How many people own a chronograph?

Curious as to how many people own a chronograph? In new and wasnt planning on owning one but if I want to swap out amunition or try some slugs out this piece of equipment is a nescisity correct? No way to dial in your FPS with out one is there?

Is there a budget friendly chronograph that works?
I have this one and an earlier version that only measures in MPS (meters per second) with 3 digits and that really wasn't a problem.

I simply multiplied the reading by 3.28084 and I had my fps reading.

The one I listed works quite well for me, as does the older model, and all you really need to tune an airgun. It has 4 digit readout and capable of either MPS or FPS readings.

For about $30, you really can't go wrong. Or you can spend a fortune and not be any better. (smile)

Oops...

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B098XJLHGT?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

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Curious as to how many people own a chronograph? In new and wasnt planning on owning one but if I want to swap out amunition or try some slugs out this piece of equipment is a nescisity correct? No way to dial in your FPS with out one is there?

Is there a budget friendly chronograph that works?
FIDI-G.
Great question indeed (I have 2). There are a few for sure under $50-100 that will give you a benchmark to work with.
Here is my perspective and hope you can gather a sense of it.
Having been a machinist for many years in my youth. Imagine trying to machine any parts for anything, without some sort of calipers or gauge to give you a reference to your intended expectation? Trial and error? I don't think so. I would invent a gauge to streamline my process and time.
So convenient for us that it has been done many time over the years and we have choices of chronographs to help us find our own personal tunes in a jiffy!!!
The stone age has evolved...

Enjoy,
Patrick
 
I'll say that if you want to basically just use your PCP as a tool - that is, to shoot when needed but not mess with - then you really don't need one. You basically just live with what the gun gives you - try different ammo and shoot whatever shoots best. But do a test and make note of the drop at some given distances with that ammo (zero at a given distance - for example 20 yards - and then shoot at another like 40 yards and note the drop). Then you can repeat this if needed in the future to check the gun, and if nothing has changed a chrony would not tell you anything different.

But as others have said, it you want to do pretty much any kind of optimization or modifications to that gun, then you need the required tools to do so, and a chronograph is as needed as screwdrivers and wrenches . . . .
I disagree. If you don't know what your velocity is, then you can't know when it changes and can't reliably know why your shots are missing the mark.

Having a chronograph, even the cheap one I recommend, will give you a reference. Also, if you like to use ballistic software, knowing your FPS is essential.
 
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I've got too many chronographs. lol.
I've got the FX chrono which I'm not impressed with. Don't waste your money on that one. It's not consistent, and buggy. I only sometimes use it when I'm changing calibers and after an initial tune to give me a ballpark fps. I've also got the bluetooth model Pro-Chrono. It works fine, but then splurged and got a LabRadar. Absolutely LOVE the LabRadar and consider it hands down the most important tool in my arsenal now. I'm the IT tech and statistician for the company I work for, so I'm a guy that loves his data. The data reports generated by the LabRadar are GREAT. You can really look at true performance of any rifle from muzzle to target in detail.
 
I've got too many chronographs. lol.
I've got the FX chrono which I'm not impressed with. Don't waste your money on that one. It's not consistent, and buggy. I only sometimes use it when I'm changing calibers and after an initial tune to give me a ballpark fps. I've also got the bluetooth model Pro-Chrono. It works fine, but then splurged and got a LabRadar. Absolutely LOVE the LabRadar and consider it hands down the most important tool in my arsenal now. I'm the IT tech and statistician for the company I work for, so I'm a guy that loves his data. The data reports generated by the LabRadar are GREAT. You can really look at true performance of any rifle from muzzle to target in detail.
The Bluetooth model Pro-Chrono was recommend to me. I didnt really want to go out and spend another $170 right now. I'm looking for the best bang for buck in Chrono. Something that works but is cheap.

I have a much better appreciation now for what a chrono does and it's with out question a necessity for the PCP hobby. It's down played a bit if your new to the hobby or maybe I was just in denial. Just like the necessity for a compressor. This hobby is a total money pit!
 
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I have 3 and consider them a must have tool for tuning and monitoring performance - if you are into that kinda thing.

...Some people need tools to work on their car, others just bring them to a mechanic. Still, it's always prudent to keep an eye on your gas consumption, a sudden change usually means something needs attention 🤔


Bought my first chronograph (Chrony) to check the performance of my homemade wood bows. Works well but it's a PITA to setup. Alignment of the shot to the sensors is critical, lighting needs to be just right and a lot of shots do not register. I'd used it only when absolutely necessary. It's retired to being a backup now.

Have the FX Pocket Radar and like it very much. Small and convenient, I keep it in the shooting-box and it sees a lot of use for spot checking. Checked the accuracy against my other chronographs and the numbers jive. Battery consumption is reasonable considering that it's putting out a lot of energy all the time it's turned on - like a flashlight, save the batteries by turning it off when it's not needed.

Got a LabRadar last year and absolutely love it. I use it all the time even if I'm not specifically testing or tuning. I think of the LabRadar as my "orange stenographer" - always taking notes for me to check if I need to. Makes it easy to check shot-count per fill or extreme spread (ES) over extended shot strings. Expensive, yeah but amortized over how much I use it I can easily justify one.


A comment on using dopler radar chronographs...

Radar reflections can cause problems with any dopler radar. Think of it as a powerful light and a camera - "shiny" objects will reflect more light than the subject (pellet/slug) and the picture will not be clear. Setting the radar unit too close to the backstop can totally blind it. Just be aware of what the unit is "seeing".

I'm not familiar with the low cost chronographs that are currently available but it would be desirable to have something for checking your airguns. Even if it was inaccurate (out of calibration) but was consistent it would be useful to have because you would have an idea of what is going on and could get a baseline velocity for reference to check against.

As kids, we used to "baseline" our pellet guns by shooting (almost) vertically and timing how long it was before the pellet splashed down in the lake. The gun with the longest time was the winner 😉

Hope this helps.
 
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