Chronograph suggestions

Had it with my 30 year old unit, need a new one. No longer competing & old enough IMO to not want or justify the cost of a Lab radar or Ohler.
So, just want the most dependable unit I can get at the lower range of prices, if that is even an option.

Your thoughts?

I like my Chrony.

Chrony makes a fair unit. I still use my Ohler 35P and love it. But yes,, they are more pricey. There are other makes now,, and I haven't had any experience with them. But Chrony has been around long enough to have a good reputation.

I have been using a ProChrono Digital for several years. Always works good. I see it and the Chrony on Midway for less than $120. I set mine up on a camera tripod in front of the bench.

I had a Chrony Beta Master that worked really well for the first part of the first time I took it out.

Then, suddenly, it developed an issue and inexplicably stopped working...






Well, maybe not *too* inexpicable...a .357 mag 125gr JHP "glitch"...

I've since replaced it with a Caldwell unit, but haven't used it yet. Sadly, I rarely get to shoot, and even rarer, the time to set up the chrono...

The Beta Master was a nice unit, while it lasted. It had the remote display so you didn't have to use the spotting scope to read the readings. The Caldwell has an app and a headphone jack cord that connects to a smart phone.

Aqualung

A guy at the range was looking mine over and said he got his with a S&W 500. I always shoot plenty high over it and it is only 5 feet in front of me. You really killed that.

Chrony has worked OK for me with both rifle and handgun. I clipped one of the "shade" supports on my first one and it started throwing erroneous readings--must have knocked something out of line. The next one was an "upgrade" with several features I don't need but was on sale for same price as the basic model. I don't use it as much as I did when I spent more time working up loads but I had it out last month when I was working on some sub-sonic 9mm loads.
The only way to know
is to use a CHRONO

Aqualung said:

I had a Chrony Beta Master that worked really well for the first part of the first time I took it out.

Then, suddenly, it developed an issue and inexplicably stopped working...

Well, maybe not *too* inexpicable...a .357 mag 125gr JHP "glitch"...

I've since replaced it with a Caldwell unit, but haven't used it yet. Sadly, I rarely get to shoot, and even rarer, the time to set up the chrono...

The Beta Master was a nice unit, while it lasted. It had the remote display so you didn't have to use the spotting scope to read the readings. The Caldwell has an app and a headphone jack cord that connects to a smart phone.

Aqualung

Click to expand...

I watched one youtube vid that showed a chrony that looked like this, but owner claimed to have done it on purpose from getting so frustrated with it. I understood. My Pact didn't get shot the last time I tried to use it, but it came very close.

Lots of chronographs get sold to folks who recently shot their previous one.

It seems that folks have had issues &/or decent results from all brands. Jeff Quinn mentioned they have several brands, but started using a Chrony while their Pact was in for repair & never even opened the Pact when it was returned, & have been using the Chrony exclusively ever since. That's a pretty good testimonial considering the amount of testing they do.

Magnetospeed seems to have reliable function, but I'm nearly certain the mounting solutions for the various styles of firearms I use would be frustrating..

The newer, new to the game or bargain units that are out there might be OK, but I'm guarded & don't care to risk it. I've had enough frustration already. Pass.

I'll have to admit that I was leaning toward the Competition Electronics Prochrono when I started this thread. They all seem to get a thumbs up for 1 thing in particular & that is that they are reported to be very dependable. That's my first requirement.. That, & just last night I learned they have a new model that fills a gap between the plainest & the most optioned unit they make. This has just about sealed the deal for me.

Now, to get the end of year bills cleaned up when they come in so I can make new ones, it might be a few weeks before I order. But thanks to all & I'll try to report my findings.