shooting cornographs looking for opinions

[Mr.parker]

wanting to buy a chornograph this week would like some advise.
will just be used for revolver and pistol readings. thank's.

[iouri]

Funny you brought this topic - just shot my brand new Chrony (blue) today It was working fine outdoors (indoors require special light) I hope mine would still work - sensor seems to be OK; bullet went through upper right corner of the housing in the back.

[ar15ed]

i have had a competition electronics prochrono for a couple of years now, and it has always worked perfectly, everything from 22 through 338 lapua, in all weather/light conditions. one of the main reasons i went with it, is that they are made in the good ole u.s.a.

it is the only chrono i have owned, but i have used several others owned by friends and family members, and i will have to say i am perfectly pleased with the prochrono. i'd buy it again in a heartbeat!

[MichiganScott]

I suggest that you look at chrono's with separate sky screens like those from PACT, Oehler, or the CED Millenium. It's not what happens if you shoot your chrono, but when.

[Wee Hooker]

I've owned two Chrony Brand units.I sold the first (for what I paid for it) after 10 years of trouble free service and upgraded to the Beta model last year. FWIW, I bought both units as factory refurbs right from Chrony's website. I believe you can still do this and save a few $.

Also FWIW, I was careful and never shot my unit. Did clip one of the sky rods once but they were cheap to replace. hth

[arizona98tj]

I've been quite satisfied with my CED M2 chronograph. You can read my CED M2 review at my site.

[Frank46]

I've had the oheler 33 or 35 for some years now. I just saw a notice that the are going to resume production of the latest model they used to make. Only thing bad in having a chrono at the range there is always someone who will either sit where you are sitting to fire off a few rounds (I really hate that) or ask you to fire a few to get an idea how fast they are going. Frank

[GP100man]

For testing a "few" rounds the chrony works well once ya learn what distance & light it likes , but if alot of testing is done on of the costlier units do all the computing for ya .

I use a chrony on my private range with 2 bricks in front of it ,kinda slow gettin up & reading each pass but I use it less now than when I first got it.

I started out shooting an air rifle thru it then a 22 & so on until I "learned" the sweet spot !

A refurbished is as good as a new ,it works or it does`nt.

Here`s my first set up , it worked .
I now have an adjustable stand it screws to , heigth adjustment was my biggest problem until I got the stand.

[Grayfox]

I've been using an old Pact Model 1 for many years now and couldn't be happier with it.

[Aticus]

If you're looking for one that's inexpensive I used a Chrony for years and it was easy to set up (only needs a camera tripod), accurate and easy to transport. I sold it only when I got an Oehler 35 at a really good price. The pacts etc. are just as good I'm told.

[H Richard]

I've had a Chrony for quite a long time, originally a basic one then I got a Beta model. I like having the readout back on the bench with me. I set up hte unit on s camera tripod which is easily adjustable and I shoot for groups at the same time.

[fredj338]

IMO, two kinds of chronograph users; the guy that just wants the occasional PF & the guy that uses it often, testing accuracy & vel at the same time. If you just want the occasional PF, a CHrony is fine. If you want a reliable machine to test accuracy & vel at the same time, rifle or pistol, forget the entire Chrony line.
The Oehler is king, best screens made & that is where the Chrony falls waaay short. The tiny screens don't allow much error, one reason so many units get shot. Then there is shooting at the unit, pretty stupid design IMO. The CED has the best screens IMO, on the market next to the Oehler. Since they are about half the price, if I was replacing my Oehler today, I would get the CED.
I tested a Chrony BetaM, CED & Oehler back to back to back. I fired a test series thru each setup, then swapped units to diff positions so the test would be fair. The Oehler never missed a shot, the CED maybe 5%, the Chrony, a full 50% of the shots were missed, most when the Chrony was the trailing unit. SHot alingment has to be almost perfect for the Chrony to get readings, ****** screens. So that is my objective recommendation.

[mr-mom]

I've used a Chrony for several years and have never had a problem with it. Have shot everything from .22LR through .44 mag. and it hasn't missed a shot. Easy to set up on a camera tripod, easy to read and seems to give me very accurate results, both with factory loads and when I'm creating my own.
Dave

[scooter123]

I recently purchased a Shooting Chrony and LED Skyscreen set and tried it out at a local indoor range. Still need a bit more time to learn it's quirks because the "manual" it came with is really a poor joke. However, when I get everything correct it does work as advertized.

Now for what I've managed to figure out so far in the one session using it.

First, that recommendation for shooting in the lower third of the triangle formed the the wires and skyscreens is much too optimistic. The most repeatable results occur when you skim your bullets under 1.5 inches above the sensors. Specifically you have to shoot as low as you dare. Get beyond that 1.5 inches and the readings get really unpredictable with some good and some obviously way way off.

Second, the LED skyscreens work indoors BUT you really want the unit at least 8 to 10 feet away from any Florescent light fixtures. At my local range there are only two lanes that don't have a high intensity florescent bank light pointing downrange at the top of the lane dividers. This means that there are only 2 lanes available that don't frequently trigger an Error code.

Three, Shooting Chrony claims the LED skyscreens are powered by a 12 Volt/110 V transformer. If you take the time to actually check the output of this transformer you'll find the output is much closer to 17 volts. Why does this matter? It's pretty simple, you won't find 110V outlets in the lanes at any range I know of so you'll have to power the skyscreens using a battery. I chose to use a small Sealed Lead Acid 12 Volt battery for model car servo's and similar devices. While this did provide power for the skyscreens I suspect that the light output is reduced and part of the cause for my issues with excessive sensitivity to the existing range lighting. It may also explain why I had to shoot so close to the sensors to get consistent readings. Down the road I may purchase a second 3.6 volt battery and wire it in series with the 12 volt battery to brighten up the skyscreens.

BTW, the LED output is RED which I don't understand with brighter WHITE LEDS now widely available but perhaps it's because the sensors are more sensitive in the RED spectrum. Sort of doubt that and think that it's more likely that Shooting Chrony got a bargain on RED LED strip lights out of China but consider it a heads up. To be honest considering what they cost I found the LED skyscreens a bit of a disappointment, they are overpriced by at least a factor of 2.

[Peter M. Eick]

I love my oehler 35p. It works great, I have used it extensively and I can't remember it missing a shot that was not due to me firing too quick. Darn double taps!

[rockquarry]

It may cost more, but you'll not find the Oehler 35P lacking in any way. The Oehler is made for frequent and heavy duty use and will last a long time. The PACT is also a good unit.

[HOPSTER]

I used a Shooting Chrony with the ballistic printer and it worked OK. I was getting ready to add the infrared lights to it for another 85 bucks to try to improve the readings (Florida, morning sun and clouds wreaking havok) and it woudn't work for my shotshell loads. I just bought the re-introduced Oehler 35 P for $575 instead of throwing more money at the shooting Chrony.
But .... you could buy the F1 Chrony, add the printer and IR lights and 12 V adapter and still be less than 1/2 of what I paid for the 35P. With the IR lights the accuracy should be reliable.

Before you buy anything, research the "shot window' of that particular unit. With the Chrony you have a very narrow area above the sensors and below the screen where the projectile must pass, other units have similar limitations, but the 35P has the widest "shot window" of all.