Fun with a Chrony

[ZeSpectre]

A friend bought a chrony recently and we finally took it out and had some fun.

Shooting a series of Pistol factory loads and then a set of my pistol handloads was quite enlightening.

The factory (Pistol Self-defense) loads ranged from good consistency and close to the stated FPS (Winchester Rangers) to some with quite a bit of deviation and significantly lower FPS than advertised (Remington).

Strangely enough the factory "Target" loads seemed to be more consistent than the "self-defense" stuff but admittedly my sample group was probably too small to draw any real conclusions from.

I'm proud to say that my handloads were pretty consistent though the FPS was typically a touch lower than I had expected/hoped for. I did find one .40 load that was WAY hotter than expected so I have to go back and re-asses that one

[g.willikers]

The chronograph is, indeed, revealing.
Can't imagine anyone who reloads not having one.
But you might consider having two.
Sooner or later, it will get shot.
Mine's only been wounded, though.

[James R. Burke]

You are correct if you reload they are a must have in my book. Never seen the manuals to be right on. They are just a guide. To really know what they are doing you do need a crony.

[Brian Pfleuger]

I can' imagine reloading without a chrony and QuickLoad.

I know, a yungin' that can't make it without technology. Yep, that's me. Don't want to either!

[jaguarxk120]

What's nice about a chronograph is that it will let the wind out of may guy's sails.

What they say the rifle/handgun does and what actually is happening is two different stories.

[wncchester]

"What they say the rifle/handgun does and what actually is happening is two different stories."

That's true but, in fairness to a lot of guys, they are speaking of published factory or manual posted speeds. Surprise! Few are as fast as projected! (My own 150 gr .30-06 hunting loads were about 150 fps faster before I got a chronograph! )

[sc928porsche]

Yup, They never seem to live up to their advertised speeds (factory). At first I though that perhaps the reason was because I set my chrony 20 feet out in front of the muzzle, but that isnt it.

For those who do own a cronograph, they will never go back to doing without one. For those who dont own one, you dont know what you are missing.

[Brian Pfleuger]

Originally Posted by wncchester

(My own 150 gr .30-06 hunting loads were about 150 fps faster before I got a chronograph! )

You think ammo is bad! Have you talked to some guys who shot their "350fps" bow through a chrony?! Ha! Makes me laugh every time. Most of them get like 280.... then they're floored when my "305fps" Hoyt shoots 296.

[g.willikers]

Peetzakiller,

One day, at our local archery club, we set up a chronograph to check bow speeds.
But one guy got funny and changed the distance between the pickups, just to screw with folks.
Everyone's bow showed screaming speeds.
Finally, it became obvious what was going on, when one old fella's small recurve showed compound type speed.
Very funny, though.

[farmerboy]

I gotta say I'm on the other side of the fence... What difference does it make how fast you're bullets are actually traveling? (Really?) I load for accuracy and dont care if my 06' is traveling 3000 fps or 30 fps. Dont care as long as they're accurate. (My two cents)...

[ZeSpectre]

What difference does it make how fast you're bullets are actually traveling?

Well, I can tell you that my one .40 load is moving fast enough that I'm nervous about a pressure spike and am going to back off that load a touch even though it's well under listed "max" loads, so there is a safety consideration there.

[farmerboy]

"MAX Load" is not the same for everyone's gun! Your and my "max" may be totally different. Dont ever assume Max is max! Remember, Start low and work up. And when you work up too, different people work up for different reasons. Some work up to "max" for their reasons and some work up for accuracy and could care less at the speed. Personally as I stated before, That's me and I could care less at f.p.s. goes

[sc928porsche]

Here is the point of knowing you bullets speed........trajectory!

Once you have your most acurate load, then it is quite handy to know the bullet speed because points of impact are not always at the same distance. If you are hunting, they are never the same distance.

[farmerboy]

Correct! But dont assume that because data says a particular bullet going so fast should drop so much at a presumed distance. Do your homework correctly and actually shoot your particular bullet at different ranges, log your info and then you know exactly what this particular load does at different ranges. Just like "max" load data, like pressures, speed, bullet drop are all just guidelines that WE have to find out the rest or either we are assuming.

[sc928porsche]

The cronograph is a great tool. Like all tools, they are there to aid you in accomplishing your task. You can get the job done without the tool, but it is much easier to use the tool.

[Clark]

The main purpose of the chronograph is bragging on the internet.

Did I mention my Ruger #1 .223 has done 33gr 4200 fps, many times?

Did I mention my 1903 .380 has pushed a 158 gr 1187 fps, many times?

Did I mention my case capacity reducer got my 45/70 to push 145 gr 441 fps and still sounds like a BB gun?

[farmerboy]

Great going Clark!!!! Were they accurate?

[Shootin4fun]

Agreed...You can determine the accuracy of your load by simply shooting it, and as we all know, many factors affect accuracy aside from velocity. But the only way to really know what's happening and perhaps why, is to clock your rounds and inspect your discharged brass. Deeper bullet seating, bullet weight, bullet shape, powder charge, powder type, powder batch, primer type/mfg, all have effects on speed and accuracy. Those are a LOT of variables! The more variables you know, the less you wonder about the reasons for bullet behavior.

Also agreed; that trajectory must be empirically discovered by shooting the same rounds under the same conditions at different distances. I have seen significant variations from published specs using balistic calculators and charts.

However, knowing the velocity can give you a lot of information about the stopping power, expected trajectory, reasons behind your accuracy findings, and a whole lot more when you record and analyze the data.

Its interesting to know your knock down power too! Comparing different cartridges and loads is also enlightening. Gee, I found that some factory .357 Mag (Fiocci 155g XTP) delivered only the same power (energy) as some .40 S&W. Penetration/expansion tests told a different story about potential damage. Guess I could have gone out and shot some living things to do those tests, but that's not very scientific, and not nice to random animals or people that would be the test subjects...and I'd likely go to prison before I ever compiled my results! ;-)

Knowing the stats on any factory ammo can be helpful in choosing the right ones as well. The extreme spread, mean speed, and standard deviation will tell you a lot about an ammo's potential accuracy. Clock a half dozen different .22 LR ammo and you'll see what I mean.

For bows, it is even more important, because the speed variation is much more critical in terms of knock down and penetration power than a rifle. A 300fps difference in a 150gr bullet expected to go 2800fps is much less significant in that regard than a 30 fps difference in a bow that supposed to go 300 fps. At 2500 fps, the 150 is still going all the way through the deer broadside.

Can anyone imagine NASA launching a rocket, and not clocking its speed??

Ever since I got a chrony, I clock rounds every time I make any change, and have found it to be enlightening, thereby reducing head scratching, stress, and wasted $, and just as important, its FUN!

So if you like to reload, and approach it as the science that it is, I think a chrony is mandatory. I waited years to get one, and it was one of the best hundred bucks I spent.

[Clark]

I noticed in ham radio swap meet prices, that equipment that measures is not as valuable as equipment that does something.

With handloading, if one knew the exact velocity and/or the exact pressure of a load, what would one do with that information?

This is like Plato's allegory of the cave, where pressure and velocity are shadows on the wall, separating us from the reality some of us seek.

[B.L.E.]

You think ammo is bad! Have you talked to some guys who shot their "350fps" bow through a chrony?! Ha! Makes me laugh every time. Most of them get like 280.... then they're floored when my "305fps" Hoyt shoots 296.

A chronograph will similarly humble a lot of air rifles. My Gamo target air pistol shoots about 350 fps with target pellets even though the advertising claims 400 fps.

[farmerboy]

So I guess this is branching off just like reloaders, Theres probably millions of people right now who own pellet rifles and bows standing in line waiting to purchase a chrony and after they find their particular speed, they're all gonna wander how they ever lived and breathed without one.

[B.L.E.]

I didn't buy the chrony to see if my pellet gun was up to its advertised power, I just couldn't wait to try it after I got it and a pellet gun in the back yard doesn't make the neighbors call the cops.
I also got 200 and something fps out of a Daisy Red Ryder BB gun.

Mostly what I look for in load development is velocity consistency. If one shot goes 900 fps and the next one goes 820 fps, that's not good.

And, it satisfies my curiosity.