Magnetospeed Sporter review

[Tikka223]

Moderators, feel free to move this post. I’ve posted here because I was shooting my PRS rifles and was developing a load and data to that end.

Recently, I posted in the reloading forum about my frustrations with inconsistent velocity and wonder if the source of my problem was my Shooting Chrony and / or neck tension. I believe I eliminated the neck tension variable with the purchase of an expander mandrel. However, that didn’t solve the variation in the velocity numbers I was getting over my chronograph despite a fair amount of trial and error:

So, after picking up a Sinclair Expander Mandrel, I cleaned my brass with the ultrasonic cleaner, full length sized it with a Redding die without the expander ball (not the Type S) then ran the expander die. Same load data was used. Neck tension felt much more consistent this time. I went out to shoot a few groups and set up the Chrony.

First group was fired at 300m. There was very little wind and the Chrony was set up with the sun shades with no sun shining on the Chrony. The Chrony was 15’ from the muzzle. Chrony results were much more consistent and the group size was decent:

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Then I shot a group at 600m and immediately had several Err2 readings. I fiddled with the Chrony then figured it didn’t like having the sun shining it it’s general direction despite still being in the shade. I moved the Chrony under the roof of the firing point and started shooting again, this time 10’ from the Chrony. Results were again much more consistent:

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PROBLEM: the speeds were 100fps faster for the second group. The only real change was moving the rifle 5’ closer to the Chrony. I think the 2650fps is actually the correct velocity because when I entered it on the Kestrel it actually gave me the correct elevation call at 600m (4.8 MIL) whereas if I used the 2550fps the Kestrel called for 5.2 MIL and I was missing high.

Any idea what’s going on here?

I will say, I wasted a ton of time fiddling with the Chrony today and ended up with questionable data. I’m going to save up for something better.

At the end of the day I had wasted valuable time (to me) at the range and ended up two average speeds for the same load that were 100fps apart. Almost useless for long range shooting.

My solution to the constant fiddling and untrustworthy results: I purchased a Magnetospeed Sporter. Originally I had my heart set on a LabRadar; Canadian made, accurate results, no shift in Point if Impact (POI), looks pretty simple to set up. However, after watching a pile of YouTube videos and reading forum reviews, it seems like they sometimes take a little bit of fiddling to record shots. Oh and they cost 1000$ by the time you get the LabRadar and a few accessories. For 300$ the Magnetospeed Sporter seemed like it would very reliable with the downsides being setup time and POI shift. So, about a week after ordering from XReload, I know have a Magnetospeed and a range trip to boot!

For those of you who are interested, here is my review:



First impressions were that it comes with a lot of little bits that could get lost or may not go back into the little plastic box it came with. After reading the instructions and an installation dry run on the bench, it really isn’t as complicated as it looks. It seems well build but not bomb proof and the display is a good size.

At the range I’d say the setup took maybe 5 minutes including the extra time to triple check that the bayonet wasn’t in the path of the bullet. I used the thinnest shim and it was no issue. The Magnetospeed performed flawlessly. I was shooting a T3 CTR in .308 with a Heathen muzzle brake. It recorded every shot and the menu was surprisingly easy to navigate through despite having only one button to use. The Magnetospeed comes with a nice laminated instruction card and is a gigantic improvement over the poorly written and very lengthy Chrony instruction manual.

I had a moment of confusion when I started shouting. All of the sudden I was missing a 1Mil target at 400M and my dope wasn’t making any sense. I reset my turrets to 0/0 and took a shot at 200M to see what would happen. Apparently my scope was now zeroed for 200M. I was genuinely scared that I somehow broke my scope when I realized that the Magnetospeed can cause POI shift. The POI shift on my rifle was much more than I expected, .6MIL high at 200M. I forgot to write it down but my POI at 300M was 7” high.
One of the major reasons I went out and spent money on a reliable chronograph was for load development. I’ve watched / read the 6.5 Guys videos on load development as well as material on Scott Satterlee’s method. I’ve long suspected that my load is a little on the high end of an accuracy mode:

178gr ELDX
Lapua Brass
CCI BR2 primers
44.0gr Varget
Tikka T3 CTR, 20” barrel

I wanted to get some accurate velocity for my Kestrel and I also wanted to try the idea of gathering data to plot the velocity and extreme spread (ES) data. I’ve always felt that reading the tea leaves of groups left too much to chance (pulled shots, wind, etc). I don’t have Excel my limited sample suggests I need to change loads. I also found it extremely interesting that all three loads produced almost the exact same velocity.

Here is the data for those who are interested:



Here are the target results:







Note that I was shooting at the center of the diamond with 1.5MIL and the POI was 7” high. I took another shot without the Magnetospeed and the elevation was perfect.

After finally getting some reliable data, I swapped the Magnetospeed to my T1X in .22lr. I was a bit disappointed when it wasn’t recording any shots with either SK Plus or CCI Standard Velocity. I read the instructions again and realized that you have 3 sensitivity options: 1) Regular 2) High 1 3) High 2. I selected High 2 and voila, started collecting velocity data.

Here is the data for those that are interested:



All in all I am more than pleased, hence taking the time to write a review. I hope the Magnetospeed proves to be reliable long term. So far it has been money well spent. It’s so refreshing when something works well.

 

[rugbydave]

The Magnetospeed Sporter is a great, reasonably priced, chrony. Like you, I started off with a Shooting Chrony then progressed to a Magnetospeed Sporter and then to a Labradar. A few things that I learnt from using the Sporter:

-it always affects poi, how much seemed to vary inversely to barrel contour (my barrel with the least shift was a MTU that had a 0.1mil upward shift). It was also very repeatable so you could actually dial it out if you wanted to shoot at distance.

-it affects load dev since it changes the harmonics of the barrel (it's basically like hanging a tuner on the end of your barrel). Every load that I worked up with the Sporter on shot tighter with the Sporter on. The groups were still good with it removed but it invariably shot tighter groups with the Sporter installed.

-it will only work with muzzle devices up to a certain length. I never had an issue using it on bolt guns that all had Heathens on them but the SAI combo sight base/muzzle brake on my M14S was too long

Those small failings are what caused me to switch to a Labradar. Now I can happily get all the data I want while I do load dev with no affects on group size and can also check speed while checking zero or verifying dope at distance. Like you said though, a Labradar is about 3x the cost of the Sporter. Fortunately, what you can do to nullify most of the shortcomings of the Sporter is get an aftermarket accessory that mounts to the handguard of your rifle (pic or arca/RRS) and to which the Sporter attaches. Basically you remove any influence the chrony had on the barrel's harmonics. A few companies make them, MK Machining, I believe and a couple others that I'm forgetting.

 

[Brad243]

I want to bump this.. I never thought of attaching the chrony to.. well, not my barrel. That is excellent, and a quick Google shows it is very doable. Thanks for bringing that to my attention rugbydave.

 

[rascal1]

I want to bump this.. I never thought of attaching the chrony to.. well, not my barrel. That is excellent, and a quick Google shows it is very doable. Thanks for bringing that to my attention rugbydave.

Interesting, I have a Magneto Speed as well. Will check that out.

 

[rugbydave]

I want to bump this.. I never thought of attaching the chrony to.. well, not my barrel. That is excellent, and a quick Google shows it is very doable. Thanks for bringing that to my attention rugbydave.

My pleasure!

 

[IvoB]

when i use my magneto i do not care about POI that to me would be not the information I would be looking for - I would shoot a string of lets say 5 rounds - get the data then take the magneto off and shoot off five more - if it hits POA on the 2nd five rounds then we are good - its the numbers I am more concerned about -

 

[Tikka223]

I’m waiting for dies to arrive from Brownells to start load development for my new CTR in 6.5 Creedmoor. I plan on shooting the usual ladder test at 300m starting at a minimum charge and increasing in .2gr increments. I plan on shooting the ladder with the Magnetospeed on to get velocity as well as the on-paper data. I’ll trust the velocity data more but I’ll be curious to see if the two data sets correlate (stable velocity node vs tighter vertical dispersion).

 

[sergmartus]

Has anyone used Magnetospeed XFR adaptor for use with your cellphone? Wondering if it’s necessary at all and if it’s worth $40?

 

[RifleDude]

Very interesting information. I've been contemplating switching from my old Chrony to a Magnetospeed. My concern is that when working up an accuracy load, the weight of the Magnetospeed on the barrel will change the barrel harmonics and affect the group. Is this a concern?

 

[DEZ]

I use for shooting long range works great to get accurate muzzle velocity in the field due to temp changes etc then punch changes into my ballistic calculator
this is where i find it the most useful .
I use it when working up a load as a starting point find the most consistent and remove and shoot for group from there up and down a few tenths of a grain I do not shoot for group with it att.

 

[Alpheus]

Very interesting information. I've been contemplating switching from my old Chrony to a Magnetospeed. My concern is that when working up an accuracy load, the weight of the Magnetospeed on the barrel will change the barrel harmonics and affect the group. Is this a concern?

Depends on the barrel contour. A lightweight hunting rifle barrel will see a shift in the PoI, while a target style MTU or heavy Palma contour, not so much.

 

[Tikka223]

Has anyone used Magnetospeed XFR adaptor for use with your cellphone? Wondering if it’s necessary at all and if it’s worth $40?

I bought one and have yet to use it to be honest. The shot string is easy enough to scroll through with the one button and you get average, ES, SD, Hi, Lo. All the data I need is there.

 

[ChewyChewbacca]

I had tried four different chronographs and got tired of one that didn’t like clouds, one didn’t like the sun. one almost had to be leveled to the gun with a transit to get the proper reading, the Magneto Speed couldn’t be used during Load development as it changed point of impact. Seemed like it was always a guessing game with all of them. Then along came Labradar. Best money spent to date on a chrony. Takes just a minute to set up and at the end of the day you can print off your session if you wish. Sold off all the chronographs I had accumulated and bought the whole Labradar kit. It’s nice to trust what I’m seeing on the screen. Now when I get a flier it tells me if it’s my fault.
I found the Magneto Speed was good to find what speed I had when I found a load the gun liked.

 

[209jones]

If you want to shoot groups while monitoring speed, Magnetospeed isn't the right tool to use for that. If you run a ladder thru the Magnetospeed to start with, just to find out about what speed you get at about what charge weight with whatever combo you want to try out, and do a pressure check, and don't worry about groups, and then take it off and do the load development for groups, and then re-attach it to get the final info, then it is the right tool. The only other reliable ones you can do monitoring on all the time, are Oehler's and Lab Radar, or use one of the sensor systems, such as a Shotmarker, that mount to the target board. Otherwise you just have to put up with the foibles and inconveniences of using a Chrony and the others like it.

 

[9.3 Hunter]

They dont work well, I proved that, still use my old Chrony - it is consistent.

 

[hawk-i]

My magneto speed works great but it does change the POI 3-4 inches in most cases...so it needs to be used accordingly

 

[Daver_II]

2 box chrono.... that's my choice

 

[wheels]

Very interesting information. I've been contemplating switching from my old Chrony to a Magnetospeed. My concern is that when working up an accuracy load, the weight of the Magnetospeed on the barrel will change the barrel harmonics and affect the group. Is this a concern?

yup, even with my heavy barrels it affects both poi and group size. For load dev, I find my load and then strap the magnetospeed on to get the velocity. A bit of a 'con' but I'll still take it over some of the other garbage out there like chrony, caldwell, etc.

Labradar if cost isn't a factor and you can be somewhat careful.. more than a few have broken just by tipping over.

 

[Tikka223]

They dont work well, I proved that, still use my old Chrony - it is consistent.

??? Don’t work well how? I actually trust the data on the Magnetospeed. I definitely don’t trust the data from my Chrony.

 

[RifleDude]

yup, even with my heavy barrels it affects both poi and group size. For load dev, I find my load and then strap the magnetospeed on to get the velocity. A bit of a 'con' but I'll still take it over some of the other garbage out there like chrony, caldwell, etc.

Labradar if cost isn't a factor and you can be somewhat careful.. more than a few have broken just by tipping over.

Thanks, that's exactly the information I wanted. So... just use it to establish the velocity of a proven accuracy load, got it.