Have you ever tuned up your bow and wondered if it was worth it, or did you actually make things worse? How about the time you added those speed noc's that everyone raved about and thought that they didn't work. Maybe its time you invested in a chronograph. I will be reviewing a well known chronograph on this gear review. The manufacturer is "SHOOTING CHRONY", and I am reviewing the BETA MASTER CHRONY. Access to a chronograph is essential if you are going to have any Idea of what effects the changes to your setup are making.
I like to tinker with my equipment and try to get the most from it whenever possible. A chronograph is a must whenever a change is made. It instantly will tell you whether you have improved your setup or not, and in many instances you have not. Today's chronographs are an inexpensive tool that any serious archer or shooter should not be without. They operate on a 9 volt battery so they are completely portable and are compact enough to easily be transported to the range or wherever you shoot. With prices starting at $84.95 US OR $127.43 CANADIAN They are affordable to all of us.
The BETA MASTER CHRONY is accurate and reliable. It can store up to 60 shots in 6 strings of 10 shots each, The display module can be taken home and turned on to access the day's data .Operation at night or in low light is possible with the light kit provided with my test model. This chronograph will accurately measure speeds from 30 to 7000 feet per second and it has a 3 year warranty. It is upgradeable to add more features at reasonable prices. All Shooting Chrony models are able to be used for archery, paint-ball BB guns to hi powered rifles or muzzle loaders. It will measure the speed of wood arrows, carbon or aluminum as it works on light transmission not magnetic fields.
One popular misconception that archers and bowhunters have is that you can rely on a manufacturers claim when they market an accessory that promises to give you more speed ,like the popular speed balls .These do work and they work well if they are placed on the right spot on the string. When in the wrong spot, which can be as little as a 1/4" from ideal they can actually slow down your bow. A shooting Chrony will instantly tell you what speed you are shooting allowing you to move these speed balls, speed noc's etc. to that sweet spot and get the performance you paid for. Guessing at best as to where to place these usually results in a loss of speed.
Other instances of when a chronograph is needed are when changing arrow types, brands, fletching or broadhead weights. All of these affect how your bow will perform. Without the use of a chronograph you just don't know what changes are happening and if you are getting the improvement that you paid for. The ability to synchronize your cams and get the performance that is there for the taking is not possible without knowing what happens when you add some twist to your string or cable. I recently tested some custom strings and without a chronograph I would not have been able to setup my bow to achieve the potential that these custom strings provided. When first Installed out of the package they were no better than the factory one they replaced, which had also been tuned with the help of a chronograph, however they came to life when I started adding some twist to the cables which soon proved that when properly adjusted they were in fact a much faster string. This would have been impossible to know without the chrony to show how much speed I was gaining with each change.
I shoot 2 types of arrows ,and they are different weights. This would be a guessing game without a chronograph. A scale allowed me to match the overall weight of each type but I still didn't know what the speed of each was. I simply shot a string of each type thru the chrony and checked the average speed of each string .This allowed me to know that I was shooting at the same speed while one setup had 100 grain points and the other had 125 grain points. Shooting at the range targets confirmed that I had the same point of impact and energy calculations were now accurate.
After adding a metal loop to my string I decided to chronograph the setup. This particular product claimed to not cause any speed loss. The results were conclusive. This loop cost me 12 Fps. It now has a permanent place in the bottom drawer of my bench. Without a method of checking we are only guessing and sometimes guessing wrong.
Whether you shoot a bow or rifle a" SHOOTING CHRONY" is a must have inexpensive tool that will benefit you for years to come. It is reliable, compact ,and easy to use .I recommend the SHOOTING CHRONY as a very good product line that is needed by anyone that shoots. By being informed you are able to make informed decisions about your sport.
PETE WARD
