Chronograph necessary?

[jojo4711]

It seems to really figure out what works and where the limits are with reloading, u need a chronograph. Is it really necessary? If so, which one are people using that's under $100?

[Ifishsum]

I loaded for years without one, even now I don't always use it. But I tend to stay on the conservative side of the data and load for accuracy foremost, watching carefully for the usual pressure signs and rarely getting closer than a grain or two of maximum (rifle loads). I do think it having one is very useful and important if you wish to push the upper end, and it has been nice to see how my own loads (previously developed) compare with data and with my own expectations. Mine is a Chrony brand, pretty basic with the corded remote display. Wasn't very expensive IIRC but I don't recall how much exactly. I've never used it for handgun loads or development but competitive handgun shooters that may need to load to a certain power factor would find it indispensable I imagine.

[Clark]

They are good for handloading bragging,
"My 223 pushes the same bullet faster than your 22-250!"
My 380 beats your 357 magnum.
My 7x57 beats your 7mmRemMag.
My 30-30 beats your 300 WinMag.
My 45 Colt beats your 44 mag.
My 25acp beats your 22 mag.
My 32 Colt Long beats your 327 Federal
My 40sw beats your 10mm

With all that confidence, you will meet the right girl, have children, and THEY will have chronographs.

[TXReloader]

I use the Chrony brand as well. Works great and you can't beat the cost.

[jojo4711]

So basically it's not really necessary. As long as I'm checking my brass for signs of over pressure and any reforming, it's not something I need.

[Mobuck]

"So basically it's not really necessary. As long as I'm checking my brass for signs of over pressure and any reforming, it's not something I need."

I consider a chronograph an essential tool for the savvy handloader. I loaded for decades(when chronographs were complicated and expensive) before getting my Chrony. Wish I'd spent the $$ sooner.

[Sevens]

For some needs it can be very useful. For some folks... it can be very interesting and in some cases, it can be entertaining.

For safe and productive handloading of quality ammunition?! Good God --NO-- !!! Absolutely NOT necessary, and not even close.

[Mauser69]

If you follow published load data closely, I think it is absolutely NOT needed. It provides a little gee whiz info that basically confirms that what you are loading is pretty close to what the book said you were gonna load. So What. It is actually more of a PiTA to use than the pointless info you get.

But if you start using 'similar' bullets to the published data, or slightly different bullet weights, or light powder loads, or etc. etc. etc., well, then the chronograph is really important to understand what you are actually producing.

I have had my chronograph since the early 90s, but rarely used it until this year when I started fighting leading problems in handgun loads. The actual speed data helps me understand what is actually going on. And ESPECIALLY since the powder shortage when sometimes you just gotta use what you have, even when the other components are close to the data but not exact, the actual speed data is very important to see if all is the same as what you expected. It would be better to have real pressure data, but since that is not available, speed is better than nothing.

So bottom line: if you are a relatively new loader, just stay with the published data and forget the chronograph. If you have a lot of experience, you will know when you need it.

[jepp2]

If you follow published load data closely, I think it is absolutely NOT needed.

My experience is contrary to this. I find my Chrony to be very useful in load development. But maybe I load differently than others.

1'st, load data can't tell you the consistency of the load (extreme spread and standard deviation)

2'nd, when I change powder lots, it helps me adjust to the same velocity I had with the previous lot.

3'rd, I use Quickload and knowing the velocity is a way to confirm as I work up to determine the max load for a given powder/bullet combination, I can see if velocities are running higher or lower than expected. I don't try to use the maximum load normally, but I do like to know what it is.

4'th, with as much as components cost these days, anything that can reduce wasted loads saves $$ and barrel life.

Your choice, but I find checking the velocity of my handloads to be an essential piece of data I don't want to do without. And with how inexpensive they are these days, why wouldn't you use one? I don't brag to anyone about my loads, I just want targets with groups I desire.

[Bucksnort1]

jojo4711,

I am happy to see you know the difference between want and need and I'm happy you use the word need when talking about reloading. The five essentials for living a healthy life are, water, food, shelter, safety and reloading toys.

[skizzums]

I have loaded tens of thousands without, I am now window shopping a chrony only because I am starting to take long range rifle shooting more seriously, and know the exact velocity sure makes DOPEing easier. I see the value in them for any kind of reloading though, but for pistols mainly just for your own info and enjoyment in experimentation. I really like what I see from the ProChrono Digital with the Bluetooth, when I get one eventually, that'll probably be the one, affordable and has some neat "convenience" features.

[TMD]

I've always reloaded for accuracy not velocity. Didn't matter to me how fast the bullet was traveling that is until I got hooked on the .300 blackout and suppressor. When you start playing the subsonic Gane it's a must.
With that being said for a few $$ over your $100 budget Caldwell has a neat setup that you can connect a phone to and record your data on an app.

[jojo4711]

Im not going to worry about it right now then. Thats $100 worth of bullets, primers and powder I can buy and enjoy reloading lol. Eventually I will add one to my reloading supplies.

[Hammerhead]

I used to borrow a friend's Chrony, it was informative, but like you I would rather put the $100 towards components, especially now that I've become a recoil wuss and no longer 'push the envelope'.

[DaleA]

You're still reloading 9mm handgun right?

I think you're decision to spend the money on components is the correct one.

I'm of the camp that if you stay within the published guidelines you don't need one.

It would be really cool to be able to see what the velocity and the variations are but what I'm really interested in the group size and I get to see that without a chronograph.

I think rifle shooters have a more legit need for one handgun shooters who are NOT pushing the limits on their loads.

P.S. Do you have a place you could set one up if got one?

My last words: Really, really neat but not necessary.

[jason.copas]

It's not necessary. I reloaded for many years before I bought one, but I wouldn't go back to not using one. It's made finding accurate loads much easier using the ladder method, and gives you an appreciation for just how much the manuals are just a guideline.

I was surprised to find that at least two of the loads I had been using were way off base and probably not safe despite coming from published data, both from Hodgdon. My 69gr SMK's were leaving my 16" AR at about 2950fps, and 230gr ball was leaving my 5" 1911 at 600fps.

I generally avoid Hodgdon data these days, but I do like their powders.

[skizzums]

I wouldn't use the velocity to say what is a "safe" load or not. I would use pressure signs on the brass, the extraction pattern and recoil. if your 69gr SMK's were showing no signs of overpressure, then I don't see why it would be a dangerous load. although high velocity is a good way to burn a barrel faster, if you have concerns about that.

[jason.copas]

It was probably fine in that rifle, that rifle was cut with a 5.56 chamber. But I've got six .223/wylde/5.56 rifles. And I'll bet it would have left pressure signs in at least one of those.

[Road_Clam]

A chrono will help you track velocity trends both with positive and negative accuracy. I am not a "exceed max" loader as I have yet to see any added accuracy from loading max or beyond published data. I load 7 different calibers, 4 different brands of bullet , and 9 different powders. A crono helps me isolate certain velocities within a caliber and bullet weight. So when I test a new recipe I know to load close to this pre-tested velocity. It's a good method that works for me and it saves me some time and money by not loading up the velocities that are proven to be poor. For example my R700 Varmint has a very accurate node around 2530 fps. Above 2600 accuracy falls off. Lastly a crono is very handy for establishing accurate velocities when you do find a sweet load and you need to add dope for shooting longer 500+ yd distances .

[jmr40]

Would you drive your car without a speedometer, only a warning light that comes on at 100 mph?

If you are loading without a chronograph that is what you are doing, by the time traditional warning signs crop up you are way over the speed limit for that chambering. The data you see published in a loading manual is what some lab technician got in his test barrel. The speeds you get in your barrel, with your components may be far different.

wouldn't use the velocity to say what is a "safe" load or not. I would use pressure signs on the brass, the extraction pattern and recoil. if

The traditional pressure signs you speak of don't show up until you are WAY over pressure. Velocity is the best way home reloaders have to predict pressure. If a particular load shows that you should expect 2800 fps at a max load, then 2800 fps is your max load regardless of powder charge. You might reach 2800 fps 2-3 gr below listed max in one barrel, and only get 2750 fps right at a max powder charge in a different barrel. By using a chronograph you can monitor your speeds and know when to stop adding powder without going over pressure. Just like the speedometer on your car.

The flip side is that many folks who don't use a chronograph are leaving a lot of speed on the table. I have nothing against a 300 Savage. It is a good round, but if I own a 30-06, I want 30-06 speeds from my loads. Lots of guys are overly cautious without a chronograph and are only getting 300 Savage speeds from their rifles and don't even know it.

There are several options right at $100. It is money well spent. I like this.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Competitio...graph/37466422

[603Country]

I don't have one, but there are times that I wish I did. Today, for instance, I was working up loads for my 223 with the 55 gr Nosler BT and H335 powder. The Lyman 49th, which I use a lot, showed a range of 24ish to 27 grains max. The Nosler 7th showed a range of 23 to 25 grains (going on memory). That's the largest diff in manuals that I've run across. I ran the loads up to 25 grains and was starting to flatten primers a bit, so I think I'll go with the Nosler info. Would have been nice to know velocities on this workup. I'll probably get one sooner or later. Maybe.

If I was in to long distance shooting, you can bet I'd have a chronograph. Got to have velocities to know your drops.

[rtpzwms]

Let me put it this way. How many bullets went down range without the benefit of a chronograph? Since cartridges were first developed millions of round have been fired without the benefits of electronic measurements. Is it a nice tool to have, of course. If you are having problems with load development it might be a very useful tool. If you load at the higher ends of the charts it might be very useful to keep you safe. If you load at the lower end of the charts it might not hold a lot of value. Would it make a difference with the way you load? We can't answer that for you. For me not so much I'm not loading up to the max load very often. Paper doesn't seem to care if the bullet went x fps or x+200 fps. Iron targets fall just as well with a slow round as a fast one if properly hit.
Some people like the big recoil some are not into arthritis so slow is fine.

[passtime]

Necessary, no. Useful, yes. I use a Pro Chrono for help with load development. After I get a specific load worked up to where I want it, I put it aside until I want to work up a new load.

[Slamfire]

Having a chronograph allows me to measure the velocity of my ammunition, something that I could not do before cheap chronographs. It allows me to tailor loads to the weapon. I see patterns that I did not see before, not to say the patterns are actually there, but I can claim that I am making sense of them.

Being able to measure velocity cheaply has shown a number of things. One is that velocities vary a lot, and that surprisingly accurate loads vary a lot in velocity. We used to think that a 3000 fps load was 3000 fps in every rifle. Not so, depending on the rifle, it can be a 2800 fps load.

Before cheap chronographs, velocities were basically unknowable . Ignorance is a Universe where gunwriter’s thrive. There used to be all sorts of arguments in print about velocity, because, more velocity was always better than less velocity. You can still find traces of these life and death arguments, such as the theoretical increase in velocity that double convex shoulders gave to certain cartridge cases. Or “Improved” cartridges. Ignorance made for interesting times in the Wildcat era. Creators of wildcats would send bullet drop data to their favorite gunwriter who then published the results. They would make inferences on velocity based on the bullet drops, faster being better, and tout the technical brilliance of the various features of the wildcat round.

All of this bosh came to an end when cheap chronographs came out and shooters found that the hype was unsupportable, insignificant, or just not worth the trouble.

Those were fun days.

[John0011]

I am thinking about a chronograph, but I mostly shoot indoors.
Can I set up a chronograph at an indoors range?
You would probably need a tripod and set it up in no mans land
in front of the table. Or could you put it on the table in front of you?