chronographs by. They are very good but for the money I’d rather have the LabRadar.

4. Magneto Speed is quick and simple to use and gives very good results. The only issues I have with it are it can be a pain to mount on a barrel with a front sight which has resulted in cutting the clamping strap and it often has a tendency to walk the muzzle around thus not giving any confidence in grouping.

5. The Caldwell is pretty much like the ProChrono....almost

6. The Super Chrono is the most finicky but when setup correctly seems to give good results. The problem is getting it setup correctly. I’ve spent the time getting setup to where I thought it was perfect only to find out that velocities, sometimes known, to be off more the 200-300fps. I have tested this putting a few chronographs inline with each other. Sometimes things were relatively the same and sometimes they weren’t but when they weren’t is was the Super Chrono that was way off. The other thing to be aware of is if you set it up down range, after firing a string you must go down range to record your string. I just don’t have a lot of confidence in the Super Chrono.

If I was in the market for a new chrono, I'd either spend the money on the LabRadar or save some change and put up with varying weather conditions and get the ProChrono or something similar.

Here is an example of the information you can download from the LabRadar's SDHC card. It will hold up to 100 strings.
SR0094 Report.csv.xlsx
Shot0001 Track.xlsx
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Joe338ST
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Re: Chronographs

Post by Joe338ST »

Dchamp, thanks for the input. I'm glad I just purchased the Labradar. I'm pretty confident it will meet all my chrono needs. I have seen the stats you have posted and like the fact you can see velocities down range albeit up to about 100 yards.

Like I said in the previous post, I have had difficulty with the Magnetospeed with solid brass bullets. I could not get the Magnetospeed to give me a velocity reading of the 570grain .458 Lehigh controlled fracturing bullet at all despite trying all the available settings. Went through a box of 20 for $80 and got not even 1 reading. Was going to try a standard chronograph to give me a reading for the .458 Socom but the Labradar should do it hands down.....

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SPEEDY
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Re: Chronographs

Post by SPEEDY »

Admittedly I use the bog standard F1 chroney.

For what I need it for its cheap and accurate enough, I use it for working the speed of my more accurate loads, I use it to work out safe maximum loas. Occasionally I've used it to work out things like the speeds of 22lr rounds in different barrel lengths.
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Hawk in WY
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Re: Chronographs

Post by Hawk in WY »

I agree with the Labradar choice but it's a bit tricky to set up to get it to read.

Glue a short straw on the notch to make alignment easier.

Very hard to set it up so it will give a reading using a suppressor.

Tried to make the Magneto Speed work but life is too short. Returned it.

9.3x64
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Re: Chronographs

Post by 9.3x64 »

I found the straw on the labrader a bit of a pain.
It is to easily moved by wind or if the unit is even touched slightly.
But I have had a lot of success with the tube of a metal biro.
Seems to have just enough weight to sit steady.
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Joe338ST
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Re: Chronographs

Post by Joe338ST »

How does a Labradar cope with muzzle blast from a muzzle brake? Particularly with a T4 BRAKE I'm wondering.?

Joe
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stokesrj
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Re: Chronographs

Post by stokesrj »

It works well with brakes, just set it up to the rear of the muzzle blast. Brakes are loud enough so that it can have a high trigger level 4,5,or 6. And then if you are at a range with a lot of other shooters it can easily trigger off of your shot and ignore others.
I don’t have any problem aligning with the target and don’t use a straw or any other aid, just aim the notch. I do have a bubble level on the tripod so I am only concerned with windage as the bubble level takes care of elevation.
As to being difficult to trigger with a moderator, there are two solutions. You can set it close to the barrel, and in front of the muzzle set trigger level to one. Or, buy the air gun adaptor which is just a microphone on a bracket so it can hear better.
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7x57
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Re: Chronographs

Post by 7x57 »

Have used a ProChrono for years and while it's does have limitations as pointed it provides the data I need and from there I can fine tune loads. While I would like a Labradar I cannot justify the asking price on Oz.

9.3x64
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Re: Chronographs

Post by 9.3x64 »

Has anyone used the Labrader with the 22 Hornet?
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stokesrj
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Re: Chronographs

Post by stokesrj »

Yes, I have, no problems. Just get the muzzle close.
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9.3x64
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Re: Chronographs

Post by 9.3x64 »

stokesrj wrote:Yes, I have, no problems. Just get the muzzle close.
Great thanks Bob.
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Hunt with a German Shorthaired Pointer.

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