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Hi - when selecting the perfect pellet for a particular gun, measuring accuracy at chosen distances seems the easiest approach. However, does anyone also use a Chrono and if so do you measure the power at the muzzle and at a fixed position down stream? I’m wondering if pellet brand ‘A’ has more power at the muzzle than pellet brand ‘B’, but pellet brand ‘B’ may retain more power at say 30 yards and hence be the more powerful pellet at that distance.
If measuring power at the muzzle and at say 30 yards is important, then I what is the best Chrono to use? I was going to buy the FX wireless/ radar Chrono but don’t think it can be used at 30 yards.
Hope this all makes sense and I would be most grateful for anyone’s thoughts on this.
Many thanks for time and consideration.
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Accuracy is paramount. I aim for that and then shoot batches of the best pellets at a 1" steel plate at 30 yards . by looking at the spent pellets, I then decide which is best for the gun. Some pellets leave the muzzle quite fast but then slow down considerably so I consider a balance of accuracy, power and pellet deformation . The latter will not be a consideration for target work but it is for my purposes. A chronograph to me is simply a way of testing conformity to the law.
There's nothing cushy about life in the Women's Auxiliary Balloon Corps!
The 'Chairgun' ballistics computer program is your friend.
It introduced me to the concept of 'ballistic coefficient' which I'll try to define as the degree to which a design of pellet retains its energy as it travels downrange.
It's a bloody marvelous downloadable program. It's basically a friendly spreadsheet where you can input what you know about your shooting parameters, then it will calculate and display a few more, including a trajectory chart showning pellet drop over distance. And it already 'knows' a lot of the popular pellet types.
P1V1overT1=P2V2overT2
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You need 2 "perfect pellets" for any gun
You shoot with the most accurate, because if you can't hit the target nothing else matters,
but you chrono to stay legal (sub 12) and you do that with the pellet which gives you the highest muzzle energy, because you need to be legal with any pellet not just the one that your barrel happens to prefer.
If you use a V frame chrono you can use it at the muzzle or out at the target if you want to, many other types can only be used at the muzzle.
My choice is a pro-chrono digital.
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Many thanks indeed for all your responses and the time you have given - much appreciated. Really good stuff from you all and has certainly given me a way forward on what is a very interesting aspect of airgunning. Sheet metal secured, Chairgun app downloaded, and just researching a chrono, i.e. Competition Electronics Prochrono Digital Chronograph vs Caldwell Precision Ballistic Chronograph. Thanks again.
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I don't know how I would go shooting without itOriginally Posted by Antoni
Registered User
Chrono is a good tool.
So is Chairgun.
There is no substitute for paper punching in the environment you want to shoot in.
Accuracy is paramount, especially at your max ish range and in a breeze, something the two tools can't really help you with.
If you hit the target you score the point, if you hit the kill zone your quarry dies.
Paper punching is key.
VAYA CON DIOS
Registered User
As said above accuracy is king. Absolutely you need sufficient energy in the pellet at the range you are shooting to knock over a target, punch a hole in a paper target or assure a humane kill. But you have to be able to hit where you need to.
I recently compared the muzzle fps spread of different pellets out of my HW30S - now bear in mind it is used for 6m and 10m paper target shooting and plinking paper and metal targets out to 25m. The range of muzzle fps spreads were 6fps with RWS R10 to 33fps with RWS Meisterkugeln. When I’m shooting standing unsupported (my indoor range is limited to 9m during these COVID-19 times), within the tolerances of my shooting ability, my groups are the same with both pellets. Mentally, I am more confident with the RWS R10s, but the holes in the targets say there is no difference.
One other observation. The down range accuracy and group size is very much affected by finding the ‘right’ pellet and even batch of those pellets. I have found it possible to also see a variation in fps spread between batch numbers, but alas, no repeatable correlation between fps spread and accuracy/group size.
Will only use cherry lipbalm
Accuracy is king.
Downrange energy retention is immaterial if the pellet isn't accurate in your rifle. Regardless of whether you are target shooter or hunter, being able to put the pellet where you expect it to go outweighs how hard the target is being hit. The only caveat is for hunters to ensure that the pellet has enough energy to "do the job" at the maximum distance you use.
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Jerry
Registered User
The LMBR2 chrono can be used at any distance to measure velocity but obviously you will need to protect it with a metal plate with an aperture.
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The skan crono is also a great crono at muzzle end or distance but you need a steel protector on the front tr robb does or use to do them for the skan I’ve one my self great bit of kit
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Thanks everyone for your really interesting and useful comments. I agree accuracy is all important and as part of that objective, I was thinking that the pellet that retains more power over a longer distance would need less holdover at distances beyond my zero, less impacted by the weather and be more consistent. All of which would make me more accurate as a shooter. But maybe I'm just getting too nuanced about it all. Just set up targets at set distances and just see which pellets group better at all the distances. Still going to get a Chrono though and will look at all those suggested, so many thanks again.
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