Which Chrony the Best

T

tank1949

Moderator
I had access to a simple Chrony chronograph years ago. I am going to buy one. Now, there are several models. I have a tri-pod. I don't know which one is the best for my needs. I want accuracy! How far do they need to be set out in front of shooter. If too far, I suspect I will need app or remote digital screen?
 
I have used three over the years and have settled on the Competition Electronics. $125 or so on the street with bluetooth. I also had a Labradar, overpriced and a pain to use and a CED Millennium 2 that had a corded remote which was very picky about picking up shots.

A lot of guys at the range use the Magnetospeed for convenience, but you can't shoot groups for load testing with it on and that is when I use my chrono the most

As far as I know for accuracy the only chrono that has been tested against military radar would be the CED unit.

This is my second Comp Electronics, the first died after being bounced around in the back of my Jeep on dirt roads for 8 years. I ended up trying and sending back the other two. The CE has a great bluetooth ap for control and readout, and the unit needs to be placed about 12 feet in front of the muzzle. Easy hack to keep from shooting it with a rifle is use a laser boresight and a piece of cardboard and use that same piece of cardboard as a sunshade on super sunny days. It's accurate enough so that when I plug the info into a ballistics calculator I am on paper at 800 yards
 
What I would like to have is a Labradar, but it is expensive relative to the amount of chronographing I am doing now. Ten or 15 years ago, if it had been available, I would have paid for it
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What I use is a CE except when I am doing a lot of loads and then dig out the CED.
The CE is an early model with corded remote... that no longer works, a factory repair did not last. So I have to walk to it every string. Maybe the current models with wireless are better. It does have a large "window" and is simple to set up. And they will replace it for half price if you shoot it.

The CED Millennium has a lot of bells and whistles but a lot of wires to connect for setup. If you are doing a lot of loads, it is worth it. And the expensive parts are not in the line of fire.

I set mine four paces in front of the bench.
 
My brother likes to buy the expensive "state of the art" stuff like a Labradar and another that mounts to your barrel (cant remember).
Guess what? My ProChrono that I paid $100 for tells me the "basic" speed for way less money
 
I use a Chrony (Green). Does the job and simple to use setup, and is nice and compact. I tested it back to back with another brand chronograph (fellow club member) and it matched up. As far as distance from chronograph, I think it is around 10 feet. Still readable unless sun is in the wrong position. All you need is velocity as the rest is just simple math.
 
I use a Chrony Beta Master ("expanded" memory + remote display). Works great for me.
But, I must reiterate what I've said in the past about the Chrony units: Memory is CHEAP in today's world. There is absolutely no good reason for Chrony chronographs to have such limited shot and string storage capacity. The Chrony guys are stuck in the '80s.

I don't think I've used a CE unit.
I have experience with several other brands and models owned by other people.
I'll never buy a CED. Nor any of the cheap stuff on retail shelves.
I was on the pre-order list for Labradar until they announced that actual performance was about 50% shy of promised levels. (What good is a doppler unit if half of what I shoot can't be picked up beyond 80-90 yards?...)


Distance? Whatever works for you and provides reliably results.
I typically set my Chrony up at about 15 feet. I have nearly zero read errors, and most of those are at dawn.
My brother has an Alpha or F-1 Chrony. He prefers about 6 to 8 feet, possibly so it's easier to read the display. Many errors and bad readings from muzzle blast.
My father has had several different brands of chronographs over the last 10 years, and is currently on his 3rd or 4th CED piece of garbage. He sets up at about 4 feet, and then moves the chronograph away until only about 50% of the shots show an error (because that's about as good as it gets...).
 
Which one is best? You are going to get a whole lot of opinions on that. The best one for me is a LabRadar because the majority of my shooting is done at an indoor range with handguns and no other will work.
If money is an issue and you do your shooting outside then one of the lower priced ones will probably do what you want. If money isn’t an issue then a LabRadar in my opinion would be your best choice.
 
Note that the Labradar now talks to a cell phone app, too. It doesn't have a fixed range. If you want to match what SAAMI does, the mid-point of the screens will need to be 15 feet. For optical chronographs, open your action and put in a safety flag. Set the gun up on bags so it is sighted on your target. Fit a laser bore sighter in the gun. Go out to the chronograph and hold the palm of your hand in the middle of the screen opening and fiddle with the tripod or whatever mount you have until you get the laser spot centered on your hand and then do the same with the other screen. When the dot is centered in both, you have about as safe a position for the chronograph's wellbeing as you can get.
 
Note that the Labradar now talks to a cell phone app, too. It doesn't have a fixed range.
Click to expand...

actually the Labradar ap is bluetooth so yes it does have a fixed range of about 33 feet.

Then it is the matter of whether it will work, mine connected first trip to the range but in the middle of the second range trip it stopped connecting to my Samsung galaxy Tab A. I switched to my Samsung phone and it worked for a couple of strings then that quit. Labradar tech support blew me off and blamed it on Samsung , it was a Friday afternoon. My daughter gave me her old IPhone 6. I downloaded the Apple ap and it connected when I tried it at home but as soon as I went to the range it would not work.

thank God for Brownells return policy
 
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If you pay attention to what the majority of top precision shooters use, it is the Labradar or the MagnetoSpeed. Both have their issues, but set up correctly with those in mind, nothing else matches their accuracy. I have owned almost all of the brands at one time or another and by far, the least fault system is the MagnetoSpeed. MagnetoSpeed supports the sport and has excellent customer service. Labradar does not have either.

If the price tag is too high and or the precision is not needed, Look at the Caldwell. It is simple and easy to use and connects to your cell. It is the only other Chronograph I still have after selling (of giving away) the PACT, Chrony, CED, and several others .
 
hounddawg said:
actually the Labradar ap is bluetooth so yes it does have a fixed range of about 33 feet.
Click to expand...

What I actually meant was that, unlike an optical chronograph which has to be set at one particular reading distance from the bench, something the OP asked about, the Labradar can measure several ranges of your choosing all at the same time. If you include 15 feet (5 yards in the instrument) as one of them, then you will be measuring what SAAMI does.

Sounds like you got a lemon somehow. I've had no problems with mine.
 
My iPhone will disconnect from my LabRadar several times then will work ok. Talked to LabRadar and have the latest download as well. It really isn't that big of a deal to me but I can see how some might get stroked up about it with the money they are paying for it.
 
Like call your ex girlfriend, funny, orr?? :rolleyes:

I've noticed the distance shooters seem to gravitate towards the Labradar.

Myself, i'm with Frankenmauser, in owning a Chrony Beta Master.
I know with mine, if it's closer than 15ft, i get errors from muzzle blast. Even with non magnums.

As with any chrono, fresh batteries!!
 
What I actually meant was that, unlike an optical chronograph which has to be set at one particular reading distance from the bench, something the OP asked about, the Labradar can measure several ranges of your choosing all at the same time. If you include 15 feet (5 yards in the instrument) as one of them, then you will be measuring what SAAMI does.
Click to expand...



my bad, thought you were referring to the bluetooth aspect

Sounds like you got a lemon somehow. I've had no problems with mine.
Click to expand...

this was in 2018 and more than a few people were having issues. They may have upgraded the firmware and cured it since then. I had bought one because my 9 year old prochrono had died after one too many trips down a dirt road.

What really PO'ed me was the "tech support" or lack of it. Blaming Samsung and pretty much telling me to suck it up. Then they would not even respond to the email when I told them the IPhone did not work. The next range trip the external battery would not connect and I called Brownells and they said send it back.

In my opinion Labradar is poorly designed from the lack of an aiming mechanism, lack of a internal chargeable battery, having the transmitter and receiver bundled in with the control unit, charging extra for a external positionable microphone.

If Labradar 2.0 cures some of those issues I may reconsider but then my optical does everything I ask of a chrono and does it just as well for several hundred dollars less so maybe not. I really don't care if that bullet is 2750 FPS or 2051 FPS as long as i can get a good estimate of my SD's and it is accurate enough to where I can plug the velocity into ballistics computer and end up within 1 MOA at 800 when sighting in.

I take the chrono to the range maybe one out of every twenty five trips, most of the time it just sits on the shelf. I am thinking of grabbing a Magnetospeed some day when they are on sale because they are so compact and easy to set up.
 
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