All,

Considering a purchase of a chronograph to check my handloads and wondering what the experiences have been with the Caldwell brand. I've seen many good and some bad reviews, most stemming from QC on the units. I love the fact there's an app that communicates with the unit and actually functions like it was invented in the 21st century. Many of the other makes require some antiquated interface to a PC that doesn't exist anymore. My range is outside, and I'm going to shoot in conditions ranging from totally overcast to bright and sunny.

Does anyone have one of these (either the regular or the G2), and what are your experiences? Thanks in advance for the replies.

Hi Clayman,

I do not know about the Caldwell. I replaced my old chronograph with a MagnetoSpeed. I works great, not dependent on sun or shade.

quote:

Originally posted by Clayman:
All,

Considering a purchase of a chronograph to check my handloads and wondering what the experiences have been with the Caldwell brand. I've seen many good and some bad reviews, most stemming from QC on the units. I love the fact there's an app that communicates with the unit and actually functions like it was invented in the 21st century. Many of the other makes require some antiquated interface to a PC that doesn't exist anymore. My range is outside, and I'm going to shoot in conditions ranging from totally overcast to bright and sunny.

Does anyone have one of these (either the regular or the G2), and what are your experiences? Thanks in advance for the replies.

Out of both units I received I could never get them to link up to the app. Needed very bright lighting to get good results as well on the reading. I wanted something easy and small for times when I did not want to set up my Oehler 35P.

After those did not work I went with the magnetorspeed 2 for cheap and quick. Which I had great results with.

Now have a labradar that I have been getting use to. So far it is promising.

I replaced a dead Chrony model with a Caldwell Ballistic Precision, mainly because I didn't want to spend a lot. Overall quality is very average, as I expected for the price. It tends to show slightly higher speeds than my previous Chrony and also shows the odd reading that is far too high and obviously wrong. Howver I don't require it for high precision purposes, just support of my hunting load development for which it is sufficient. The lugholes on the sunscreens that hold the upright steel rods are not particularly sturdy and although I handle the unit carefully one lughole is already half broken. It's OK in steady outdoor light but readings sometimes become slightly erratic if light levels alternate quickly, like under rapidly moving clouds. The interface feature is a joke and didn't even work half the time. I write down all my velocity readings anyway and the best thing about it is the large sized numerals on the screen I can easily read from my bench without my old eyes needing my spectacles.

Thanks for the replies, guys. 30.06, you and I have similar needs for a chrono. All I want to do is verify the velocity of my hunting ammo and my pistol practice rounds. Naturally, I'm not expecting lifelong quality from one of these, but if they're reasonably efficient and well-made, it might be worth the $70.

If I don't go with the Caldwell, what's another make/model for around $100-$120 that works better? It seems like Chrony makes 10 different models that all do pretty much the same thing. I do not want to spend the money for the Oehler or LabRadar, as I don't have the need for that level of performance and would rather spend the money elsewhere.

I have a Pro-Chronograph with infra-red glareshied. Not dependent on the sun but does need 110v.

Spend a little extra and get an Oehler. I've had the same one since 1986.

i have five one cost 600 usd and took 5 months to get

the little caldwell is great why

light wt = everyting is there= including lights=
tripod

but the thing it has that non of the rest of em got is portability

===what i meen is you can turn it and tip it to get shade on the gates all times of day==

no so much so with a bunch of the rest of them===

so fast cheap good simple and easy to set up casting a shadow on all gates

get it you will never need to look back