Oehler Model 43

[Brent]

I dragged my feet buying the model 35P so long now that a friend has a model 43 with all the goodies minus the laptop needed for sale for $450. So my question is, seeing how I've never used it before, should I go for it, or just get the 35P? What would you do? My buddy has the laptop for now. Does anyone know what these things will really tell you as far as BC, drop charts, groups etc?

 

[Ian M]

Brent,
I have them both. The 35P is a "plug-in and play" unit - very simple, reliable and accurate with a built-in printer. The 43 is run by a computer, obviously a laptop for outdoor ranges. The 43 has many more capabilities - BUT you lose the simple plug-in and shoot info ability.

The 43 will provide chamber pressure readings if you attach special "strain guages" correctly to your rifle (you must glue directly to bare metal - requires a bit of blueing removal in most cases). The 43 uses standard Skyscreens at the muzzle and offers the ability to connect to optional accoustic microphones that are essentially a large triangle that you shoot through at 100 yards. They have 100 yards of connecting cords obviously. This provides such niceties as 100 yard velocity, time of flight, BC and even a diagram of your group.

If you are a basic reloader, the 35P is the ideal instrument for range use. If you like tinkering, enjoy challenges of making a more complex system operate - and feel the need for chamber-pressure info including peak pressure, Pressure Rise Time, pressure curve and area under the curve, 100 yd. velocities(or longer distances if you get the goodies) etc.then the 43 with or without accoustics is a dream-machine.

450 dollars is a good price for a 43, it lists for 600 or more, depending on accessories.

Hope that this info is of value.
ian

 

[Brent]

Thanks Ian, but I already bought the thing. I got jumpy, couldn't wait no longer. It came with the three accoustic sensors, what looks like a box to plug them and the phone line into down range, the main box to plug the laptop and everything into. There are two large reels of telephone wire, a toolbox with solder iron, wire strippers, crimper for telephone connectors, glues, sandpaper, 2 boxes of strain gages, a bag of premade telephone wire leads.

There is no stands or anything to hold the accoustic microphones or skyscreens though. I have two floppy disks with the software, one is version 1.07, the other is a version 1.09 update disk. I have the manual which is 50 pages total. I also have a manual for the Oehler Ballistic Explorer program which is about 70 pages total, but don't have the disk unless the 43 software comes with it on the same disk.

I have data for many cartridges up to 600 NE and alot for what appeared to be a favorite, the 30/378. The original owner was killed in a car crash a couple years back, his name was Dana Campbell, he owned Mountain rifles Inc. Any way I ended up with quite a bit of his equipment and data for what seems to be a good price.

I might need some help figuring this thing out, I'm not much with computers and the skyscreens and accoustic target setup without specs and pictures could be a challenge, I'm guessing the spacing is dowright critical to accurate velocities and BC figures. I have to finish reading the manual first. Definitly not as quick to set up as the 35P would have been, but I always wanted one of these 43's.

Later
Brent