Chronograph

[Hoot]

Honesty, regardless of whether it is flattering or not, is one of the foundations of credibility. When we don't feel comfortable enough to punctuate the story of our successes with our mistakes, it takes on a self-aggrandizing, garrulous flavor.

Hoot

[Jim in Houston]

Chrony F1

Lots of references (6 pages worth) to chronographs on the board, but only Hoot has identified a make and model. Can anyone recommend a quality chronograph (looks like it should be in the $100 to $150 range) and whether or not the remote display (if any) is a worthwhile investment? I have been looking at the Chrony Inc models.

[BD1]

I own a "Chrony" Beta master. I think it was $80.00 with the trade in of my Alpha "Chrony" 10 years ago. The Alpha had a recently aquired 6.5 mm ventilation channel through and through. It's not perfect. It's not the best one made. But, it works despite a smallish ding courtesy of the local PD at a previous local. I'm a yankee at heart, and I have a hard time paying top dollar for something I'm shooting at.
BD

[Texas Sheepdawg]

I own a "Chrony" Beta master. I think it was $80.00 with the trade in of my Alpha "Chrony" 10 years ago. The Alpha had a recently aquired 6.5 mm ventilation channel through and through. It's not perfect. It's not the best one made. But, it works despite a smallish ding courtesy of the local PD at a previous local. I'm a yankee at heart, and I have a hard time paying top dollar for something I'm shooting at.
BD

Considering that I have never lived north of the Mason-Dixon line, if that's a trait of a Yankee way of thinking, I may need to further research my family tree... LOL!

[wildcatter]

I own a "Chrony" Beta master. I think it was $80.00 with the trade in of my Alpha "Chrony" 10 years ago. The Alpha had a recently aquired 6.5 mm ventilation channel through and through. It's not perfect. It's not the best one made. But, it works despite a smallish ding courtesy of the local PD at a previous local. I'm a yankee at heart, and I have a hard time paying top dollar for something I'm shooting at.
BD

I have some really high end goodies, as you might suspect, but I want to second BD's suggestion, my Chrony is my back-up rig and the one I take into the field..

..t

[Jim in Houston]

Looking at the Midway website, the Competition Electronics ProChrono Digital Chronograph ($120) has a solid 5 out of 5 stars on 72 reviews, while the Shooting Chrony Alfa ($105) and Beta ($135) Masters come in at 3-1/2 stars with considerably fewer (28 and 48) reviews, and, of course, several negative comments pertaining to reliability, the quality of construction, response to different lighting conditions, and the complexity of the user interface / instruction manual.

Does anyone know anything about the ProChrono Digital? I am inclined to go with it on the basis of the reviews, tempered only by the good experience of BD and Wildcatter with the Shooting Chrony Beta Master in the preceding posts. One thing is that is does not have a remote readout, so that you have to read the velocities off the unit itself. I don't know how important that remote readout may be.

[BD1]

When I bought my Chrony, there was not a lot of choice. Basically it was Chrony and Oehler. It's no surprise to me that someone could make a better model, cheaper. I really like having the readout and control on the bench next to me as I see right away if something is way out of the expected velocity range. Having the brains on the bench also makes the pieces that are falling out of the sky around you less expensive to replace
BD

[AR_Hunter]

I've owned a C.E.D. shot timer for several years and can attest to the quality of the company. When I buy my chrono it will indeed be a C.E.D. Best of luck with your purchase.

[Jim in Houston]

Now that I have my chronograph (ProChrono Digital based on info here and 5 star review on Midway's site), I am ready to take some measurements. From other threads, it looks like the preferred condition for measurement is with a "cold" barrel (i.e. letting the rifle cool down between measurements). Since it is running 100 degrees (or near enough) in Houston, "cool down" is a relative term.

Anyway, any tips on getting accurate readings (or ones that would be of interest to other board members), like how many rounds are needed to get meaningful results, how important is standard deviation, average and median speed, etc. Should I be measuring group size at the same time? I gather from other's experience I should avoid shooting the chronograph . Should I record temperature, wind, and humidity conditions? Anything else?

Barring any input to the contrary, my plan is to heat up the barrel with 20 rounds, then shoot strings of 20 with a hot barrel, basically to compare Hornady and Remington factory loads against each other under similar conditions and my reloads against the Hornady Handbook data .

[Texas Sheepdawg]

Now that I have my chronograph (ProChrono Digital based on info here and 5 star review on Midway's site), I am ready to take some measurements. From other threads, it looks like the preferred condition for measurement is with a "cold" barrel (i.e. letting the rifle cool down between measurements). Since it is running 100 degrees (or near enough) in Houston, "cool down" is a relative term.

Anyway, any tips on getting accurate readings (or ones that would be of interest to other board members), like how many rounds are needed to get meaningful results, how important is standard deviation, average and median speed, etc. Should I be measuring group size at the same time? I gather from other's experience I should avoid shooting the chronograph . Should I record temperature, wind, and humidity conditions? Anything else?

Barring any input to the contrary, my plan is to heat up the barrel with 20 rounds, then shoot strings of 20 with a hot barrel, basically to compare Hornady and Remington factory loads against each other under similar conditions and my reloads against the Hornady Handbook data .

We have been having 102-105 with heat indexes of 110-117. I have been having to work out in it for the last month and it has severely drained my energy. it's been so bad, we have even made some guys come in and work a night shift to rebuild one of our travelling bridge filters and we are still dealing with temps of 84 with heat indexes of around 94. I am not going to be doing any more shooting until this drought and heat breaks. Meanwhile, it's rest and rehydration for me.