I used to have one of the folding chrony's years ago. I don't remember which one it was but I also had the cumbersome incandescent light kit. Alpha, Beta, Gamma (not radioactive I hope)..anyway it was one of those. I've been looking at the magneto types, Caldwell, and Competition Electronics. The led light kits seem like a nice option vs the incandescent types. In my head the folding chrony's seem like they could induce slight errors because the two sensors are not permanently fixed in relation to one another. I could be thinking too much. Printer capable would be nice even if not purchased initially. Shot count, extreme spread and standard deviation would be nice.
Looking for advise on which ones would be accurate with fewest errors, least hassles etc. and which ones to steer clear of?
I've been pretty happy with the Competition Electronics ProChrono Digital that I have. Also have the LED light kit for it. Very few errors out of hundreds of shots over it and the light kit works great. I use it in the basement so the light kit was pretty much a necessity but I consider it money well spent.
It will give you the shot number (up to 99 per string with 9 strings) and the SD, ES, high, low, and average velocity. One thing that some might consider a negative is that it only reads in whole numbers, no decimal point values. But I haven't really found that to be an issue for my use.
There are accessories available for it, too. Such as a Bluetooth adapter and a USB adapter. I don't have either of those but I know there are some members here who have the Bluetooth adapter and really like it. No printer for it that I know of but you could probably do a print out with the Bluetooth or USB adapters and a computer and printer.
BTW, I see they have a new model now called the ProChrono DLX that has Bluetooth built into it. And it doesn't cost much more than the standard model.
None of them will be accurate nor error free if you can't or don't set up with a level of consistency so I don't think one is going to be any better than the next at that.
Some give you the data in several different ways. For me, I have a printer for it I can do manual entry into an Excel file.
You mentioned lighting and that is a very important step which I think some guys are defeated by.
The company who makes one that will shoot in the dark with a 6" wide sensor will own the market.
But I digress...
I have a somewhat permanent set up in my shop.
don't know if this will work for you or not. Depends on whether or not you have to shoot outdoors.
Error is less than .1% because it's lighting is fixed as is the gun mount.
best of luck!!
Jim,
I'm leaning toward the ProChrono DLX you mentioned, with the optional led kit. Glad to hear your setup works really well. I was thinking that I would like the dedicated chrony printer, but it seems that only works with the "Chrony" models. But the Bluetooth that comes with the Competition DLX, just hit me that I could store data more historically. My PC is Bluetooth capable too. I know I can get info from my phone to PC if not from the chrono itself to PC. The available USB accessory looks like another route complete with software...hmmm
Dave,
I love the idea of a totally controlled setup. That makes wonderful sense! Interesting observation on the light wattage. Not sure if I can make a dedicated corner for a more permanent setup or not though..gotta think that out. I was wondering what you had in the bucket but your video cleared that up. I will probably use what I used to have as a stop; A bullet trap. I do however, remember getting peppered by pellet fragments on occasion, especially from a Theoben Eliminator that I used to have LOL. Regarding your video, thanks for your work and sharing it! I definitely learned from it.
Bo
Bo, you might find this interesting. Scroll down about halfway in this link to Daveshoot's post. He posted some pics of some readouts that his ProChrono sent to his smartphone via Bluetooth and the free app. You not only get a bit more information with the Bluetooth connection, but you also have options of how to view that information.
I use this one....
The included light kit works well and will Blue Tooth to a smart phone for easy data storage.
For example...
Looks like the Caldwell chrony is the best bang for the buck currently:
I did buy a Oehler 35p from the classifieds many years ago. It is an awesome chrony, but you definitely pay the price if you can find one:
https://oehler-research.com/model-35p/
I have a Pro Chrony and it has always worked for me .But, I recently picked up one of the Caldwell Balistic Precision upside town looking units with lights and Bluetooth link to my cell phone, tablet or laptop.
I may permanently mount the Pro Chrony in my shop up at the wall to ceiling junction with a light above it, DC power supply, and pellet trap behind. A friend of mine had one a setup like that. You flipped a light switch to turn the unit and light on and shot at the center of the pellet trap. It was out of the way and simple to use. It was great for a quick check.
David Enoch
I just can't say enough about my new CE Prochrony w/Bluetooth. The Caldwell software for Android looks better than the CE's, but the CE's PC version rates against the Caldwell. If you are going to use an Android device, the Caldwell software gets the nod by a far margin.
I compared the features and there was something I didn't like about the Caldwell but I forget what it was. The Caldwell does look like a more tightly integrated unit. Maybe they didn't have the Bluetooth out when I was buying.
Whatever you decide, GET BLUETOOTH!
Looks like the Caldwell chrony is the best bang for the buck currently:
I did buy a Oehler 35p from the classifieds many years ago. It is an awesome chrony, but you definitely pay the price if you can find one:
https://oehler-research.com/model-35p/
I have the same chrony. Mine came with a long headphone type cable that you plug into your phone. Download the app and set a few parameters and away you go. The App does all the ballistic calculations and saves them for different guns and ammo.
I have a pro chono (Green) and a Caldwell Bluetooth upside down rig. They both work well, but the integrated lights/battery and especially the bluetooth/apps of the caldwell really set it apart. I'd go with anything bluetooth, and would favor the Caldwell as I like their apps.
I set my caldwell up at 40 yards and kept the phone at my shooting table and the bluetooth worked flawlessly, great chrony. The included tripod is crap but functional.
Regards,
John
