Are Shooting Chrony (Brand) still useable in 2026?

OkayShooter

OkayShooter

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I have a old Shooting chrony. I was considering upgrading my gear, but 700 for a Garmin seems alot. Wife was like what is wrong with your old one? Can a old school shooting chrony still be useable in todays society? I got a FX radar but only goes to 1100 fps.

I plan on tieing a string that is 12ft to keep a constant 12ft. Using a laser bore sighter and template to align everything, and under screen lights.
 
With the cost of consumables and limited time I have to go shooting. The garmin is worth the cost. It offers reliability and easy use.

The cost of a Saturday range trip wasted by equipment issues justifies the cost for me.

Athlon range craft and either version of the garmin are good pieces of kit.

Only issue I had is with a 20" barrel 22cm, IMR4350 and standard primers. It wouldn't pick up the shot. I am assuming from the unburnt powder exiting the barrel with the bullet. With a magnum primer and the same load it worked every time.
 
Well, you have two options here.

#1, keep using the Chrony. You'll suffer every range session and spend extra time positioning it just right. If the sky conditions aren't favorable, it'll miss some shots. Eventually you will shoot it and then buy the Garmin.

#2, you skip the unenjoyable experience and buy the Garmin.
 
I used a Shooting Chrony for a few years. I only upgraded to a Garmin because there was a sale for 30% off and I couldn't help myself. The chrony still worked and continues to work for the new guy that has my old one. For the increased price of the garmin you get increased convenience. Setup takes 30 seconds instead of 5 minutes, but, at the end of the day, 4 minutes and thirty seconds isn't a whole lot of time difference
 
adamg said:
Well, you have two options here.

#1, keep using the Chrony. You'll suffer every range session and spend extra time positioning it just right. If the sky conditions aren't favorable, it'll miss some shots. Eventually you will shoot it and then buy the Garmin.

#2, you skip the unenjoyable experience and buy the Garmin.
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I don't sit there and need to log every shot. Just like to get a rough avg.

None of my reloads, I know the velocities.
 
phillyblt said:
I want a xero as well but waiting on a sale
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Certain large employers give their staff various perks, such as access to Perkopolis or Venngo discount programs. Both provide 20% off on Garmin. IIRC, Canadian Tire roadside assistance program gives you access to Venngo, and the membership is free if you have CanadianTire World Elite mastercard. Not that I would ever allow CT techs near my car, lol.

As to chronos, I use Shooting Chrony Alpha made in early 1990s probably. Only need to confirm the loads a few times a year when switching to a new batch of components or before major matches. Xero is nice, but I have other things to spend money on.
 
OkayShooter said:
I have a old Shooting chrony. I was considering upgrading my gear, but 700 for a Garmin seems alot. Wife was like what is wrong with your old one? Can a old school shooting chrony still be useable in todays society? I got a FX radar but only goes to 1100 fps.

I plan on tieing a string that is 12ft to keep a constant 12ft. Using a laser bore sighter and template to align everything, and under screen lights.
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I have a chrony that was working ok last time i used it. I still have the chrony but the Garmin is faster and easier to set up if that is a priority. Some people will have you believe the effort to set up a chronograph is a life altering experience. It's not.

There's nothing wrong with the chrony and if it's satisfactory then you don't need to please anyone except yourself.
 
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Had the Chrony set up and another shooter showed up with a Garmin I was curious about buying
we tested the two side by side for 20 rounds and a couple shots read a variance of up to 4 fps
I still use the Chrony with pencil&paper, though the extra space in the range box would be nice

but for collecting terabytes of data, Garmin or Athlon
 
I have had a Chrony for the last 40 years, mine is the first with the cardboard inserts , and with no bullet holes in them. I still go by groups as I have had really low es and sd but not so great a group size. I use it to get an idea where the loads are running when I get ones that are making nice little clusters . I have shot provincial, national and international competition , made Master in pistol and rifle with both the SFC and the NRA , International class in IMHSA silhouette 200 m standing and don’t think the lack of a more elaborate chronograph has held me back.
 
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I have been shooting over a Beta Chrony for more than 25 years. Haven't ever come close to hitting it, despite the conventional wisdom from some people. It's fiddly to get set up, especially on a busy firing line where stepping downrange to make adjustments can be a major problem.

Despite that, I was never tempted to upgrade when Magnetospeed came along. Or when Labradar appeared. But now, the Garmin and Athlon are on the verge of changing my mind. I am now 4 generations of technology behind, and the benefits of simple setup are hard to ignore. I have pretty much decided to have one before the year is up.

I may keep the Chrony around for shotguns and muzzleloaders, I understand the radar-based systems don't handle those all that well.
 
I have clocked lots of shotshell velocities from my Labradar, FWIW. Not sure if the little units can. I am pretty tempted to upgrade myself but there are a million things ahead of it.
 
jimbo14 said:
Option #3: buy a used labradar for $300. It isn’t quite as convenient as a Garmin, but it’s miles ahead of any IR-based chrono. 😄
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I have a radar chrono that is rifle mountable in the EE for even less than $300. It's like a Garmin but you control and interface with it on your phone - it doesn't have its own screen.
 
Smokinyotes said:
I had a shooting chrony, magnetospeed, labradar, and Garmin. I sold the Labradar and gave the shooting chrony away. The magnetospeed never gets used.
The Garmin is so easy to use, accurate and simple. Just for the simplicity the Garmin is worth $700.
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THIS.

The thing nobody has mentioned is that with the old crony you need to be able to calculate average and standard deviation. The Garmin does both of those things automatically along with extreme spread. There is no comparison between the old crony and a Garmin.

Chrony's are annoying to setup and take down and they are bulky and I have shot two of them. They also miss shots all the time. My Garmin has never dropped a shot. There is just no comparison. The Garmin is worth every penny.
 
Okay Shooter, what are you using your velocimeter for????

Are you calculating all of the variables the Garmin Xero does for you, or are you just looking for a ball park number, within 50fps?

The Garmin will give you accurate readings under any light conditions, figure out extreme spreads and give you an average velocity, as well as a lot of other info you may or may not use.

IF you can afford the $700, go for the Garmin, because you can slip it into your pocket without hassle, and it weighs a lot less when carrying stuff to the shooting bench.

The Chrony will tell you if your loads are going beyond safe pressures by showing you unusual spikes in velocities.

It will also give you "close enough" velocity readings for your loads, to indicate whether or not you need a faster or slower powder to give you consistent burns with the primers/bullets you're shooting.

If you need/want more, and if cash is free for the purchase, go for it, if it isn't, send a letter to Santa.
 
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