marko@hutch (Mark O'Shea) (06/13/91)
Well after lo these many years, I have decided to buy a chronograph. I haven't needed one up now. Our gun club had one, but it got broken. The club has decided that the replacement will not be used without a board member attending. The last time they had it set up there was an hour wait to use it. I did my time on the board and don't want to do it again just to get to use the chronograph. So I am going to get my own. What I want to know from people who have one is this. In the past I have used the club's and been happy to get the data from a new load when I could. I would develop a load, test fire it and then wait until the chronograph was available to get the data. My inclination is to buy a cheap model like the "Chrony" figuring I will use it pretty much the same way. On the other hand, as you may know I shoot ISPC and I have considered one of those nice timer/chronographs. Of course, there are some options in between. Do those of you who have a chronograph find you use it more often, just because you have it? Would I be unhappy with the Cheap-o in a short time? If you have a "Chrony", how does it do with shotgun loads? What do you think? Gun Control Means Being Able to Hit Your Target Mark O'Shea marko@ijf1.intel.com
berenson@cookie.enet.dec.com (Coffee: Nature's Productivity Tool 13-Jun-1991 0957) (06/14/91)
There are only two problems with a Chrony: 1) The electronics are down range, so if you screw up the repair is an expensive proposition! With more expensive chronographs, the sensors are down range but the electronics are up-range, so repairs aren't too bad. And, you *WILL* need to do repairs eventually. Especially if you are going to chronograph shotguns :-) 2) Reports are that as the batteries wear down the Chrony reports *higher* than actual speeds. This could spell disaster when you show up at a match and discover you really have a minor load. Of course, the easy solution is to use fresh batteries! With fresh batteries, we've found a Chrony to report the same speeds as the Competition Electronics combination timer/chronograph. If you are going to buy the timer anyway, then the chronograph addition is the better way to go. If you already have a timer, or are planning to buy one, I consider the Competition Electronics version to be the best buy. ............................................................................. Hal Berenson Home: 71640.3535@compuserve.com OR oldcolo!berenson@csn.org Work: berenson@cookie.enet.dec.com -- Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are my own, not my employer's! If I happen to communicate with you from work rather than home, its just for convenience (just like asking for a "daytime phone number") and should not be construed as representing the views of my employer or its employees, officers, directors, or stockholders. --
gmk@falstaff.mae.cwru.edu (Geoff Kotzar) (06/14/91)
In article <35541@mimsy.umd.edu> marko@hutch (Mark O'Shea) writes:
#
#Do those of you who have a chronograph find you use it more often, just
#because you have it? Would I be unhappy with the Cheap-o in a short time?
#If you have a "Chrony", how does it do with shotgun loads?
#What do you think?
#
#Gun Control Means Being Able to Hit Your Target
#Mark O'Shea
#marko@ijf1.intel.com
My guess is you would be dissatisfied in a short time. I bought an Oehler
model 33 to work up maximum handgun loads a number of years ago and am
now using it in ways I had never forseen. When I bought an S&W .44 spl
with a 3" barrel I checked the existing factory loads (Silvertips and the
Federal SWC-HP) to see how mush better they were than the round nosed loads.
I was disappointed to find out how slow they were really going. I pulled
some of the factory bullets and worked up loads from existing data for other
bullets of the same weight to see if I could reach their design velocity
and still have reasonable accuracy. Accuracy deteriorated long before I
could approximate the factory claimed velocity and there was no need to
guess at the velocity. This BTW was not an inexpensive experiment.
On another occasion I was looking for a factory load that would produce
roughly the same velocity out of a GP-100 and an old S&W model 19 since
these are both kept as house guns. The 19 is old and "slow" while the GP
is new and very tight and "fast". Checking the factory load selection
showed that there was a large velocity difference (100-200 fps) between
the two guns for many of the loads but with the Rem 140 SJHP I lost only
about 50 fps. That is now my standard.
We had picked up some bulk Olin Special powder from the fellow in Massilon
which is claimed to be "like" H380. From our work with two rifles now we
know that the batch we have appears considerably faster than H380. Primer
appearance and case expansion would have told the same story but we were
able to detect the difference long before maximum pressures were reached.
We also picked up some WC 860 in bulk which is slower than H4831 but there
is no loading data for it. Chronoed loads indicated that H870 data could
be used. One load in a 300 H&H produce erratic primer flattening with a
case full of powder. Case measurements were normal and targets were all
my friend could ask for. Contradictory information like this makes me
nervous but the velocity data was exteremely uniform and that additional
piece of information makes further experimentation worth pursuing.
One final point, at the Memphis range last month a cop gut shot one of the
small self-contained units and just dropped his head to the bench. I take
it that they are not as cheap to repair as replacing a sky screen.john@uunet.UU.NET (John Gayman) (06/15/91)
In article <35541@mimsy.umd.edu>, marko@hutch (Mark O'Shea) writes:
# Well after lo these many years, I have decided to buy a chronograph.
#
# Do those of you who have a chronograph find you use it more often, just
# because you have it? Would I be unhappy with the Cheap-o in a short time?
# If you have a "Chrony", how does it do with shotgun loads?
# What do you think?
When I decided to purchase a chronograph I thought long and hard to
decide between the PACT and the Oehler. Also being an IPSC shooter the
features of the PACT appealed to me and I chose that model. I beleive a
person is better off with one of the quality units. Anyway, all of my
chronographing seems to center on IPSC shooting. Obviously I want to know
the power factor. I spent a long time fine-tuning loads for different
duties. When I started using a 38 Super the chrono became even more
valuable. Almost as valuable as the chrono is a good ballistic program.
When I wanted to develope a light load for shooting steel with the .38
Super I could go chrono loads with each and then plug the results into the
computer to come up with a light load which would be accurate to 50 yds and
not require me to change my sights. Likewise for certain clubs who run
falling plate events, I knew that a light .45 load I had just barely took
down the plates. Knowing the velocity on these loads I could develope
.38 Super loads with similar knock-down power. Don't even get me started
on using the chrono with my rifles. :-) In short, I rely on it so much
I can't emagine reloading without it.
If your considering the PACT unit and you combine all the above with the
indespensability of the timer, you have an unbeatable combination. If I
were *only* buying a chrono I may have gone with the Oehler. If your
an IPSC shooter who does much practice, I strongly recommend the PACT.
BTW, I havn't tried it with the shotgun yet.
John
--
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