Magnetospeed Review
Jul 29, 2013 19:28:14 GMT -5
Post by Dave W on Jul 29, 2013 19:28:14 GMT -5
Got this review in a PM, courtesy of Harley. Thought some may be interested if shopping for a new chrony.
MagnetoSpeed V2 Review
Observations:
The chrony is packaged in a very nice, very light molded plastic case with fitted foam inserts. The various components can be seen if you follow the link, below:
www.magnetospeed.com/products/magnetospeed-v2-ballistic-chronograph
The instruction manual is clearly written and does an excellent job of preparing the new owner to use the chrony.
Preparation:
At home I assembled various combinations of rubber and plastic V-blocks and inserts to obtain the proper bayo (for bayonet) alignment with the muzzle of my firearm. Once done, I screwed them together for stability (screws supplied). I did read the manual and noted the options in the event that my chosen bullet was not detected by the sensors.
On the bench:
My firearm for this test was the Savage 10MLII, fitted with the .45 Pac-Nor barrel. It has no ramrod spindles. All my shots were loaded sabotless; if shooting sabots you would need to adjust the spacer stack for more clearance in order to avoid sabot contact with the bayo. I would guess it's a fine line between having enough space for the sabots to clear and still have the bullet pass close enough to register on the sensors.
I strapped and tightened the bayo to the barrel, plugged in the retractable cable, attached the other cable plug to the display unit (the second attachment serving as "on-off" switch), and set the display unit on the bench next to me for easy reading. The mounted unit looked bizarre, like a bayonet extending from the firearm’s muzzle. Once behind the scope, though, the unit cannot be seen and I soon stopped focusing on it.
When I fired, there was an instantaneous read-out on the display, none of the hesitation of an optical device. I fired a total of six fouling rounds and the display captured every one of them, simultaneously updating average muzzle velocity and extreme spread. Also displayed and updated were the string designation and shot number. The display automatically scrolled after each shot in order to show the latest information.
After shooting the six fouling shots I entered the menu with a single button push and clicked on "archive". That string was then saved to an included micro-sd card. Presumably, I can insert that card into the supplied adapter, then load it into a spreadsheet for further analysis. My own needs are more modest: I'll copy the data into my notebook. A new string was automatically readied.
I then fired three shots at my 100 yard target in order to confirm my confidence in the load; i.e., I noted the extreme spread and point of impact of those three shots. After removing the chrony from the barrel I spent the rest of my day shooting at various distances from 100 to 300 yards. After firing my group at 300 yards I re-mounted the chrony for additional point-of-impact shot comparisons at that same aiming point.
Discussion:
Unique to muzzle loading firearms, the MagnetoSpeed must be removed between shots because there is not enough clearance between the bayonet mount and the barrel to allow use of a short starter. Once familiar with the process, though, I could remove or reinstall it in less than 20 seconds. A muzzle loader with spindles might or might not require a work-around, depending on the location of the forward spindle. I think a worst case scenario could be solved by inserting a dowel into the spindles, then mounting the MagnetoSpeed around the barrel and dowel.
This was not a complete test of the chrony; what I did not do was to compare the points of impact at, say, 150, 200 and 250 yards with and without the mounted chrony. I did fire comparison groups at 100 and 300 yards. At 100 yards the point of impact was virtually unaffected by the mounted chrony; at 300 yards the point of impact was considerably higher with the chrony mounted. At 100 yards the group size was unaffected by the mounted chrony. I did not compare group size with and without the mounted chrony at 300 yards because at that distance other factors such as the wind would have introduced confounding variables.
Before purchasing the unit I read roughly a dozen owner reviews at various internet sites; they all agreed that the group size is unaffected by the chrony and that points of impact are higher at all distances when the unit is on the firearm. My own experience confirms those observations beyond 100 yards.
The V2 model will fit most barrel diameters by adjusting the stack of inserts.
Heavy muzzle blast will not scorch the bayo; once tightened on the barrel the unit does not shift from recoil.
The unit can be mounted or removed from a barrel (no muzzle brake) in less than 30 seconds; slipping the strap over a bulbous muzzle brake is more difficult, but can be done in about a minute. An alternative would be to remove the brake when attaching or removing the chrony.
I haven't tested it, but it is likely that the adapter stack will need height adjusting if the chrony is used on both a bull barrel and a slim barrel such as a number three contour.
Conclusion:
Pro: Compact all-in-one packaging, display unit capabilities, absolute recording reliability under all conditions (including overhead sun, fog/rain and absolute darkness) with no need to align an external tripod mounted unit, no sunscreens, no reqirement to measure muzzle to chrony distance and no chance of shooting the chrony or of errors resulting from a faulty pass over two sensors. No rifle-to-chrony alignment to reset for a shift in targets at varying distances.
Con: Vertical shift in points of impact when the chrony is mounted. The unit thus may be used in all external ballistic shooting to establish muzzle velocity as an aid in identifying the reason for a "flyer" or to determine a ballistic trajectory, but at any given distance (beyond 100 yards mounted on my rifle) final point of impact determination will have to be made without the attached unit. (It might be possible to construct a table showing by just how much the resulting chrony-influenced group would have to be adjusted in order to achieve the desired point of impact under hunting conditions, but I don't intend to work on that.) The unit can not be mounted on a semi-auto pistol or used in archery applications. If multiple firearms are to be shot at a single outing, it would be time-consuming to have to re-figure the insert stack, although a single stack configuration might well be acceptable for a given range of barrel diameters.
MagnetoSpeed V2 Review
Observations:
The chrony is packaged in a very nice, very light molded plastic case with fitted foam inserts. The various components can be seen if you follow the link, below:
www.magnetospeed.com/products/magnetospeed-v2-ballistic-chronograph
The instruction manual is clearly written and does an excellent job of preparing the new owner to use the chrony.
Preparation:
At home I assembled various combinations of rubber and plastic V-blocks and inserts to obtain the proper bayo (for bayonet) alignment with the muzzle of my firearm. Once done, I screwed them together for stability (screws supplied). I did read the manual and noted the options in the event that my chosen bullet was not detected by the sensors.
On the bench:
My firearm for this test was the Savage 10MLII, fitted with the .45 Pac-Nor barrel. It has no ramrod spindles. All my shots were loaded sabotless; if shooting sabots you would need to adjust the spacer stack for more clearance in order to avoid sabot contact with the bayo. I would guess it's a fine line between having enough space for the sabots to clear and still have the bullet pass close enough to register on the sensors.
I strapped and tightened the bayo to the barrel, plugged in the retractable cable, attached the other cable plug to the display unit (the second attachment serving as "on-off" switch), and set the display unit on the bench next to me for easy reading. The mounted unit looked bizarre, like a bayonet extending from the firearm’s muzzle. Once behind the scope, though, the unit cannot be seen and I soon stopped focusing on it.
When I fired, there was an instantaneous read-out on the display, none of the hesitation of an optical device. I fired a total of six fouling rounds and the display captured every one of them, simultaneously updating average muzzle velocity and extreme spread. Also displayed and updated were the string designation and shot number. The display automatically scrolled after each shot in order to show the latest information.
After shooting the six fouling shots I entered the menu with a single button push and clicked on "archive". That string was then saved to an included micro-sd card. Presumably, I can insert that card into the supplied adapter, then load it into a spreadsheet for further analysis. My own needs are more modest: I'll copy the data into my notebook. A new string was automatically readied.
I then fired three shots at my 100 yard target in order to confirm my confidence in the load; i.e., I noted the extreme spread and point of impact of those three shots. After removing the chrony from the barrel I spent the rest of my day shooting at various distances from 100 to 300 yards. After firing my group at 300 yards I re-mounted the chrony for additional point-of-impact shot comparisons at that same aiming point.
Discussion:
Unique to muzzle loading firearms, the MagnetoSpeed must be removed between shots because there is not enough clearance between the bayonet mount and the barrel to allow use of a short starter. Once familiar with the process, though, I could remove or reinstall it in less than 20 seconds. A muzzle loader with spindles might or might not require a work-around, depending on the location of the forward spindle. I think a worst case scenario could be solved by inserting a dowel into the spindles, then mounting the MagnetoSpeed around the barrel and dowel.
This was not a complete test of the chrony; what I did not do was to compare the points of impact at, say, 150, 200 and 250 yards with and without the mounted chrony. I did fire comparison groups at 100 and 300 yards. At 100 yards the point of impact was virtually unaffected by the mounted chrony; at 300 yards the point of impact was considerably higher with the chrony mounted. At 100 yards the group size was unaffected by the mounted chrony. I did not compare group size with and without the mounted chrony at 300 yards because at that distance other factors such as the wind would have introduced confounding variables.
Before purchasing the unit I read roughly a dozen owner reviews at various internet sites; they all agreed that the group size is unaffected by the chrony and that points of impact are higher at all distances when the unit is on the firearm. My own experience confirms those observations beyond 100 yards.
The V2 model will fit most barrel diameters by adjusting the stack of inserts.
Heavy muzzle blast will not scorch the bayo; once tightened on the barrel the unit does not shift from recoil.
The unit can be mounted or removed from a barrel (no muzzle brake) in less than 30 seconds; slipping the strap over a bulbous muzzle brake is more difficult, but can be done in about a minute. An alternative would be to remove the brake when attaching or removing the chrony.
I haven't tested it, but it is likely that the adapter stack will need height adjusting if the chrony is used on both a bull barrel and a slim barrel such as a number three contour.
Conclusion:
Pro: Compact all-in-one packaging, display unit capabilities, absolute recording reliability under all conditions (including overhead sun, fog/rain and absolute darkness) with no need to align an external tripod mounted unit, no sunscreens, no reqirement to measure muzzle to chrony distance and no chance of shooting the chrony or of errors resulting from a faulty pass over two sensors. No rifle-to-chrony alignment to reset for a shift in targets at varying distances.
Con: Vertical shift in points of impact when the chrony is mounted. The unit thus may be used in all external ballistic shooting to establish muzzle velocity as an aid in identifying the reason for a "flyer" or to determine a ballistic trajectory, but at any given distance (beyond 100 yards mounted on my rifle) final point of impact determination will have to be made without the attached unit. (It might be possible to construct a table showing by just how much the resulting chrony-influenced group would have to be adjusted in order to achieve the desired point of impact under hunting conditions, but I don't intend to work on that.) The unit can not be mounted on a semi-auto pistol or used in archery applications. If multiple firearms are to be shot at a single outing, it would be time-consuming to have to re-figure the insert stack, although a single stack configuration might well be acceptable for a given range of barrel diameters.
