Which shooting chronograph do you use?

[Southwind]

I have the CED but it is the first generation and not the M2. It has worked just great for me except it is kind of a pain because of the old software and not being able to utilize a usb.

If I wasn't so cheap I would upgrade to the CED M2 and probably will one day.

 

[Max Heat]

Do all shooting chrony brand models go flaky in cold weather?

My F-1 chrony is fairly new. Occasionally it will fail to give me a reading on a shot, but that's something I'm OK with. My frustration comes at power-up, when it won't boot up to the point where it is ready to time a shot. The problems seem to be temperature dependent. The colder it is, the less likely it is to to come up clean, when powered up. At moderately cold temps (<50F), the 2nd sensor, or "trap" starts reporting errors on boot-up. But when temps go under say about 40 or so, there are a few different errors that will show up on the display, which is built into the front of the first trap's sensor.

Is this normal? Or did I end up with a factory reject, or something?

It was purchased (new, supposedly) on ebay.

 

[Trickymissfit]

Re: Do all shooting chrony brand models go flaky in cold weather?

My F-1 chrony is fairly new. Occasionally it will fail to give me a reading on a shot, but that's something I'm OK with. My frustration comes at power-up, when it won't boot up to the point where it is ready to time a shot. The problems seem to be temperature dependent. The colder it is, the less likely it is to to come up clean, when powered up. At moderately cold temps (<50F), the 2nd sensor, or "trap" starts reporting errors on boot-up. But when temps go under say about 40 or so, there are a few different errors that will show up on the display, which is built into the front of the first trap's sensor.

Is this normal? Or did I end up with a factory reject, or something?

It was purchased (new, supposedly) on ebay.

actually the warm deal is typical for most all battery usage in cold weather. Mine uses a 9 volt battery, and I always have a spare battery with me even though a battery will usually last well over a year. When I do use mine in very cold weather, I usually remove the battery and pace it in the pocket on my tee shirt till I use it. With it under a couple layers of clothing and a jacket it stays warm. I have to do the samething with my camera batteries as well, and even rolls of film.
gary

 

[ankaka]

I use a pact.

 

[Jim Oliver]

PACT Pro------no problems, works in sun, shade--- whatever. Well, it did quit when my brother shot one of the "screens". It has given good service for several years.

Great customer service too.

Jim

 

[Brno308]

Shooting chrony Beta master. Just whish I could get hold of the ballistic software Chrony advertises - no dealers/distributors in SA keeps it.

 

[Wile E Coyote]

I've been using a CED M2 for the last 4 months with only minor issues. All of those issues were "operator error." In other words, my fault for not reading the manual or comprehending what was written.

The Shooting Chrony Beta Master I was using was too unforgiving. Everything had to be just right in order to get consistant readings. It is boxed up and put away... ready for a garage sale someday.

 

[farout]

I think the MagnetoSpeed chrony should bee added to the poll. I have a Shooting Chrony, ProChrono, and a MagnetoSpeed.

The Shooting Chrony and ProChrono now just gather dust since I stated using the MagnetoSpeed. The MS is not affected by sun or shade. It even works in the dark! Gives speeds at the barrel not the speed 15 feet away, and I don't have to stop the range to setup my chronograph. The interface and display are the best.

Here's how I rate them:

Shooting Chrony: Fare to low. It is very sensitive to light and direction and has a small shooting window. The interface is the worst.

ProChrono: Very Good. Especially if you are a bow shooter cause it has a larger shooting window. I find it to be accurate and fairly good at working in varying light conditions.

MagnetoSpeed: By far the best for all of the reasons mentioned above.

 

[Catbird]

I bought a Pact some years ago, sometimes it works and sometimes it is lucky not to be a target. I'm looking at one of the CED_M2's from the LRH store soon.I'd like to have on Oehler,but the CED seems to have good reviews.

 

[Trickymissfit]

I bought a Pact some years ago, sometimes it works and sometimes it is lucky not to be a target. I'm looking at one of the CED_M2's from the LRH store soon.I'd like to have on Oehler,but the CED seems to have good reviews.

1997 and still going strong. Can count all the failed to read shots on less than two hands. Just mount it on the tripod and level and align it. Takes about ten or twelve minutes, and it's ready to shoot thru it. After I put the first round thru it, I never touch it again till I break it down to go back home. By the way the difference between the Ohler and the Pact usually runs about .00022%. Nothing to worry about because you have no idea which one really is right (about 7 fps @ 3270 fps).
gary

 

[Broz]

I bought a Pact some years ago, sometimes it works and sometimes it is lucky not to be a target. I'm looking at one of the CED_M2's from the LRH store soon.I'd like to have on Oehler,but the CED seems to have good reviews.

You lucky guy. My pact never worked at all. Wasted ammo all afternoon with it.

After owning a total of 4 chrono's over the years, and shooting through several, I now wish I would have simply bought the Oehler 35 first and saved money. Not to mention now with the Oehler my inputted velocity into programs will match the actual field drops. Man what time I could have saved if I would only have bought the best first. Go Oehler and never look back.

Jeff

 

[Trickymissfit]

You lucky guy. My pact never worked at all. Wasted ammo all afternoon with it.

After owning a total of 4 chrono's over the years, and shooting through several, I now wish I would have simply bought the Oehler 35 first and saved money. Not to mention now with the Oehler my inputted velocity into programs will match the actual field drops. Man what time I could have saved if I would only have bought the best first. Go Oehler and never look back.

Jeff

you know how a chronograpg works I assume. There's just not a lot to them when it all gets down to nuts and bolts. Some work much faster than others do, and some operate on 1970's technology. They all require a rock steady mounting, and must be parallel to bullet flight in this case. That's really about it. Some will have problems with too much light and others with too little light (I don't shoot after dark, so I don't worry about that one). The bullet must pass directly over the sensor (correctly called a cell), and not to the side of it. They just are not rocket science! I take mine to the range and wait till the guys are checking their targets, and set mine up. Takes maybe five minutes. I look thru the rifle scope, and adjust at the bench. The guy with the Ohler will be there forever waiting and waiting to get his setup. Maybe after three rounds he might be ready, but usually four or five rounds. The range I shoot at won't wait but a couple minutes max on you. But once it's setup, it's usually right there. Don't tell me this ain't so, cause I've shot thru one a little bit. My old shooting partner used one, and told everyone the same song your singing. He hasn't taken it out of the box in ten years or more!
gary

 

[Broz]

you know how a chronograpg works I assume. There's just not a lot to them when it all gets down to nuts and bolts. Some work much faster than others do, and some operate on 1970's technology. They all require a rock steady mounting, and must be parallel to bullet flight in this case. That's really about it. Some will have problems with too much light and others with too little light (I don't shoot after dark, so I don't worry about that one). The bullet must pass directly over the sensor (correctly called a cell), and not to the side of it. They just are not rocket science! I take mine to the range and wait till the guys are checking their targets, and set mine up. Takes maybe five minutes. I look thru the rifle scope, and adjust at the bench. The guy with the Ohler will be there forever waiting and waiting to get his setup. Maybe after three rounds he might be ready, but usually four or five rounds. The range I shoot at won't wait but a couple minutes max on you. But once it's setup, it's usually right there. Don't tell me this ain't so, cause I've shot thru one a little bit. My old shooting partner used one, and told everyone the same song your singing. He hasn't taken it out of the box in ten years or more!
gary

Gary, please don't let it bother you that so many of us are happy with the Oehler's and we don't struggle with the set up like you do. I have worked on mechanical things all my life. Tuned some pretty fast race cars too from nose to parachute. Did this for a living for years. Won a few national championships while doing it. So I know a little about some things. I set my Oehler up in less that a few minutes for use , It sets in my garage, I carry it outside to my range and plug it in. With the scope on low power I adjust its stance to be true to bullet flight then crank the scope up and shoot. I get consistent readings from first shot to last. I like the fact with 3 screens I get two reading on each bullet. That's a great confidence builder to me after the chrono's I had lying to me before. I am very happy you are content with what you use. That's great. I don't post my experiences to fool anyone or ruin your day. You have some kind of ruffle in your shorts about Oehlers. That's cool, but I don't. OK??

Thanks
Jeff

 

[Trickymissfit]

Gary, please don't let it bother you that so many of us are happy with the Oehler's and we don't struggle with the set up like you do. I have worked on mechanical things all my life. Tuned some pretty fast race cars too from nose to parachute. Did this for a living for years. Won a few national championships while doing it. So I know a little about some things. I set my Oehler up in less that a few minutes for use , It sets in my garage, I carry it outside to my range and plug it in. With the scope on low power I adjust its stance to be true to bullet flight then crank the scope up and shoot. I get consistent readings from first shot to last. I like the fact with 3 screens I get two reading on each bullet. That's a great confidence builder to me after the chrono's I had lying to me before. I am very happy you are content with what you use. That's great. I don't post my experiences to fool anyone or ruin your day. You have some kind of ruffle in your shorts about Oehlers. That's cool, but I don't. OK??

Thanks
Jeff

I (if you'll notice) have never said the Ohler Chronograph itself was bad. Not a single time ever in my life by the way, but I have complaigned about their mounting system many times over. I have never complaigned about their accuracey either. After the third time out and fighting their setup, I fixed it. Made a complete new mount out of precision extruded aluminum that mounted on one heavy duty camera tripod. Even built into it two mast setup to align it like I use with the Pact. But later changed that over to a better alignment setup that was even simpeler to use.

I will tell you right upfront that I had an issue with the Pact, and fixed it in about five minutes. Wrapped the top of the defuser brackets with Mylar from a circut board sleeve. (The Ohler had the same issue by the way). The only serious bitch I have about the Ohler that Doug and I used was the size of the thing. Too big for easy storage in transportation. Had Ohler used faster cells they could have made the same unit much shorter. None are perfect. I long for a chronograph that can use an SD card to record all data. I'd prefer a non built in printer, and a couple USB ports. Nothing brand specific here.

All I'm saying here is that I have a Pact and you have an Ohler. Big deal! Both are very close to the same in accuracey, and their readings shot it. I think my fail to read count is seven or eight shots (give or take one shot) since 1996. The new mount I made for Doug's Ohler seemed to make the spread of data tighten up a noticable amount. Plus it was far easier to get up an going. Movement compounds error. Now you can buy a new mount from Square Peg and pay thru the nose or just deal with it (last I heard $400). For less than a third of that money you can build a better one out of precision extruded aluminum (not the hardware store stuff)

gary