School me on Chrony's.

[Crawlin]

What do I need to know about the differences. All I'm looking for is one to check the speed of rifle/pistol rounds, don't really care about saving the readings or printing them out. Just something simple.

Alpha, Beta, Gamma, ... - I read differences but are all made equal? ~$100 range sound like it is the base model, is that where I should be looking?

 

[rcmodel]

I'd pay a little more for one with the black box & read-out setting on the shooting bench beside me.

Easier to read & re-set.
And it's real hard to shoot a hole in it if it's back there where you are.

rc

 

[Claude Clay]

beta, master has served me well for ~15 years.

especially nice is the long wire for the read out.
replace the metal rods with wood dowels, order an extra set of sun-shades
and likly you are good for just as long as me.

 

[mookiie]

Claude Clay - why do you say to replace the metal with wood dowels? Or did you just mean after you shoot the metal?

 

[Hondo 60]

If you hit a metal dowel, it'll do damage.
Maybe knock it over or crack the plastic or whatever.

If you hit a wood dowel, it'll just break & not affect the rest of the setup.

(learned from experience)

 

[avan47]

The advice to get one with a readout that sits on the bench next to you is valid. With regard to shooting a hole in your chrony, there are those that have and those that will. likewise, using wood dowels, that bit of advice is in the instructions. The Chrony is not very user friendly, but it does work well and seems to be accurate. You will also need an inexpensive tripod to mount the unit on.

 

[Clark]

I never mess with the sticks coming up out of the top of the chrono. Just more stuff to shoot.
I used to shoot my chronographs within the first 15 hand gun shots over it.
I like to put the chrono way out there, so it gets a clear shot at the sky [to see the bullet shadow pass], and so the gas cannot give a false velocity reading.
After I shot 3 of them, I bought a 4th and I stopped shooting handguns over chronographs for 5 years.
I just did rifles.
The first two were shooting chronies, and did not always trigger.
The second two were pro chrono and always triggered.
I can't see the display 15 feet out there, so I use binoculars.

But I started up again.
Range report 2-1-1012 32 S&W
Colt New Police 32 S&W Long mfg 1907,
85 gr Hornady .312" JHP, 1.3" OAL, upside down 308 Lee rifle factory crimp,
..1413 fps
The way I kept from shooting the chrono, was to practice, and be sure I was staying on the paper, and that I was good enough to shoot over the chrono.
I shot three handguns, a 357 mag, the 32, and a 22, and I did not hit the chrono.
I think I have turned over a new leaf in my life.

 

[rsrocket1]

If you know the differences (Alpha, Beta, Gamma), you are good to go for your decisions.

The one thing I would recommend in your purchase is to get the "Master" version if you intend to shoot at any organized range where there are cease fires. Otherwise you'll be trying to read the LCD display from 10-15 feet away and there will be no way to press any of the buttons without a remote controller which negates the saving over a "Master" version.

I have a Beta Master and am very glad to have gotten the remote head. I write each shot down in a notebook for entry into an Excel spreadsheet when I get home so I would have been just as satisfied with the Alpha Master model.

What the others said about the sticks holds true. I shot one and was very lucky that it was a glancing blow and only bent the rod. I have since gone the wooden dowel route.

 

[intercooler]

Wood dowels with Slurpy straws over. Remote readout (shot my first one). Metal plate angled in front of both screens (nipped my back one second Chrony) and will be adding a rear plate. Don't need the uprights but they help or in bad lighting you need!

That front plate deflected two other hits. Yup you need 3/8" plate in front of both for safety.