Why even bother to reload

and not have a Chronograph ???????

You don't need one...the paper will tell you where your nodes are and you can figure out your velocity by working dope backwards.

Come on old man, you know how this works. For the record...I do have one but I wouldn't let not having one keep me from reloading and optimizing the results of a barrel.

Because I have targets every hundred to 800.

Last week, I helped a customer tweak his loading routine. We found a load, and then ran it all the way down the range. I didn't chronograph one shot. I played with the MV in the calculator, based on DOPE to 800 yards, and came up with 2610 fps MV. Today, he told me his Lab Radar clocked in at 2611 fps.

Just sayin.

A guy can get by without having one, but it sure is nice to have a good idea what velocity you're running when playing with something new. I don't like "finding pressure" by feeling my way blindly.

Amen. Makes zero sense to me to work up loads without one.

well, I'm glad I'm just normal and not at the level of "some"

I find the load that my gun likes, and then chrono to help figure drops and such... unless I’m loading for a competition pistol and want to achieve the minimum velocity required to make power factor.

I like to do load developments as well with one and checking ES and SD while doing it @ 200.

I've killed hundreds of hogs with ammo that's never seen a chronograph. Worked just fine.

Have loaded and shot lots of loads that were never run across a Chronograph. Loaded for over 20 years before I got my first one.

Yep, not necessary for hog killin



Chad, sell your Labradar, I guess you don't need it after all.

Ive been loading since I was in middle school and I turned 32 today. I still don't have a chronograph.

Happy birthday, redchevy. Get a chronograph as a present for yourself!

Thanks, who knows maybe ill get one for my b-day!

Well according to some folks you have to run out there and hit the hogs with the chrono not the bullet. I reload, if they group good at 100 and I can hold it together at 200 then I'm good to go hunting! Dead critters don't care about speed of bullet or cost of gun/scope. I like reloading for entertainment myself

+1

Because I like reloading and shooting toys, duh! I have three and don't think anything of setting one downrange in front of a target to collect the data there as well. I did buy a target camera to be able to read it between the shots.

Momma said factory ammo is like a box of chocolate, you never know whacha gonna get.

^^That's right!

One of the reasons I reload is because it makes it too much work to figure out how much money I'm ACTUALLY blowing on ammo. If I buy ammo off the shelf, the price is right there on the side box and I can't ignore it.

No telling how much money I have tied up in loading equipment. I paid for it long ago, and now ammo only has the cost of components. I don't count the time. Think about a Hornady Match 6.5 Creedmoor cartridge. It is $1.20 to $1.50 per round. On once fired brass (now free), a loaded round costs $0.45

Nope you don't have to have a chronograph to reload...but they sure can be enlightening! If you use milsurp pull down powder or develop loads for wild cat cartridges they are a must, at least for me!

Reloading manuals are a guide, but if you have a chrony you can track your velocity and insure that you don't get too far over rhe maximum. I have had rifles that reached or exceeded maximum velocities long before I reached the max listed load in the manual. Sure, you can see pressure signs, but not always...

For many years I reloaded without a chronograph...got my first one 25 yrs ago. Wouldn't be without one now, it just makes my life easier. A very small investment considering the amount of information you can glean from tracking velocity as you develop your loads.

Wow I Have a chronograph that is older than 32 years. I would have to dig thru some boxes to find it though.
Had to set it up with 5 Ft spacing what a pain it was. When I got it was when I learned how inflated factory ammo speeds were.

There are certain calibers, and certain powders that seem to be at their best when loaded near max, or at max velocity/pressure. It's all about pressure and you can't achieve max velocity without pressure. That's why I like having the chrono handy. Is it mandatory? I never said it was, but I can't imagine working up loads, especially in a newer rifle, without one.

Yup! ...but I'd just rather not know at all

I found loads on 7mm-08 A.I. while fire forming in three rifles. Found the MV on the range. Then found three loads, with two bullets, on two different rifles, on fired brass, didn't chronograph one single shot.

But, if a guy only has 100 or 200 yards to work with, then a good chronograph is helpful.

Couple other areas a chrono comes in handy in load workup, if you are going up in powder say .3gr and see 25fps on each increase then get to where it spikes or stops increasing you have reached a stopping point most of the times. Another there is a correlation between pressure and velocity that can see a problem sometimes before serious issues are reached.

be honest I break mine out more when loading for a wildcat or old cartridge data isn't easily obtained and would be old if found.

Lately I am sure it happened. I got a shiny ring around the case head, no extractor marks, no flat primers. And the last three in the ladder test did it. I bet that's where pressure peaked. If a 7mm-08 A.I. aint a wildcat, I don't know what to call it. There was no data available for my powder/bullet combo, so I had to shoot to see what I saw. I would have kept going, even with a chronograph, and would have had MV to document with each shot.

End result would have been the same. And that was, I focused on the grain of powder before the shiny ring happened. That's where it was shooting well.

It's hobby for me. It also gets me to the range more. When I'm reloading, I'm tinkering which means I shoot more. There is also a little more satisfaction to me having used a handload on a successful hunt.

you didn't read my OP but you just excited about chasing Axis with Mike and Tyler

Oops! It was short too. No excuse!

Started reloading .222 in mid/late 60's with one of the little LEE loaders.
Put plenty of bullets down range and usually hit what I aim for.

I only hunt pigs these days and while I feel stretching out to 400, 600 and even a 1000 would be an interesting exercise, it would serve no practical purpose for me right now.

As for a chrono, I only got one about 18 months ago.
A friend thought that since I reload, I _NEEDED_ one to be safe so he gave me HIS new one in the box.
He never used it either but only shoots factory ammo.
I did put batteries in it but haven't bothered to take it to the range yet.

Maybe someday?
But right now, I don't feel like I need one as most of the pigs I shoot are DRT and I've never heard one say he thought that bullet was too fast or slow.