Range, velocity, and ballistic coefficient. If you know these three pieces of information you accounting for bullet drop is essentially effortless. For decades, this was a complicated system of guess and check. Nowadays, the BC is listed on the box, and chronographs and rangefinders are cheaper and more accurate than ever. Some of the most accurate and convenient chronographs on the market are made by Magnetospeed. The Magnetospeed Sporter is their entry level model, but the performance it offers is far from basic.
Specifications
The Magnetospeed Sporter is the simplest offering from Magnetospeed. According to magnetospeed, their chronographs are accurate to within 0.5 percent of the velocity. This means that your accuracy reading will be within 15 fps for most hunting cartridges. In a 6.5 Creedmoor shooting a 143 ELD-X this translates to a maximum error of 4 inches at 1000 yards. This is less than the shot to shot variations produced by normal factory ammo. Pretty impressive.
Magnetospeed advertises the Sporter for barrels between 0.5 and 1 inch diameter and muzzle devices less than 2.7 inches. Additionally, the Sporter model is designed for use with centerfire cartridges. On the other hand, I rarely take a manufacturer at their word, more about that later.
Ease of Use
In the field, the Magnetospeed Sporter was very easy to use. Initially, I exercised caution, concerned that by improperly setting up the chronograph I would accidentally shoot it. It turns out that those fears were unwarranted. Set up is very easy, with a simple strap and tightening screw allowing quick attachment and removal of the chronograph. Try as I might, I was unable to get the chronograph to get in path of travel of the bullet.
Also, set up was simple and intuitive. Simply plug the chronograph in and you are ready to go. For one, the sporter only has a single button. However, unless you are adjusting the sensitivity setting it is as simple as pressing the button once and letting the readout rattle off the stats. The Magnetospeed Sporter was consistent and accurate in getting a reading and automatically calculates average velocity, standard deviation, and extreme spread for a given string.
Testing Magnetospeeds Claims
On the box of the Magnetospeed Sporter it specifies that the chronograph is for centerfire use only and that it only works on barrels up to one inch. These claims proved to be the rare case of a manufacturer underselling their product. The chronograph had no problem accurately getting readings off of a 1.2 inch bull barrel. Additionally, the Magnetospeed worked perfectly on a braked short barreled 243 Winchester.
While getting a read off of a rimfire bullet was a bit more challenging, a bit of tweaking got accurate readings from standard velocity 22LR. First, the 22LR necessitated using the skinner of the two rubber buffers provided. Second, I turned the chronograph to its highest sensitivity.
After those two changes the chronograph accurately measured the muzzle velocity. These velocities were verified by stretching the 22 LR out to 225 yards. Anyone who has shot a rimfire past 200 yards knows that without accurate velocity estimates it becomes impossible to score hits at long range.
An interesting effect of shooting with the Magnetospeed was a significant change to the point of impact. For some rifles this change was very significant. On one rifle, it shifted the point of impact over 2.5 inches! This means that while the Magnetospeed is useful for gathering velocity data, it should be removed for load testing and target practice.
Competitive Options
Next, let’s look at what some of the other options on the market are. First off, light based chronographs are very common. These chronographs come with an attractive price tag. On the other hand, they are not as accurate as the Magnetospeed. Furthermore, they are prone to struggling to provide readings in certain weather conditions. Finally, they have the nasty drawback of occasionally becoming and incidental target and needing replacement.
In contrast, the other common type of chronograph on the market is radar-based designs. The most common to my knowledge is the Labradar model. Candidly, I do not have any first hand experience with one of these units. However, the reports I’ve seen indicate that the Labradars are excellent when they are working but can be finicky to get set up. Another issue is that they sometimes pick up others shots on public ranges. Additionally, the Labradar costs over double the cost of a Magnetospeed, for a similar level of accuracy.
Closing Thoughts
In summary, the Magnetospeed Sporter is an easy to use, accurate chronograph. It was able to measure larger barrels and rimfires in spite of manufacturers claims to the contrary. Of note, there is an often significant shift of impact when attaching the chronograph to the barrel. Apart from this drawback, the Magnetospeed is excellent. If you don’t need to measure the velocity while doing load development or target practice, the Magnetospeed offers strong accuracy and excellent value.