Garmin Xero Review

[S&W ucla]

Garmin prefers that we return the unit for a battery replacement if necessary. However, on another forum it was shown how easily the unit comes apart and that the battery is readily replaceable by the user.

Thanks for the info. That was the only negative thing I saw.

 

[burneyr]

A friend brought one over today and I'm in awe. Simple setup, never missed a shot, and worked perfectly. Fired 200 rounds between three people running near five hours. Only used 25% of the battery. Not cheap but my old skyscreens are now obsolete!

This little wonder DELIVERS!

 

[Tom K]

As Gartenmeister said, the manual says 20 yards is the minimum distance. I tried mine in my basement air pistol range, which is about 25 feet, and it seemed to be picking up everything. Once the weather gets a little better here, I plan to experiment some more. I'm also going to bring it to my indoor range soon and try it out. I will post my experiences here as I go. With the LabRadar I do like the fact that moving the data around for PC use is easier and it was something that I considered before I decided to get the Garmin. In the end, the size of the Xero won out. I still can not believe how small it is. I read on another forum that LabRadar is coming out with a small unit also. Maybe we are on the brink of a chronograph war.

That appears to be true. https://smith-wessonforum.com/reloading/716184-labradar-lx-garmin-c1-competition.html#post141919230

 

[mckenney99]

My Garmin Xero C1 was delivered this morning. I ordered it from Midway since the price seems to be fixed at $599.99 everywhere and Midway had free shipping. The photos I've seen can't begin to give the proper perspective as to how small this Garmin unit is. I originally started with a Ohler M33 chronograph then moved up to a CED. Both the previous units were so big & cumbersome to set up and use, that I wouldn't use them unless I was doing some serious load development. I then broke down and bought a Chrony Alpha Master for something relatively small and quick to set up but the operating instructions weren't exactly clear or intuitive. This Garmin unit is just unbelievable. I couldn't wait to try it out at the range, so after topping off the battery's charge I set the Xero up on a small table and tested out the "other projectiles" session and took a few shots down my hallway with my AIRSOFT squirrel harassment rifle. I was stunned when the Xero picked up 4 of my 5 shots. (I'm not sure why it missed my 5th shot, but I was distracted, as I was having to chase down every "bullet" after firing, due to my kitten grabbing them and taking off with them.) Surprisingly, I got an average of 126 fps out of the little AIRSOFT "rifle". No wonder the squirrels aren't amused when I get lucky enough to tag one of them off my bird feeder.

 

[cmj8591]

My Garmin Xero C1 was delivered this morning. I ordered it from Midway since the price seems to be fixed at $599.99 everywhere and Midway had free shipping. The photos I've seen can't begin to give the proper perspective as to how small this Garmin unit is. I originally started with a Ohler M33 chronograph then moved up to a CED. Both the previous units were so big & cumbersome to set up and use, that I wouldn't use them unless I was doing some serious load development. I then broke down and bought a Chrony Alpha Master for something relatively small and quick to set up but the operating instructions weren't exactly clear or intuitive. This Garmin unit is just unbelievable. I couldn't wait to try it out at the range, so after topping off the battery's charge I set the Xero up on a small table and tested out the "other projectiles" session and took a few shots down my hallway with my AIRSOFT squirrel harassment rifle. I was stunned when the Xero picked up 4 of my 5 shots. (I'm not sure why it missed my 5th shot, but I was distracted, as I was having to chase down every "bullet" after firing, due to my kitten grabbing them and taking off with them.) Surprisingly, I got an average of 126 fps out of the little AIRSOFT "rifle". No wonder the squirrels aren't amused when I get lucky enough to tag one of them off my bird feeder.

How fast was the cat going?

 

[theothermikeg]

Another Garmin convert here, although it does have a couple shortcomings. The unit does not record ambient temperature or barometric conditions and it doesn't have the ability to capture a photo of your groups, both of which were always very helpful to me. Neither of those are deal breakers though and I'm extremely happy with how easy and accurate it has been.

 

[Krogen]

Another Garmin convert here, although it does have a couple shortcomings. The unit does not record ambient temperature or barometric conditions and it doesn't have the ability to capture a photo of your groups, both of which were always very helpful to me. Neither of those are deal breakers though and I'm extremely happy with how easy and accurate it has been.

Does any chronograph record temperature or barometric conditions? If so, I've been asleep! I use a Kestrel Drop for that purpose. It's cheaper than the fancy Kestrels, but requires a phone app to read the data. Compromises. . . . Good thing is that it computes density altitude in addition to reporting pressure, temperature, humidity etc.

 

[theothermikeg]

My Competition Electronics chrono recorded temperature and the phone app would allow you to access the camera to attach group photos. Other than those little perks it was mostly a p o s.