Hmmmmm, Shooting Chrony?

[I Dont Care About You]

The crony was a pain to set up and use, I only shot one of the bars once and replaced the aluminum ones with wood dowels so that the next time it happened they would shatter and I had spares to replace them. A couple of times the muzzle blast blew it over

LOL, I did the same thing with wood dowels for my Chrony. A solid hit on the metal stanchion would damage the plastic part it was stuck into.

The Chrony were great for their time but they have been surpassed by newer technology. There is a reason we are not all driving Model T Fords. Chrony's fell over easily, they got shot, they didn't work indoors and they didn't work later in the afternoon when the sun was low on the horizon. The Garmin has none of those problems.

To the comment about not needing one....the first time you don't make power factor at a handgun match, you'll decide you do need one.

Another good reason to own a chronograph. Some people are just determined to live in the past.

 

[acrashb]

Looks like someone is continuing making these.

Same quality ??????????

Many people used Shooting Chronys to good effect while they were made in Canada.
Goodness knows what is being sold on AliExpress, for this item or any other.

If you can afford it - and shooting the sensors / body of an optical chrony is only a matter of time, so they cost more than the original purchase price - your current easy options for compact radar chronographs are AndiScan A3, Garmin Xero C1, and LabRadar LX.

Or you can get an inexpensive used LabRadar V1 and aim it carefully, it will work fine.

 

[todbartell]

I couldn't imagine reloading without a chronograph. I have never been without one for the last 23 years

 

[B]

I am pretty much addicted to chronographing... I started off with a Shooting Chrony Gamma I think, had a very long phone cord so you could see your results "remotely" haha. Good times until I forgot about my offset and shot it with an AR.

 

[tactical lever]

Started off with a Shooting Chrony. Worked not bad until I had trouble picking up a .223 speed. Poor Chrony didn't see that one coming... Figured I was too far above the eyes to pick it up, but got a little too close.

So I picked up a ProChrono on sale from Budget, and it seems to pick up shots more reliably. Though I couldn't pick up .243 with the lighter bullets for some reason when I tried.

You can measure brass to figure out how close you are to the edge, but I'm not crazy about that idea, and the chronograph makes pressure estimation way easier.

And now I use plastic ribbon on the rods to assist with centering the shots over the eyes.

 

[boxhitch]

2nd choice would be a Magnetospeed, over a Lab r

 

[Falconflyer]

Started off with a Shooting Chrony. Worked not bad until I had trouble picking up a .223 speed. Poor Chrony didn't see that one coming... Figured I was too far above the eyes to pick it up, but got a little too close.

So I picked up a ProChrono on sale from Budget, and it seems to pick up shots more reliably. Though I couldn't pick up .243 with the lighter bullets for some reason when I tried.

You can measure brass to figure out how close you are to the edge, but I'm not crazy about that idea, and the chronograph makes pressure estimation way easier.

And now I use plastic ribbon on the rods to assist with centering the shots over the eyes.

My crony always had trouble with small bullets and I figured it had something to do with the light diffusion as it seemed to have more trouble in bright light.

 

[209jones]

For me, shooting the Chrony was complety intentional. Bought an Oehler after that, and for the money Garmin wants, I can take the time and effort to set up the Oehler, which is like a 100yd target change. Lived with it like that for 30+yrs now.

 

[franktank]

2nd choice would be a Magnetospeed, over a Lab r

Magnetospeed isn’t able to pick this kinda speed with such a small bullet.

 

[dan belisle]

Got an old chrony just like that one that is 40 years old, mine doesn't have the sky screens just the cardboard with the hole to shoot through and it's never been shot comes with a paper pad, pencil and calculator so you can record the data, that's all I ever used until I treated myself to a Garmin OMG life is simpler now but that old chrony was bang on when side by side with the garmin.

Still have my chroney, but a Garmin is on my Xmas list. - dan

 

[bearhunter]

You won't be sorry going to the Garmin.

I gave away three Chrony units, and gave the Magnetospeed to my cousin in Alberta, along with a keg of H870 for his 7mm Rem Mag, mod 70 Winchester.

The Magnetospeed works way better than any Chrony, but not as good as Labradar, which IMHO isn't as good, for my purposes, as the Garmin.

Just remember to charge it.

I don't know if it will charge from the same cable we use to chare our cell phones in our vehicles.

Anyone tried this yet?

 

[franktank]

You won't be sorry going to the Garmin.

I gave away three Chrony units, and gave the Magnetospeed to my cousin in Alberta, along with a keg of H870 for his 7mm Rem Mag, mod 70 Winchester.

The Magnetospeed works way better than any Chrony, but not as good as Labradar, which IMHO isn't as good, for my purposes, as the Garmin.

Just remember to charge it.

I don't know if it will charge from the same cable we use to chare our cell phones in our vehicles.

Anyone tried this yet?

Yes, the charging port is USB-C

 

[Daniel G. Banting]

Well I have not read every post in this thread but felt that I had to at least comment from a different perspective from all of the bashers of the Chrony. I knew (Peter) the gentleman who created the original Chrony in about 1980 as my fading memory recalls. At the time it was revolutionary, worked as well or better than it's predecessors and was designed and made in Canada! at a very affordable price. I admit that technology has changed significantly in the last 50 or so years. To those who think of the Chrony as "junk" give your head a shake. The Chrony was remarkable in it's time and led to the development of those that are held in such high esteem by so many today. Is the new Garmin a better chronograph? Unquestionably.
Respectfully,
Daniel Banting
DOB 1953

 

[bearhunter]

DB, some folks don't remember shooting through sensor "screens" and I mean real metalic screens at different points along the range, all hooked up to equipment which measured the time it took the bullet to travel between them. These were pretty elaborate and time consuming set ups.

The Chrony gave information that was just as good, or close, and it was handy to set up/read and significantly less bulky/expensive/tedious to use.

People just wanted more, and technology advances gave them more.

The Chrony works. It doesn't work as well or as reliably as the newer units, and right now, the Garmin, for the average shooter is at the top of the heap.

The 55 chevy, classic two door was and still is a great car, it doesn't compare well with the newest offerings. It will still do what it was designed to do in 1955, as long as it's been properly maintained, but it still won't match recent models.

 

[I Dont Care About You]

the Garmin.

Just remember to charge it.

Remember to charge it? Have you actually used one ... more than once? I had mine out a half dozen times and made no effort to save the battery and the thing still had 1/4 to 1/3 of its charge. I bet it would last through about 10 average range trips before running out of battery.

I knew (Peter) the gentleman who created the original Chrony in about 1980 as my fading memory recalls. At the time it was revolutionary, worked as well or better than its predecessors and was designed and made in Canada! at a very affordable price. I admit that technology has changed significantly in the last 50 or so years. To those who think of the Chrony as "junk" give your head a shake. The Chrony was remarkable in its time and led to the development of those that are held in such high esteem by so many today. Is the new Garmin a better chronograph? Unquestionably.

Nobody is bashing the Chrony. The Chrony is old technology that has been made obsolete by the march of time. That point being made is not bashing it. The Model T Ford was overtaken by technology. People wanting a new car with the latest tech is not a bash on the Model T. Somehow I doubt you are driving a Model T, so even you recognize that technology moves forward and the new stuff is better than the old.

 

[ChewyChewbacca]

Nobody is bashing the Chrony. The Chrony is old technology that has been made obsolete by the march of time. That point being made is not bashing it. The Model T Ford was overtaken by technology. People wanting a new car with the latest tech is not a bash on the Model T. Somehow I doubt you are driving a Model T, so even you recognize that technology moves forward and the new stuff is better than the old.

I didn’t think his post referred to all the posters, just the ones that called them junk.

 

[bearhunter]

Remember to charge it? Have you actually used one ... more than once? I had mine out a half dozen times and made no effort to save the battery and the thing still had 1/4 to 1/3 of its charge. I bet it would last through about 10 average range trips before running out of battery.



Nobody is bashing the Chrony. The Chrony is old technology that has been made obsolete by the march of time. That point being made is not bashing it. The Model T Ford was overtaken by technology. People wanting a new car with the latest tech is not a bash on the Model T. Somehow I doubt you are driving a Model T, so even you recognize that technology moves forward and the new stuff is better than the old.

I get quite a bit of use out of mine, thanx for asking.

So do a couple of my shooting friends, whom I trust enough to lend stuff to.

They have great batteries for sure.

I don't know what you call an "average" range trip.

For me it can be anywhere from one to a dozen firearms.

If I'm working on a firearm for someone, I ask them to supply ammo, if they want it tested after such things as glass bedding job, scope mount, etc.

I like using the Garmin to check those handloads and even factory ammo for safety. Some guys aren't happy to stay within safe parameters and velocity is a pretty good indication of pressures.

 

[acrashb]

The Magnetospeed works way better than any Chrony, but not as good as Labradar, which IMHO isn't as good, for my purposes, as the Garmin.

How is the Garmin better, for your purposes, than the LabRadar LX?

I don't know if it will charge from the same cable we use to chare our cell phones in our vehicles.

Anyone tried this yet?

I know people who do. Also, the Garmin, like the LabRadar, can be charged while in use, so if you're on a really long day at the range you can bring a battery pack.

 

[bearhunter]

It's only better than the Labradar, "for my purposes" simply because of bulk.

You're the one who included the LX.

I never did purchase a Labradar, but did have the opportunity to use one a fellow had at the range. It was too bulky for my purposes.

As for the LabradarLX, I don't know much about them, other than what I've seen in the videos. They appear to be very similar to the Garmin in size and function.

You should buy one and compare them, then report back.

 

[Gatehouse]

We had a Chrony and an Oehler set up one day and the Chrony gave identical velocity to the much more expensive Oehler, which we thought was pretty funny. Chrony was great for it's time.