Poper
Member
About 20 years ago, I broke down and succumbed to the urge to buy a chronograph. I bought the blue Shooting Chrony.
Using the Chrony, I was mildly frustrated with my load development projects because what seemed to me to be too wide of extreme spreads and higher (than I expected) standard deviation. I was getting 1" 5-round groups and better with my 6.5x55, .270, .30-06, .308 , .222, .243 etc. - and the ES was usually in the 30-40 fps and SD was rarely less than 18.
A couple years ago I bought a LabRadar to replace the Chrony. No, I didn't shoot the Chrony! I thought about it, but I didn't do it.
I have only used the LabRadar a couple times. (I had been tasked with the care of my elderly mother and she passed away2/8/21. I was then tasked with settling her estate. FINALLY completed THAT nightmare scenario early May this year.) So now, when work and other obligations permit, I can get to the range, again.
Old habits die hard, of course, and my routine of load development is to shoot for groups and when a load is deemed good enough for consistent small groups, THEN run 'em over the Chrony. - Just because it is a nuisance to set up and tear down. So I have been developing loads for my new-build 6mm Creedmoor and a new (NOS) Browning A-Bolt III in .308 Winchester. Last Tuesday I shot 4 - ten-round strings and chronographed them using the LabRadar. To much to my surprise I was getting ES's in the low to mid 20's and better with SD's in the 10.35 and less! One string with the 6mm CM had an ES of a bit over 9 an SD of just over 3!!
Now I'm thinking the Chrony might have been lying to me over all these years and my loads were actually performing better than it was reporting to me....
So, I'm gonna see if I can catch the Chrony in the act. The next time I go to the range, I am going to shoot over both chronographs at the same time and compare the read-outs.
BTW, I really like the LabRadar once I got used to using it. Set-up is relatively simple. A good tripod is a must and I use the bottom tube of a retractable pen taped to the top and situated in the sighting groove with the small end pointed toward the target for alignment. Plus, at the end of the session, the data card makes inputting the data into my computer a snap.
I'm thinking I'm gonna be spending more time at the range. Just don't nobody tell the Better Half!
Using the Chrony, I was mildly frustrated with my load development projects because what seemed to me to be too wide of extreme spreads and higher (than I expected) standard deviation. I was getting 1" 5-round groups and better with my 6.5x55, .270, .30-06, .308 , .222, .243 etc. - and the ES was usually in the 30-40 fps and SD was rarely less than 18.
A couple years ago I bought a LabRadar to replace the Chrony. No, I didn't shoot the Chrony! I thought about it, but I didn't do it.
I have only used the LabRadar a couple times. (I had been tasked with the care of my elderly mother and she passed away2/8/21. I was then tasked with settling her estate. FINALLY completed THAT nightmare scenario early May this year.) So now, when work and other obligations permit, I can get to the range, again.
Old habits die hard, of course, and my routine of load development is to shoot for groups and when a load is deemed good enough for consistent small groups, THEN run 'em over the Chrony. - Just because it is a nuisance to set up and tear down. So I have been developing loads for my new-build 6mm Creedmoor and a new (NOS) Browning A-Bolt III in .308 Winchester. Last Tuesday I shot 4 - ten-round strings and chronographed them using the LabRadar. To much to my surprise I was getting ES's in the low to mid 20's and better with SD's in the 10.35 and less! One string with the 6mm CM had an ES of a bit over 9 an SD of just over 3!!
Now I'm thinking the Chrony might have been lying to me over all these years and my loads were actually performing better than it was reporting to me....
So, I'm gonna see if I can catch the Chrony in the act. The next time I go to the range, I am going to shoot over both chronographs at the same time and compare the read-outs.
BTW, I really like the LabRadar once I got used to using it. Set-up is relatively simple. A good tripod is a must and I use the bottom tube of a retractable pen taped to the top and situated in the sighting groove with the small end pointed toward the target for alignment. Plus, at the end of the session, the data card makes inputting the data into my computer a snap.
I'm thinking I'm gonna be spending more time at the range. Just don't nobody tell the Better Half!
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