Learning to Live With A Chronograph

[Mr. Neutron]

Yes. I'll probably pursue one to work on my CFE223 30-30 loads. Thanks for leading the way and sharing.

I dunno if “leading the way” is accurate here in this sense, Mags. More like “fumbling my way through it” in my mind, hee hee. There are definitely other members here that can be more helpful than I.

It is a useful tool in many ways for load development and other stuff. But it’s not totally needed for what most of us do with our rifles. You can do a lotta stuff without a chronograph, as most of us have for years. That said, they are a help in many ways.

And I’d like to stress here that the one 4-shot group I posted about is in no way “conclusive” about whether this is “the load for me”. I need to shoot several more groups to see if the groups & velocity values are repeatable and consistent. I may find that it is not repeatable, and need to do something different.

[Mr. Neutron]

Took the chronograph and the BB rifle out today to play a bit with both of them. Only "problem" was that its a nice, sunny cloudless day with the sun almost directly overhead around 1:00-1:30~ish. So the lighting was probably near perfect; I need to retest under more "sideways sunlight" types of situations. Maybe sometime next week.

Here's how my little "Home Range" setup looks thru the chrono: (please take note that I didn't do the greatest job of setting the chrono's "tilt", or "roll" in aviation terms)

IMG_0939.JPG (4.94 MiB) Viewed 1622 times

Here's my Umarex BB Lever Rifle & chrono/tripod setup. It's sort of a copy of a Winchester 1892.

IMG_0940.JPG (8.62 MiB) Viewed 1622 times

Here's a crrummy pic of the silver stripe I paint penciled on down the middle of top of the chronograph. Helps align to the target a tad easier. One of the bench rest shooters at my gun glub suggested this:

IMG_0942.JPG (4.44 MiB) Viewed 1622 times

Here is one of the three 10-shot groups' "file" you get when you email from the Caldwell app to this laptop:

Created Description Notes1 Notes2 Distance Coeff Weight Temp BP Altitude
09-16-2023 01:31:02 PM BBs & Umarex Legend Cowboy Rifle 2 0 1 0 N/A N/A 0
# FPS FT-LBS PF
10 581 0 0
9 598 0 0
8 600 0 0
7 597 0 0
6 612 0 0
5 607 0 0
4 596 0 0
3 593 0 0
2 582 0 0
1 ERROR 2
AVG StdDev Min Max Spread TrueMV Shots/Sec Group Size
596.22 10.17 581 612 31 596.22 0.24 0

The app gives some decent calculated info for ES and SD. I need to give it a bit more info to calculate lbs./ft. of energy. But I didn't know the weight in grains of a BB, or it's ballistic coefficient.

I shot three 10-shot groups today. The first one, I stood back around 5-6 feet from the chrono (shooting offhand), and it recorded no errors whatsoever. On the next 2 groups, I started off standing maybe around 2' away from the chrony, fired a shot, and instantly got an error message, both of these last 2 groups. So I stepped back one step from the chronograph, bent my knees slightly to attempt to get the shot to go through the timer's "sweet spot", per Caldewell's instructions. The next 9 shots all recorded, for both of those groups.

Conclusions, for now, sorta??

This thing is kinda finicky about shooting through the zone Caldwell outlines in the instructions. It's also kinda finicky regarding light, I *think*. Need to play with it a tad more to draw a definitive conclusion about that, and possible solutions. The first time I had it out to the local rifle range, it was a cloudy overcast day. Caldwell's instructions stated in Tip #8 to "Remove the sunshades on heavy overcast or shaded conditions. The sun shades are only necessary in sunny or partly cloudy conditions, and by removing them in other conditions you'll allow more light into the chronograph." " This did not work on that day.

Tip #9 states "On sunny days place the chronograph in the shadow of a building or opaque wall." It has further expanations for each tip, and for this one states "Ensure the sensors have a clear view of the sky, but the chronograph itself is in the shade. You could alternatively add sun shields to create a shadow. The goal is to eliminate direct sunlight on the chronograph, while still insuring the sensors have a direct view of the sky. However, avoid placing the chronograph in the shade of a tree. The uneven sunlight that filters through the tree will cause more problems than it will solve." At any rate, using the sun shields, while being in a sorta shady spot allowed the thing to work on that first range trip. And ditto for Thursday's range session.

There are 15 "Tips" in total, and to me, some are pretty confusing.

I'll just say this: If there are less picky/finicky units out there, that would probably be a better buy, depending on your needs, price, and etc.. I can neither afford to start a chronograph collection, nor have the desire to, so I'll have to learn to live with this one. I don't have any bad regrets about buying this brand, for as much as I will use one. But again, if there are easier ones to live with, those might be better to buy? I dunno if others have similar issues or not.......

In the bright light of today, using the sun shields, it worked really well on the BB gun. I only had to remember to adjust my stance a few inches lower to put the BBs in the "sweet spot" per Caldwell's diagram after each of the 2 error codes. It worked fine at the range 2 days ago, basically sitting in some shade about 12'-13' from the muzzle, using the sun shields, from about 5:30 to 7:00 p.m.. Did not miss a shot, no error codes.

Again, I hope this helps some. I also hope that others can post what their experiences, likes, and dislikes about ones they have used or own. I actually had a nice gift card for the local gun store awhile back, and considered getting a MagnetoSpeed chronograph, but not their kit. I bought ammo & powder instead. I believe the price was somewhere in the $170 range?? But with those, I don't see how you could use them for shooting handguns through. I think Lever rifles might be possible If you put them on the side, rather than underneath. The tube magazine would probably prevent using them in the conventional way, but again, I think there's a "workaround" for that. I could not slip the cost of a LabRadar doppler-type chronograph past the wife, so those are out. The Oehler is pretty spendy; hate to shoot one of those...... So, being a Rat on a Budget (an old 80s rock band; I always related to their name.....), I try to get by with the less expensive spreads.

[Mags]

Yes. I'll probably pursue one to work on my CFE223 30-30 loads. Thanks for leading the way and sharing.

I dunno if “leading the way” is accurate here in this sense, Mags. More like “fumbling my way through it” in my mind, hee hee. There are definitely other members here that can be more helpful than I.
...

Maybe not in the sense of 'all things chronograph', but certainly with this Caldwell model and what you vocalize your thinking is. Your fumbling means I won't do some of that.

[Mr. Neutron]

I suppose it's nice to be good for something, even if it is the "bad example", hee hee.......

[The Happy Kaboomer]

Ya know.........I've owned and used an OEHLER 35P for over 30 years. It has never given me a problem or failed to record a shot. It actually has a Proof channel...........3 sky screens recording the velocity twice. If there is a statistical difference in the 2 velocities. It shows up as an error on the screen and print out............I have never desired any other chronograph.

[Mags]

I suppose it's nice to be good for something, even if it is the "bad example", hee hee.......

Mr "bad example", I ordered one this morning.

[fortyshooter]

I started out with the Chrony 1 I think it was and I would have issues with the correct angle of the sun with middle of day being best. Later it crapped out I bought the Magna Speed unit that doesn't depend on light and have had very good luck with it on rifles and longer barreled revolvers.

[Mr. Neutron]

It’s kinda funny. I’m beginning to think/hope that any issues that I’ve had with the Caldwell have been MY fault, rather than with the chrono itself. The issues with this chrono/app combo not working with my iPhone probably aren’t my fault. But it does work with my old Motorola android, so that much is resolved.

It worked just fine after church today, around 2:30~ish with partly cloudy skies. No errors or missed shots for 5 ten shot groups with the BB rifle. With the sun shields.

Almost every single review I read, like “The 4-6 Best Chronographs For The Money” and such always included the Caldwell. About 95% of the video reviews give it high merits.

So, I dunno. It was probably my fault for not understanding something about the use, setup, and workings of this thing. It seems just fine for now. Maybe it’s just “the Nature of these types of Beasts”, and I didn’t realize that. I’m curious how it will work out this winter under the usual west Cascade gray skies.

One thing I’ve learned has to with its use at the range. If I’m wanting to chronograph and record something that I deem important (like a few hand loaded rounds for development or similar), send a few rounds of .22 or factory loads through first. You can iron out any setup “errors or issues” with those rounds first, and when all systems are “Go” with those rounds, you can then shoot the reloads you’re wanting to clock.

Mags, I hope you will report on what brand/model ya got.

Forty, I really like those MagnetoSpeed chronographs. I kinda sometimes wish I would’ve allowed myself to afford one of those. Aren’t you the member here that figured out a way to use one with a tube magazine??

Happy Kaboomer, I would have loved to have been able to afford an Oehler, especially the 35P model that they seem to have re-introduced. I just couldn’t afford one. They’re regarded as somewhat of an industry standard by many.

[Mags]

...
Mags, I hope you will report on what brand/model ya got.
...

I'm guessing the same one you got from Amazon for about $83. Model #720001.

[fortyshooter]

It’s kinda funny. I’m beginning to think/hope that any issues that I’ve had with the Caldwell have been MY fault, rather than with the chrono itself. The issues with this chrono/app combo not working with my iPhone probably aren’t my fault. But it does work with my old Motorola android, so that much is resolved.

It worked just fine after church today, around 2:30~ish with partly cloudy skies. No errors or missed shots for 5 ten shot groups with the BB rifle. With the sun shields.

Almost every single review I read, like “The 4-6 Best Chronographs For The Money” and such always included the Caldwell. About 95% of the video reviews give it high merits.

So, I dunno. It was probably my fault for not understanding something about the use, setup, and workings of this thing. It seems just fine for now. Maybe it’s just “the Nature of these types of Beasts”, and I didn’t realize that. I’m curious how it will work out this winter under the usual west Cascade gray skies.

One thing I’ve learned has to with its use at the range. If I’m wanting to chronograph and record something that I deem important (like a few hand loaded rounds for development or similar), send a few rounds of .22 or factory loads through first. You can iron out any setup “errors or issues” with those rounds first, and when all systems are “Go” with those rounds, you can then shoot the reloads you’re wanting to clock.

Mags, I hope you will report on what brand/model ya got.

Forty, I really like those MagnetoSpeed chronographs. I kinda sometimes wish I would’ve allowed myself to afford one of those. Aren’t you the member here that figured out a way to use one with a tube magazine??

Happy Kaboomer, I would have loved to have been able to afford an Oehler, especially the 35P model that they seem to have re-introduced. I just couldn’t afford one. They’re regarded as somewhat of an industry standard by many.

Yep I figured it out just took a bit of tinkering.