Chrony of Truth

The place to discuss ammunition, reloading, ballistics, loads, and chamberings.
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Netpackrat
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Chrony of Truth

Post by Netpackrat »

I've had a new Chronograph for a while now, but just started playing with it recently. Mostly for testing my handloads, but I've also started testing a few factory loads so that I will have some benchmark of comparison for what to expect out of MY firearms, rather than trying to compare my results with figures out of some book or what is printed on the box. I'm hoping that others will chime in on this thread with velocities they have measured, along with information about the guns they used to collect the data. I'm mostly looking for data on factory loads here; handloads should probably go in their own threads.

10mm Winchester Silvertip 175 grain JHP
Glock 29, 3.78" barrel (factory barrel)
[strike]MV 1117 fps, average of 10 shots, chrony 5 feet out.[/strike]
This one really surprised me, since Winchester claims 1290 fps out of a 5" barrel. I'd be really interested to see some actual chrony data out of a full length barrel. My 180gr XTP loads are over 100fps faster, and don't exceed manual data. I'm probably going to reevaluate using the Silvertips as my carry load based on this data. Update: This data suspect due to possible operator error.

.380 Federal Hydra-Shok 90 grain JHP
Kel-Tec P3AT, 2-3/4" barrel
[strike]MV 901 fps, average of 10 shots, chrony 5 feet out.[/strike]
About what I expected out of the short mouse gun barrel; my 90gr XTP handloads were within 6 fps of these. I'll have to take the Sig P230 out next time to see how they do out of the longer barrel. Update: This data suspect due to possible operator error.


.308 Winchester PMC 150gr FMJ
Saiga .308, 16" barrel
MV2466 fps, average of 5 shots, chrony 10 feet out.
About what I expected from a full power cartridge out of a carbine length barrel.

I also took my CZ-52 and some Winchester white box but one of my handloads left a case mouth lodged in the chamber, which brought my testing to an end. The earliest I expect to get back to the range will be a couple weeks from now, but I'll hopefully be adding some more data here later on.
Last edited by Netpackrat on Sun Aug 14, 2011 10:43 am, edited 1 time in total.
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blackeagle603
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Re: Chrony of Truth

Post by blackeagle603 »

Say, that's decent velocity out of that Saiga. You have a hunting bullet in mind for it?

Going old school (Core Lokt or Silvertip) to get reliable expansion? Or something else in mind for higher penetration since you've got scary critters in the neighborhood?
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Netpackrat
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Re: Chrony of Truth

Post by Netpackrat »

blackeagle603 wrote:Say, that's decent velocity out of that Saiga. You have a hunting bullet in mind for it?

Going old school (Core Lokt or Silvertip) to get reliable expansion? Or something else in mind for higher penetration since you've got scary critters in the neighborhood?
Last week it put five 165 grain ballistic tips into 15/16 of an inch at 100 yards, but further testing suggests that may have been a fluke. I've got some 150 grain Sierra GameKings on order and I am going to try them. I'm also going to get a new mount for a different scope that I have, because I don't like the Russian scope I am using and I want to take it out of the equation The aforementioned group was the first one I shot that day, and after that it has shot like crap (like somebody turned on the suck switch). It's possible something came loose inside the scope, although the mount itself still appears tight. A couple years ago I tested some 180 grain federal factory soft points which grouped well under 2 inches. If it decides to group better with the other scope I may revisit the ballistic tips. On the other hand, I'd have to buy more since I shot the last of them yesterday, and the Sierra bullets are quite a bit cheaper than anything Nosler makes.

With a max load of BLC-2, the 165 grain BTs averaged 2490 fps.
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blackeagle603
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Re: Chrony of Truth

Post by blackeagle603 »

Any idea how far out can you go with that bullet and have enough velocity left for reliable expansion?
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Netpackrat
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Re: Chrony of Truth

Post by Netpackrat »

blackeagle603 wrote:Any idea how far out can you go with that bullet and have enough velocity left for reliable expansion?
Probably farther than I can hit with it. Dunno about the Sierras, but the concern with ballistic tips is usually whether they will hold together, not whether they will expand.

EDIT TO ADD: Link to my thread from a week ago on reloading for the .308 Saiga. I'd like to direct the discussion over there, and maybe keep this one clear for chrony data for factory loads.
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Combat Controller
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Re: Chrony of Truth

Post by Combat Controller »

Man, 6-7 years ago I ran tons of ammo through my chrony and posted it to Kim's site. Then it got hosed and I can't find my spreadsheets right now (or perhaps ever).

I did run ammo through more recently but mostly handloads. I did however run 10mm WST through several guns.

Each was 6 rounds fired temp 74 degrees elevation 498 feet above sea level

10mm Delta Elite 5" 175 gr
WST Low:1231 High:1272 Avg: 1255

10mm S&W 610 revolver 5" 175 gr
WST Low:1221 High:1258 Avg: 1233

10mm S&W 610 revolver 2 3/4"
WST Low:1152 High:1160 Avg: 1156

10mm S&W 646 conversion 5"
WST Low:1240 High:1244 Avg: 1242
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Netpackrat
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Re: Chrony of Truth

Post by Netpackrat »

Interesting. It's definitely closer to advertised out of the 5" barrel, but still not there. One detail that probably doesn't matter; I was also using this as an opportunity to rotate carry ammo, and depending on what box it came from, it was probably several years old (the box of ammo, not that I'd been carrying the same ammo that long). I've got some fresher stuff that I bought a few weeks ago, so I might as well give some of that a try too. I find your extreme spread numbers to be particularly interesting. I got 78fps between the low and high for the WST, and my handloads weren't much better at 72 for the 10.0 grain loads, and those were individually weighed charges using a digital scale and a trickler. Maybe my Chrony sucks too.
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mousegun
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Re: Chrony of Truth

Post by mousegun »

The amusing thing is that the factory ammo claimed velocities are usually a fair bit higher than what consumers usually get in real world use. 32 acp and 380acp's can show up to a 200 fps spread depending on ammo used and particular gun. More interesting though is what you can see with rifle ammo; some some claimed velocities are extremely optimistic.
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Erik
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Re: Chrony of Truth

Post by Erik »

mousegun wrote:The amusing thing is that the factory ammo claimed velocities are usually a fair bit higher than what consumers usually get in real world use. 32 acp and 380acp's can show up to a 200 fps spread depending on ammo used and particular gun.
I've heard that explained as they get those values with a standardized barrel with a bolt type action. It does causes problems in competition, because you cant be certain that the factory ammo will pass requirements when it's fired from your gun unless you chron it yourself, regardless of what the claimed velocities are.
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SoupOrMan
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Re: Chrony of Truth

Post by SoupOrMan »

The only thing I've run through my chronograph has been handloads, and I've gotten some wildly divergent numbers. Unfortunately, I've also gotten lots of errors because the lighting in the indoor range sucks. I've never been able to get completely reliable indoor results, even with the lighting kits. I'm tempted to grab my 600-watt work light and shine it directly on the sensors.
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