1badmagnum Posted December 31, 2002 Share Posted December 31, 2002 bought the shooting chrony beta master chronograph today with 8 pounds of surplus powder.anyone used one of these units,and how did they perform? how do they compare to pact oehler etc? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chriss Grube Posted December 31, 2002 Share Posted December 31, 2002 They don't. The Chrony's are the yugo's of the chrono world. I gave mine away, pissed me off one too many times. The Pact is great and available from BE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmaass Posted December 31, 2002 Share Posted December 31, 2002 I like the Oehler best, but the PACT chrono (or timer with chrono option) are nice as well. The Oehler makes two measurements on each shot, so you can readily see a questionable measurement as it's made. The built-in printer is important: keeps you from spending all your valuable time scribbling in your reloading notebook (you *do* keep a reloading notebook, don't you???). There is also an optional HP printer for the PACT IV timer with chrono option, and I used it for a long while. It uses an IR link, so there are no wires between printer and timer/chrono. In general, I would pick a chrono that doesn't put all the electronics in the general direction of the path of the bullet to be measured. By all reports, all the available chronos measure within a few percent of each other, but some work with a wider range of light conditions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimel Posted December 31, 2002 Share Posted December 31, 2002 I have a Shooting Chrony with the remote head and like it. I have run it side-by-side with a PACT chrono and they are within the standard deviation shown by the load of each other. Haven't compared to an Oehler though. The early Shooting Chronys with all the electronics in one box were a problem but the more recent ones seem to be pretty decent for the price. My only complaint with it is that the controls are not really intuitive. If I had to do it over I would have bought a PACT if the PACT controls are more intuitive. But the Shooting Chrony was a gift so can't complain about the price. And yes, I would take a Yugo if someone gave me one that was brand new. Those will be collectors items someday. Cheers! Kevin (Edited by kimel at 10:09 pm on Dec. 30, 2002) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1badmagnum Posted December 31, 2002 Author Share Posted December 31, 2002 I bought some surplus powder today for $80 including shipping and hazmat charges.the $80 savings went toward the $129 chrony beta master chronograph.I will feel much better shooting this unit,compared to a $250 oehler,lol.I would have probably still bought the oehler,but since they were closed and midway was still open,shooting chrony it is.I'm very good with computers,so I'm hoping to be able to operate the controls with minimum headaches.anyone use these units indoors and have any lighting tips? thanks for the replies guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRG65 Posted December 31, 2002 Share Posted December 31, 2002 I got a yugo (shooting chrony) for christmas because it was in the right price range, I also got the indoor lighting kit that midway sells. Actually I had more problems outdoors. I generally had to shoot 2 rounds for every reading I want. Indoors was better. I tested it with the indoor setup then I tested it shaded and in the full sun at about 2 pm. All the averages very close, it might read 5 fps faster in full sun, but I'm not going to worry about that. It didn't like shaded at all. I only got 2 readings out of 10 shoots. I found I had to allow a time gap between my shoots. As I'm using an F-1 model and have to write down all my velocities, it's sort of built in. I needed to have the bullet travelling very close to sensors for it to read, outdoors or indoors. It seemed like I was aiming only about 2 inches above the sensors. Like someone else pointed out, this makes me a little nervous when all the brains are in the box. All in all I felt good about the numbers I got. All 67 rounds I fired (sun, shade and indoors)(tossing the high and low) yeilded an SD of 15 fps and an ES of 63 with mixed brass and 2 slightly different OAL's. If you're the type of person that expects a reading every time I think any chrono might dissapoint you. I have no experience with the oehler, but the double reading sounds great. I have used a friend's PACT I believe he paid 300 for time/chrono set up. It has it's quirks also, but might read more often than the F-1, I have. As I don't use a timer for training, I like the $100 setup (with indoor attachments). If I have to shoot a few more to get the readings I have a 650XL so 10 more rounds doesn't add that much time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimel Posted December 31, 2002 Share Posted December 31, 2002 The first thing I did with my Shooting Chrony was to take the rods that hold the sky screens and mark them at the recommended height above the sensors with red tape. Both front and rear rods. This does a few things: 1) It gives me a visual reference to use when shooting over the chrony, 2) it adds an additional reference to make sure the chrony platform is parallel to the plane of fire, 3) it allows me to easily set a target on a stand behind the chrony, with the Chrony aligned correctly, for an additional aiming reference. FWIW, I put the screens on my shooting chrony no matter what the lighting conditions are unless it is total overcast and lower light levels. Shooting Chronys do not like bright blue skies. Hope that helps. Cheers! Kevin (Edited by kimel at 8:27 am on Dec. 31, 2002) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shred Posted December 31, 2002 Share Posted December 31, 2002 I've got an Oehler, and even it won't record every shot if lighting conditions are poor. It's great, but it's also considerably larger to haul around (large toolbox vs shoeboxes) than the Pact and Chrony versions. Sometimes portability is nice. The basic circuits of any chronograph are simple, so what you're paying more for is maybe a bit better accuracy, better function in fringe conditions and more features (most of which can be duplicated in Excel). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skeeter Posted January 1, 2003 Share Posted January 1, 2003 i bought one of the early shooting chronys that had cardboard screens. it worked fine(had to write each shoot no memory) till i shoot it. now i have an oehler with printer. not as easy to set up but boy is it nice for a lot of loads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BSeevers Posted January 1, 2003 Share Posted January 1, 2003 My Chrono is that one with the cardboard. I will say its consistant but reads about 30 fps slow. I use my gunsmiths PACT to check my loads now but used the Chrony for years and just added 30 to the number. My loads have been chronoed at big matches over 100 times so I am confident in these numbers. Wanna buy a Chrony so I can get my own PACT? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BDH Posted January 1, 2003 Share Posted January 1, 2003 I own an Oehler. While I don't like lugging it around, I like the two readings, I like the large shooting area, and I love the built-in printer. All the data is right there in a permanent form. I just write my load data right along side all the chrono data on the printer tape. It gets transcribed to my load book later, but since I keep the printer tapes, there is never any doubt. About the only couple of issues I have had are: - like all chronos, the Oehler can be a little sensitive to lighting at times - occassionally, I will crank off two relatively quick shots, and the second shot will not be picked up. It seems that there is some reset time required (this is very rare, but does happen) One suggestion I have for everyone is to dig up the chrono article that Chronoman (Greg Lent) wrote last year for Front Sight. There was a lot of good info in it, and one thing that he made clear was just how much lighting had to do with the readings. That's one reason why you only see artificial lighting at the chrono stage at the Nationals and most big matches In fact, if my memory serves me correctly, at one of the big matches last year (I think it was one of the Area matches), I don't believe they used the normal Nationals setup..... the chrono stage was protested...... thrown out..... and everyone went Major! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gm iprod Posted January 3, 2003 Share Posted January 3, 2003 Buy a Oehler and get used to lugging it around. I have a 35P and am saving hard for the 43PBL. The best thing that the Shooting Chrony is for, is to prevent projectiles from getting down range. The PACT and the Prochrono are better than the Shooting Chrony, easier to use more reliable and more affordable than the Oehler. I have (over the last five years) tried everything and will buy another Oehler if anything happens to mine. Also take a look at the CED Millenium, only the skyscreens to wreck (like the Oehler) should anything silly occur. Kimel, I had a yugo ONCE. It did not make it out of the quarry alive. The body panels are real thin and I don't reccommend hiding behind one if the opposition have 22lr single shot pistols. How do you double the value of yugo? Put a $1 worth of gas in it. Why do yugo's have heated rear windows? To keep your hands warm when you push start it. A man went into a wreckers yard and asked for a wiper blade for a yugo. The man behind the counter said "you look like a nice fella, I'll swap ya two for it" NEVER LEND A CHRONOGRAPH, EVER!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tightloop Posted January 3, 2003 Share Posted January 3, 2003 You can always tell a guy who owns a chrono, the first words out of him mouth are "...no I don't lend it out." I reallyknow what you mean, I have bought more than one set of screens for mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Dunlop Posted January 5, 2003 Share Posted January 5, 2003 I can't complain about my F1. I hate to think how many $ worth of airfares I've invested in it and its never let me down. I have a Pact here somewhere, the capacitors are stuffed, I assumed it would cost more to repair than a replacement F1. Got to say its a prick of a way to determine the outcome of a match, but I sympathise Vince!!!! P.D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1badmagnum Posted January 5, 2003 Author Share Posted January 5, 2003 I know the oehler's are the most accurate professional chronos out there.But I'm positive I will be shooting mine sometime in the future with a 50 ae round,this being said,I purchased a shooting chrony beta master for $129.any other members shot their chrony? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimel Posted January 5, 2003 Share Posted January 5, 2003 Haven't shot mine yet but one day I thought I had. The sky screens went flying. Those sky screens are under some spring tension and it turned out that the muzzle blast had loosened them up enough that one shot finally sent them loose. FWIW...the only people I know that have shot their Chronys are those shooting scoped rifles/pistols over them who forget that at close range they need to aim a bit higher. Of course I am leaving for the range in about 20 minutes and have some chrono work to do so it is entirely possible I may have to change this post later today....hope not! Cheers! Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted January 8, 2003 Share Posted January 8, 2003 FWIW, I don't sell many chrono's only, I don't even have them in my online store. (I should update that I reckon.) But now and then some folks will call and order them. And especially with Pact's bargain deal Christmas specials going on, if you're really wanting a dedicated chrono (with a printer) the Pact Professional Model is a sweet unit. Here is a link to Pact's site on them, but of course call me if you want to order one. toll free order #: 877 219.5598 http://www.pact.com/prochro.html be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gm iprod Posted January 8, 2003 Share Posted January 8, 2003 I know I should post this in the Humour section but seeing as we are talking about chrony's. I have three buddies that I spend a fair amount of time shooting rifles with. One of them, Ian, has a problem with chrony chronographs. They have a myeterious ability to attract his projectiles. He started out by shooting an old one he picked up at a gunshow for $25. It lasted two sessions at the range. The next week he borrows one off Roy, now Roy is a pedantic, gruff precision engineer, and should know better, but he lent the chrony. One 303 round later chrony has a small aperture at front. Ian now owns said chrony and buys a new one for Roy. He repairs the old one himself and seems happy with life. Some weeks later Ian has bought a new Remington 7mm Mag. So off to the range. Takes chrony along for the drive. Well to say it was a short drive for the chrony was an under statement. He shoots one good group and decides to check the velocity. 4 whole rounds, ONE hole. Chrony now dead, no amount of CPR is going to solve this. Everybody having good laugh at Ian's exspence. Roy was muttering something about Richard Cranium or someone and other niceties. Ian and the third stooge Derrick had just combined to buy a 450Marlin, and were fairly keen to check the velocities. But Roy was having none of that. He proclaims that only the worlds biggest numb nuts would shoot a chrony, and there was no way in hell he was letting Ian anywhere near his nice NEW chrony. Roy takes command of the 450 and proceeds to send 350gr of Hornady's finest through the front of the new chrony, sending it and the tripod it was attached to about 30yards downrange. Well you could of heard a pin drop a mile away right about then, until Roy imperiously proclaims, "well thats that f$@D" He was right. My sides still hurt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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