Chronograph Shoot-Out

Which chronograph should I buy?

Most likely, you’ve been asked this question, heard it asked, or have asked it yourself. I certainly have.

It’s no wonder, with so many options to choose from, each using different techniques and offering greater accuracy and precision than the rest. Since high-quality chronographs are an essential tool for the work I do here at Ammolytics, I thought it would be helpful and interesting to provide a direct comparison of some modern options. I already own a MagnetoSpeed V3 and some friends loaned me their LabRadar and Two-Box Chrono, which created an excellent opportunity test them head-to-head and to satisfy my own curiosity.

Bullet Sorting Experiment - Part One

One of the conclusions that I drew from my Recoil vs Muzzle Velocity experiment was that my reloading practices had some room for improvement. There were two slow rounds in one of the 10-round groups that disappointed me and I had suggested that it might relate to my bullet sorting method. I used this opportunity to create another experiment – to measure the impact of bullet sorting by weight, bearing length, and by base-to-ogive. Specifically, I wanted to compare the effects of firing the extreme cases side-by-side: (e.g. lightest vs heaviest, longest vs shortest).

Experiment: Recoil vs Muzzle Velocity

Earlier this summer, one of the F-class shooters in our league was trying to diagnose an issue with his new rifle. He was using a reliable load that he had previous success with, but his chronograph was showing some pretty extreme muzzle velocity variation of around 35 ft/s. Remembering a SnipersHide article I had read about recoil management technique contributing to inconsistent muzzle velocity issues, I suggested that as a possible cause. I went home and found the article, intending to share – but when I read it again, I noticed some things that made me question the results.