Are ya still using an 'optical' chronograph?

[BBGunn]

Being a thrifty (read, cheap) sort..., I still use my old Chrony chronograph. It does nothing but give me velocity. If I want to figure ES, SD or anything else I have to do it by inputting numbers into a calculator.

I have learned over the decades of using a Chrony that in order to get uniform, and accurate readings the chronograph has to be used in the early morning, in the shade and before the sun's rays start to reach the sky screens. Otherwise, the Chrony will show higher and higher velocity as the sun creeps onto the screens.

I shoot out the west side of my house and straight west to the target stand. So long as I am getting my Chrony readings while the sun is still east of my house I can rely on good readings.

Sounds like a pain in the arse, right? I need to get up-to-speed and buy a modern chronograph.

 

[Danman]

Being a thrifty (read, cheap) sort..., I still use my old Chrony chronograph. It does nothing but give me velocity. If I want to figure ES, SD or anything else I have to do it by inputting numbers into a calculator.

I have learned over the decades of using a Chrony that in order to get uniform, and accurate readings the chronograph has to be used in the early morning, in the shade and before the sun's rays start to reach the sky screens. Otherwise, the Chrony will show higher and higher velocity as the sun creeps onto the screens.

I shoot out the west side of my house and straight west to the target stand. So long as I am getting my Chrony readings while the sun is still east of my house I can rely on good readings.

Sounds like a pain in the arse, right? I need to get up-to-speed and buy a modern chronograph.

Yip thats me, still using the prochrono DLX.
If you want readings you have to plan ahead for sure. More than once I've set it all up and the sun peaced-out right after my first shot
The app is actually really nice and calculates ES & SD.
I planned to buy the light kit but its too much $$ for little gain so I now plan to sell it and buy a Garmin/Athlon/FX unit.
Side note....i am putting all LEDs in my shop and deleting the T8 fixtures soon, does anyone know if these chrographs work under LEDs? They definitely wont work with fluorescent lighting!

 

[FL22]

I have the Procrono DLX with the light kit and use the light no matter the condition, my experience is that it is mostly useless without it.

I would like one of the newer types, but I have to wait until this one breaks or I accidentally shoot it. 50/50 odds….

 

[Pumacarl]

I still use my little Amazon unit that I hold on the end of my barrel, when checking speeds inside and shooting into my trap. The FX D1 isn't so good for that kind of stuff. Plus I have one of those small units at all my shooting locations because they are cheap and accurate enough. I don't use my Shooting Chrony any more, too much of a pain for setup, the little ones have their own lights source and don't miss shots, and the Chrony screwed up a lot.

 

[JungleShooter]

I use a pocket chrony for measuring muzzle velocity.

But when I want to know what a certain projectile's BC is — from my gun — at my velocity and my distance — then I run through the hassle of setting up a Caldwell optical chrony, protected by a acrylic glass shield (as I don't always hit what I'm aiming at...).

To calculate the BC, I use a simple app: Easy BC, by GPConway:

EasyBC - Apps on Google Play

EasyBC is Ballistic Coefficient calculator using the ∆POI, ∆T or ∆V methods.

play.google.com

His airgun ballistic apps are simply awesome. This one takes into account your atmospheric conditions — very important when shooting and measuring at higher elevations.


I — more often than not — use the wonderful BC charts that HardAirMagazine has produced for us!
But sometimes I want to know my precise BC number....

Matthias