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who makes a good chronograph

frisky-maddog
hello
who makes a good chronograph as i am sure some of you have had good ones and ones to stay away from.
thanks
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Comments

8 comments

Date Votes
  • RCrosby
    On the low end I've had good luck with both the CHRONY and the ProChrony models. Good warranty service on both. (It's very late and I hope I've got the names right here.)
    Neither would survive the frontal attack of a .270 bullet, but what did I expect? Top of the line are the Oehlers. (sp?) What features do you want? Some have printer options, etc. Any are light years ahead of the first one I used back in the early '70's that used expensive wired screens; 2 required for each shot and NOT re-usable.
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  • Ambrose
    I use a PACT and an Oehler 35P. I have a set-up that employs both for each shot. Since the Oehler has a "proof channel", I get three readings for each shot. If all three don't agree, I know I've got a suspicious reading.

    As an interesting aside: I had a minor problem with the Oehler (a 15+ year old unit) a couple of years ago. I called and they said to send it in. When it came back no-charge, I noticed that it cost them five bucks to ship it so I sent a check with a letter saying it shouldn't cost them money to do me a favor. They sent the check back with a note saying, in effect, they didn't believe in taking advantage of their costumers. I thought at the time that if I ever had an opportunity to tell interested people that story, I would do it. So, there it is!
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  • He Dog
    quote:Originally posted by Ambrose
    I thought at the time that if I ever had an opportunity to tell interested people that story, I would do it. So, there it is!


    I will bet they wish they had more customers like you, just as we all wish there were more companies like them.
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  • bpost
    I have the Chrony, one step down from the one with the printer. It works well except in bright sunshine. I put a walmart bag over the screens to diffuse the light from bright sun, then it works great.

    Fortunately for me; no bullets have gone through the guts of it....... yet.

    A couple of things I do not like. The button pushing is NOT intuitive to get your information out. Every time I want to erase the memory I have to read the directions again, it is a convoluted set of machinations worthy of a degree in computer science.. Getting rid of a single bad shot recording is also a royal pain, again, this is in my way of thinking. You may be a much brighter bulb with computer stuff than I am. [:D]

    If you put tape on the aluminum sky screen sticks down about 1-1/2 inches from the tip you can use that as an aiming point for the horizontal cross hair. That should (might?) keep you bullet centered in the sweet spot for recording the shot.
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  • iwannausername
    When I needed one to change a F in physics to an A, I used some 1x1 wood, a measuring tape (in metric), a level, and a calculator....
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  • nononsense
    frisky-maddog,

    CED Millennium Chronograph:

    http://www.shootingsoftware.com/chronographs.htm

    Competition Electronics:

    http://www.competitionelectronics.com/pages/Prochrono_Digital.html

    I use my own lab based on the Oehler M83 Ballistics Lab but this is not for the faint of heart.

    Ken Oehler and his wife are the finest representatives of what customer service should be. They are at the pinnacle. Besides that, they are delightful folks to work with.

    Best.
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  • glabray
    All the ones I have used worked well when I did my part. Doing my part includes (1) Avoiding false readings due to muzzle blast. This means having the screens far enough from the muzzle and sometimes with some loads it may be necessary to improvise a shield between the muzzle and the first screen to prevent much of the blast reaching the screens. (2) Lighting is often the biggest single problem. They all work better on overcast or cloudy days than in bright sunlight. Larger diffusers are better than small ones.
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  • v35
    A chronograph with remote screens may be smartest. My diffuser screens and supports have been hit as has the LCD readout a good few times.
    Fragments, shot, and disintegrated bullets from high pressure wildcat tests did the deeds.
    I'm suspicious of folding chronographs because the distance between the two sensors needs to be critically accurate and repeatable.
    It's nice (not necessary) to have and nicer to get a printout of individual velocities of a string, average velocity, standard deviation and range (data).
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