deadkitty wrote:I"m considering the value of buying a chrono, I'm not a comp shooter, just need to know if it will help me reload more accurate ammo, and is there a brand I should avoid or consider? Cheers
I use a simple and very cheap ProChrono Digital.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Competition- ... 2089059165Does everything I need from it.
I put a box of .22LR through it in a single session to test its consistency and am happy with it.
I don't use the screens but it took me a little while to work out that I need to tilt it so the bullets pass between the sensors and the light source, so late afternoons I'm pretty much shooting past the side of it while it lays on its side on the tripod to face (what we laughingly call) the sun. I set it up so my shots are passing the sensors at about 50-100mm max.
My .204 24gn NTX loads hold around 4385-4410fps across numerous sessions in differing weather conditions.
Now and then I get "no reading" errors, but usually those are fixed by either adjusting the tilt to face the moving sun, or moving the chrono further away from the muzzle blast.
Because it's so bloody wet and windy here it's pretty battered, been blown over more times than I can recall, the front placard fell off very early on, and it rattles like a bastard, but it still does the job just fine.
When it comes time to replace it I don't know that I'll be looking for anything different and will quite likely just get another one of these. When I'm developing loads I write the velocity on each case with a marker as well as in the shot log. It records the strings but I don't want to have to carry it around. The chrono has spent its life out in a paddock in a big plastic storage crate. I put a third battery in it a couple weeks ago so battery life isn't bad either, and it has a compartment to hold a spare battery anyway.