Chronographing expertise needed.

[victor3ranger]

Can I ask what some might think is a stupid question??
I have never messed with a chronograph that mounts to the barrel but have read many threads here that use them.
My question is, doesn't mounting the Chronograph on the barrel change the harmonics on the barrel??

 

[FEENIX]

Can I ask what some might think is a stupid question??
I have never messed with a chronograph that mounts to the barrel but have read many threads here that use them.
My question is, doesn't mounting the Chronograph on the barrel change the harmonics on the barrel??

Yes, it will affect barrel harmonics.

 

[Shadow6arc]

Standard chronographs work fine you just need to follow the directions. Generally you want to place the chronograph 15ft from the muzzle. As I understand it 15ft is also the SAAMI spec. Reason being is the muzzle blast itself can trigger the sensors and cause errors. Also lighting is important. on overcast days or in the shade you do not need the sun shades. only use them on bright sunny days. unless I fail to put a round over the sensors I always get readings. You can genrally be closer with handguns, maybe 3-6ft as the muzzle blast is less. But I suspect this is your issue.

 

[wildcat westerner]

Tulsa Reiner,
I am learning from the active members here about this Magnetospeed V3 and am convinced I have never seen one. The top of the bayonet on my rifle's muzzle has got to have been 1 5/8" to 1 3/4" from the center of the muzzle'; which explains why I got no readings. As to the "shoot thru" chronographs, I still have no clue as to why they did not function. A 220 grain .338 bullet moving through the screes at over 3,000 fps should have been picked up!

WW

 

[slikmrc]

Muzzle blast and flash can cause problems with a shoot thru chrono. I run my Oehler 35 screens at least ten feet from the muzzle, they still wiggle a bit from the blast but it is rare to not get a reading. If you go on the Oehler web site and look at the 35P instruction manuel, it gives a ton of good information on possible problems of not getting a reading. Shoot thru crono shouldn't be having problems picking up the bullet.

 

[MagnumManiac]

Sensor type chrony's will error more in bright sunlight than any other time. In fact, I always use the diffusers supplied at the highest level.
I have a few Chrony's, an Ohler which I rarely use, and had a magnetospeed but found it frustrating, to put it mildly.
My Chrony Beta Master (sic) is an excellent Chrony as long as you use a bubble level on it when setting it up, keep it at 15ft away and use the wide high diffusers and not use it early in the morning or late afternoon. I actually find it best to have the Chrony in the shade, and will follow that shade throughout the day and rarely have errors doing this.

Cheers.

 

[FireFlyFishing]

Can I ask what some might think is a stupid question??
I have never messed with a chronograph that mounts to the barrel but have read many threads here that use them.
My question is, doesn't mounting the Chronograph on the barrel change the harmonics on the barrel??

I think the barrel mounted options work great! The issue I have is my POI changes significantly. Never misses a shot though.

 

[marksman1941]

If you can find one, the steinert acoustic chrono is a good way to go for this. If you were closer to oregon I'd let you use mine. Extremely forgiving and has picked up everything from my .338 RUM launching 250's at 2950 fps down to my .54 muzzleloader shooting a 465gr slug at 1600fps. They're rated up to 5500fps which is why I bought it but I haven't had a chance to test the stupid velocity yet.

 

[lancetkenyon]

You are stuffing 80gr into a .338WM case???

 

[akmtnhnt]

Standard chronographs work fine you just need to follow the directions. Generally you want to place the chronograph 15ft from the muzzle. As I understand it 15ft is also the SAAMI spec. Reason being is the muzzle blast itself can trigger the sensors and cause errors. Also lighting is important. on overcast days or in the shade you do not need the sun shades. only use them on bright sunny days. unless I fail to put a round over the sensors I always get readings. You can genrally be closer with handguns, maybe 3-6ft as the muzzle blast is less. But I suspect this is your issue.

It is really hard to get those type of chronographs to be in perfect alignment with your shot. 1 degree causes significant error. Ballpark, I guess, but not what I'd use to then calculate shot drops.
Not worthless, but close enough to it to not bother IMO.

 

[Tulsa Reiner]

Can I ask what some might think is a stupid question??
I have never messed with a chronograph that mounts to the barrel but have read many threads here that use them.
My question is, doesn't mounting the Chronograph on the barrel change the harmonics on the barrel??

It probably does change the harmonics, but that only affects point of impact, not muzzle velocity. I measure one, then the other.
Chronography is an early step in my load development.

 

[Tulsa Reiner]

Tulsa Reiner,
I am learning from the active members here about this Magnetospeed V3 and am convinced I have never seen one. The top of the bayonet on my rifle's muzzle has got to have been 1 5/8" to 1 3/4" from the center of the muzzle'; which explains why I got no readings. As to the "shoot thru" chronographs, I still have no clue as to why they did not function. A 220 grain .338 bullet moving through the screes at over 3,000 fps should have been picked up!

WW

I used a "shoot through" chronograph for many years, until Magnetospeed came out. And I was frequently frustrated by failure to register a round, which messed up my statistics. When trying to determine optimal charge weight (OCW), I only load the number of cartridges that I want for my statistics (usually 5), and a missed measurement screwed up comparison of SD and ES for the charge ladder.

 

[Tulsa Reiner]

Sensor type chrony's will error more in bright sunlight than any other time. In fact, I always use the diffusers supplied at the highest level.
I have a few Chrony's, an Ohler which I rarely use, and had a magnetospeed but found it frustrating, to put it mildly.
My Chrony Beta Master (sic) is an excellent Chrony as long as you use a bubble level on it when setting it up, keep it at 15ft away and use the wide high diffusers and not use it early in the morning or late afternoon. I actually find it best to have the Chrony in the shade, and will follow that shade throughout the day and rarely have errors doing this.

Cheers.

You forgot to mention, can't use it in strong wind, which doesn't affect Magnetospeed or Labrador.
Limitations, limitations, limitations. Your argument in favor of them turned into a strong argument against them.
Sorry....

 

[Mark37082]

I feel your pain. I've had frustrating experiences with MS and LabRadar at the range. Most of these issues were mostly due to my setup issues. A missed reading or two can screw up a session where you are trying conserve components yet get the velocity data. The learning curve for setting up your Chrono and recognizing why you are missing shots takes some time. Help from someone that is experienced with the potential issues is definitely better than reading manuals. Good luck.