I have somewhat of a checkered history with chronographs. You may be familiar with the drill: setup the chronograph, try and work with the lighting you have, possibly setup supplemental lighting, and then try to avoid shooting the chronograph gates (don’t ask me how I know this). Given the right conditions, light/shadow type (conventional) chronographs can work great- but they can also be difficult to use, and can take a *long* time to setup.
Then I tried a MagnetoSpeed Chronograph while the 6.5 Guys were visiting my property. Wow! I could get used to this I thought. So I decided to try the latest and greatest from MagnetoSpeed: the top-of-the-line MagnetoSpeed V3, and the economical MagnetoSpeed Sporter. In this article, I’ll give an overview of the MagnetoSpeed Sporter: from unboxing, to setup, to shooting with an AR-15. Let’s get straight into it!
With the MagnetoSpeed Sporter chronograph, you’ll get everything you need to start chrono’ing your ammunition. Here’s what comes with this chronograph:
Specifically, the following is included:
- Bayonet sensor with integrated cord (3.5′ long, 3.5mm headphone-style jack)
- Display unit (includes 9V battery pre-installed)
- Thick and thin pads (for small profile and larger profile (up to 1″ diameter) muzzles
- Slip-together case (it’s very compact)
- Quick reference and instruction sheet (laminated)
To illustrate just how compact this setup is, here’s a picture of the MagnetoSpeed Sporter next to my S&W 6″ model 629 custom 44 Magnum:
So far, this chronograph has been 100% functioning meaning it hasn’t missed a single shot, and measured velocities are in the proper range (no bad readings from what I can tell). I really do like how quick you can get setup, and the ability to “shoot freely” without the worry about missing shots, lighting conditions, or hitting the chronograph with bullets.
If you are looking for an affordable alternative to conventional chronographs that will take up minimal space in your range bag, check out the MagnetoSpeed Sporter! I’ll be shooting a lot of bullets across this sensor, and as I mentioned, I’ll also be using the MagnetoSpeed V3 here starting very soon as well.
Any of you out there shooting with a MagnetoSpeed chronograph? Please drop a comment and share your experiences!
Thanks,
Gavin
i have used the sporter for about 1 yr. now. i like it a lot because the set up is easy & its compact. but i don`t like the menu`s and how you arrive at getting the information from the electronic read-out. the display is very hard to understand with all the abbreviations in the very small window to look at. i wish they would have made a bigger screen set so there could have been full wording.
i would have paid more money for it!!!
Thanks Mike for sharing your experiences. The V3 has a bigger screen- I’m looking forward to trying it out (and the data logging!)
Excellent video as usual, thanks, Richard
Thanks Richard!
Could they possibly make one that you could use a cell phone as the display?
I use the MagnetoSpeed V3 and it has a free app (XFR for Android or iOS) that allows you to read the data. It doesn’t replace the computer, but does allow you to send data from the field in the form of a CSV file simply by hitting the envelope icon.
So, while this isn’t a display per say, it does allow you to get the data off the device and into other apps, or send to excel. Pretty fun to play with.