Load Testing with Magnetospeed

I've got a magneto speed and have wondered as well. I first need to get it working. I just get an error every time with the exception of a single reading close to 6000fps. Going out on a limb here and saying my 260 Rem does closer to 2800fps 😂
 
I am looking for shortcuts.
Since you are asking for advice, I will give you a few thoughts.

You are seeing the issues with barrel mounting the MS. Some serious LR and ELR folks still use these, but they are cantilevered off an attachment that doesn't touch their barrel.

You can see why the LabRadar continues to be popular even with the bad BlueTooth issues.

I have them (chronos) all, including a career where we built radar that tracked things you can't imagine. I like the MS but must admit it only comes out on very rare occasions.

I will suggest a few thoughts on load development in the context of your Sig Cross and efficiency.

Unless you ae shooting a very standardized rig, the kind where many folks have gone before and can point you to the pet loads, there are no real shortcuts. There are just methods that tend to minimize the waste a little better.

Worrying about SD/ES too soon is likely to cause waste unless you are just plain lucky.

Speed performance stats do matter out past 600 yards, but by themselves they are no guarantee of accuracy or precision. By definition, if your groups at distance are good, your speed stats are good enough too.

With the popularity of the Sig Cross, you benefit from using the best quality bullets folks know the rig likes.

Use the best temp stable extruded powder you also know works in these rigs.

Stay away from "too cheap to be true" and shortcuts that end up costing you barrel life, time, and money. Use that barrel life learning to DOPE, read wind, and shoot, rather than swirl on the bench.

There is nothing wrong with using your MS to learn state of the art brass prep and loading. But....

Do this with something affordable using a heavy barrel rig that will allow you to learn with a lower budget. Then, take what you learned and add the difficulty of unknown territory or lighter guns. Give yourself a chance to learn this in methodical stages unless you want to blow lots of money.

A heavy 6 BR is the easy button with lots of great pet loads to learn with. A 223 is affordable and takes some skill to tame velocity stats.

A Sig Cross is not a F-Class or BR gun, it is meant for field position shooting. Shoot more, worry less about load development.
Hope that helps with food for thought.
Life is short, Carpe Diem. YMMV
 
I've got a magneto speed and have wondered as well. I first need to get it working. I just get an error every time with the exception of a single reading close to 6000fps. Going out on a limb here and saying my 260 Rem does closer to 2800fps 😂
From Magnetospeed when I had issues...

Hello. If you are getting to the 4 dashes but not getting any readings or error 2 or 5 messages (or any error with number message); then it is possible that you have the sensitivity setting not adjusted or the vertical alignment. Vertical distance or the space between the bullet flight path and the top of the sensor deck needs to be between .125 and .25" One of the two rubber V block pads should get you between that threshold if your barrel is between .5" and 1" in diameter. The horizontal spacing (the space between the end of your rifle and the beginning of the flat portion of the sensor deck) needs to be between 1" to 1.5" If you are shooting .30cal and larger; start with a setting of REG (regular). If you are shooting .30cal down to .223, start with REG and then try HI 1. If you are shooting .223 and smaller, start with HI 1, but you will most likely need to use HI 2 for smaller calibers like .22lr. A chart and additional information are on this link: https://magnetospeed.com/mwdownloads/download/link/id/1147

Regarding it coming loose on the barrel: . Before any use or mounting the bayonet on the barrel, the tension thumbnut must be reset to the very bottom of the threads. If the thumbnut is indexed up the threads, slack will be put into the strap. With slack into the strap, the bayonet may appear to be tight on the barrel and recoil will move it. This is the number one user induced causes of loose bayonets. I recommend taking the thumbnut off the threaded stud and re-screwing back on 2 revolutions to ensure that you have reset it to the bottom of the threads. Also take the other rubber pad you are not using and put it on top of the barrel and bring the strap over it. This will help mitigate any slipping of the bayonet on the barrel.
 
Since you are asking for advice, I will give you a few thoughts.

You are seeing the issues with barrel mounting the MS. Some serious LR and ELR folks still use these, but they are cantilevered off an attachment that doesn't touch their barrel.

You can see why the LabRadar continues to be popular even with the bad BlueTooth issues.

I have them (chronos) all, including a career where we built radar that tracked things you can't imagine. I like the MS but must admit it only comes out on very rare occasions.

I will suggest a few thoughts on load development in the context of your Sig Cross and efficiency.

Unless you ae shooting a very standardized rig, the kind where many folks have gone before and can point you to the pet loads, there are no real shortcuts. There are just methods that tend to minimize the waste a little better.

Worrying about SD/ES too soon is likely to cause waste unless you are just plain lucky.

Speed performance stats do matter out past 600 yards, but by themselves they are no guarantee of accuracy or precision. By definition, if your groups at distance are good, your speed stats are good enough too.

With the popularity of the Sig Cross, you benefit from using the best quality bullets folks know the rig likes.

Use the best temp stable extruded powder you also know works in these rigs.

Stay away from "too cheap to be true" and shortcuts that end up costing you barrel life, time, and money. Use that barrel life learning to DOPE, read wind, and shoot, rather than swirl on the bench.

There is nothing wrong with using your MS to learn state of the art brass prep and loading. But....

Do this with something affordable using a heavy barrel rig that will allow you to learn with a lower budget. Then, take what you learned and add the difficulty of unknown territory or lighter guns. Give yourself a chance to learn this in methodical stages unless you want to blow lots of money.

A heavy 6 BR is the easy button with lots of great pet loads to learn with. A 223 is affordable and takes some skill to tame velocity stats.

A Sig Cross is not a F-Class or BR gun, it is meant for field position shooting. Shoot more, worry less about load development.
Hope that helps with food for thought.
Life is short, Carpe Diem. YMMV
Good advice. I have found a few accurate loads for my 270 and 6.5 Creedmoor. I feel like I stumbled on them more than found them. Basically I pick a low to mid range area of powder charge and load .5 grains apart and do a group and velocity test. I will usually work up 4 loads over a 2 grain spread. I don't play around the max range, much.
 
Thanks folks. The only sporter barrel I have is up for sale. My other issue is a have a SIG Cross and cannot even test velocity becasue the rail goes nearly all the way up to the muzzle. Still trying to figure out that workaround.

I think I will do groups with the chrono this weekend. Load up a couple more rounds and can do testing with the same load on a couple of rifles.
Here is a short cut for the 6.5 CM Sig Cross that works well and shoots sub-MOA for me and another friend who also hunts with one. We both shoot the same load and our groups look as if they were both shot from the same gun. It's .2gr below the published hornady max of 41.5gr.
Hornady ELD-X
Lapua SR Primer brass, primed w Fed 205m
41.2g H4350; COAL 2.78 CBTO 2.067
SPEED 2,678 measured by magnetoSpeed attached to my Rex Silentium Mod C suppressor. I would be surprised if it didn't shoot well for you too. It is a bit toasty so work up to it.
 
Here is a short cut for the 6.5 CM Sig Cross that works well and shoots sub-MOA for me and another friend who also hunts with one. We both shoot the same load and our groups look as if they were both shot from the same gun. It's .2gr below the published hornady max of 41.5gr.
Hornady ELD-X
Lapua SR Primer brass, primed w Fed 205m
41.2g H4350; COAL 2.78 CBTO 2.067
SPEED 2,678 measured by magnetoSpeed attached to my Rex Silentium Mod C suppressor. I would be surprised if it didn't shoot well for you too. It is a bit toasty so work up to it.
I got a 308. Wish I would have gotten the 6.5.
 
Just get it off your barrel. There are some purpose-made mounts from a couple companies, but I just rigged one up out of scraps, and I'm no machinist, and not even all that smart. I think I have $10 into it, and 8 of that was for the quick-detach picatinny mount.

Note: the arrow shaft coming out of the can is just to check alignment.
ms1.png


ms2.png
 
Also take the other rubber pad you are not using and put it on top of the barrel and bring the strap over it. This will help mitigate any slipping of the bayonet on the barrel.
^^^^^ THIS ^^^^
Has cured all issues I've had with the bayonet slipping on the barrel. This should be in the Magnetospeed instructions, but it's not!
 
I applaud the ingenuity and attempts to resolve the inherent issues with the MS. I just don't think it should be this hard to measure velocity. If you have multiple rifles running different set ups (some suppressed, some without pic rails, etc.), I only want to shoot and record velocity.
 
If it wasn't for the fact that I do most of my load development at an indoor range, I'd probably have a Labradar, but it won't work with all the concrete walls to bounce off of, and has a number of other well-documented problems.
The optical shoot-through style chronos suck. They take a **** survey crew to set up right, and even then, if you don't have it perfectly level, you'll get misreadings.
Once you overcome the mounting challenges, the Magnetospeed is hard to beat.
 
Just get it off your barrel. There are some purpose-made mounts from a couple companies, but I just rigged one up out of scraps, and I'm no machinist, and not even all that smart. I think I have $10 into it, and 8 of that was for the quick-detach picatinny mount.

Note: the arrow shaft coming out of the can is just to check alignment.
View attachment 447516

View attachment 447517
What companies have those mounts? I am not as McGyver as you are.
 
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