Chronographs

What is a good inexpensive chronograph to buy? A friend told me if I see case or primer over pressure signs I'm already too hot. With a chrono I would no more about where I'm at without going too hot.

What is a good test for a bullet expansion at various ranges. I'm thinking phone books at 100 and 200 yard would tell me how a bullet will perform at that range. Only problem is finding enough phone books. Nobody uses phone books anymore.

The 260 grain accubond looks impressive in my 375 jdj case. Looks better than 220 sp. Range test is what matters though.

Yes, and no. But, a chronograph won't tell you either. Your gun, brass, primer, group, etc are the real measures. A chrony will tell you how fast you are going, but mere velocity doesn't gauge how "hot" you are. If I stopped where the book told me to my Max wouldn't shoot as great as it does, which is 1.1 grains over Hodgdon's published max and a good bit faster than it is supposed to be, no pressure ;-)

P.S. Shooting Chrony is a great bang for the buck.

They are fun to see what you have AFTER working loads. They tell you nothing about pressures or accuracy. All those other numbers you get only tell you if the burn rate is efficient.
You can find good numbers even if 1000 fps away from what the gun wants, bullet to twist fit and spin rate for that bullet.
Accuracy is never found by looking at those numbers.
All guns are different too, some slower, some faster with the same loads.
Some guys use them to try and reach book velocities even if they need to over load---just because, the book said so!
The best thing to do is get off the velocity kick, 100 fps more means nothing at all for trajectory and an animal has never felt the difference. Accuracy first so you can hit the animal.

I have two of the older Oehlers, and one Chrony. The Chrony is much more portable and works good.

For the .375 JDJ, the bullet usually recommended for the bigger game is the 270 gr. Hornady Spire Point, #3710. I have used that bullet to kill five bull elk and one cow elk; works fine.
Have not heard any on performance of the 260 Accubond in the .375 JDJ. It may be ok also; but that bullet was probably designed for the .375 H&H with higher impact velocities.

Deer,

I am in the camp that thinks a chrony is pretty imprtant for handloading, especially if you are reloading for more of the non-standard cartridges, like the 375JDJ. You should learn to read pressure signs on brass and primers, but especially when working with a cartridge that might be loaded in a Contender (I forget whether you are use a Contender or Encore) as the Contender is not a 60K PSI frame. They are very useful to help make the decisions about your reloads.

The Shooting Chrony as Gregg mentioned are very good units. Even the base models. I have a more expensive Pact as well, but end up using my Shooter Chrony most of the time.

The cheapest medium for testing is usually wet news print. Easy to pick up at your recycle center. Put the bundles in a large cooler or plastic tub, tie them loosly and fill up with water. Leave room for expansion, as they will expand. Do not get them sopping wet, just uniformly "moist". The thing with any medium testing is that it will not correspond to animals exactly. None will, even ballistic gel. The trick to using any is beter served as a relative guage when testing several bullets, or bullets at different ranges (velocity). Which bullets expand more or less. Do the jackets become separated? Do the bullets track straight? Lots of questions made a little more clear. There is no exact or science to medium testing, but you can get a good feel for possibilities.

Craig

I also use a chrony. It is adequate for my needs. I sometimes load for unusual calibers and wildcats for which there is not a lot of printed load data available. I also sometimes want to use a powder that is not listed for them. I find the chronograph is very useful when trying powders that are not listed and in evaluating different components.

430man made a good point. The chronograph will seldom assist you in finding the accurate combination. However, after I have found one with which I am comfortable, I like to know how fast (or slow) it is.

if ya have time to do all that stuff, they are great and make it that much more interesting. not a requirement, but a definate help in knowing whats going on with your loads, or just knowing velocity for expectations of bullet expansion or range etc.

a cheap F1 chrony is what i have/used. it tells what i want to know. mine came from EABCO. they used to have a fair price on them.

I also use the Chrony and I added the printer which is inexpensive and nice if your going to be shooting multiple calibers. It will do string avg, vel spread and several other cool things. Midway I believe still has them for around 100.00

I want to mention FYI word to the wise: A drawback of the newer all in-one-models like the Chrony is that a wayward shot may not just destroy the screens but could take out the whole unit, electronics and all!

I have a Competition Electronics "ProChrono" that cost me less than $100, I think $80, and has lasted several years. Easy to use and accurate. I usually chrono every new keg and bullet type/weight, so I've used the thing quite a bit.
Works ok in sun and more shady conditions.

Oh, and yes, sight that gun in BEFORE you chrono. Friend of mine fixed an old lady's Saturday night special and did not sight it in before chronoing. He had to buy a new chrono because the sights were off - you get the drift. I was right there and had a good laugh.