It’s been a quiet couple of months at The Gun Rack, but not by choice. Unfortunately our website editing application has been on the fritz, only allowing me to publish one article in the last two months. However, we’re now back in the swing of things and raring to go.
Thankfully, in tinkering with the website, we have been able to fix other issues that have been bugging us for a while. We’ve found some of our missing photos, and also increased the speed of the site significantly – hopefully this makes for a much better reading experience for you all!
News of the day
We do have a backlog of articles coming up. Unfortunately I have drafts still sitting here regarding the Select Committee furore, but they seem less relevant as the conversation has progressed and shooters have become more aware of what is going on. Thankfully Nash and Bennett have regressed to more reasonable standpoints, ostensibly distancing themselves from Chris Cahill’s vitriol and flat-out dishonesty.
It’s hard to say what sticks in an election year, but if you need any convincing of what the landscape currently looks like, or if you want some facts on actual gun crime in NZ, check out Kiwi Gun Blog. This blog has recently jumped into the limelight, at a time when many shooters need a voice. Please make sure this doesn’t end up being something that’s only vocally discussed in shooting circles – make your friends and family aware. Also, we’ll all have differing opinions on the extent of the recommendations and whether or not they addressed the goal of the Committee. Don’t let this be a cause of in-fighting in the shooting and hunting community.
In other news
We do also have some exciting developments in the wings on some potential products we could be bringing in for NZ shooters. It’s early days yet, and we are waiting on the OK from the US government, so expect some delays. BUT, suffice it to say, we have not been sitting on our hands while the website has been quiet!
That’s all for now – please check in in the upcoming weeks for the latest hot off the press. Also, make sure to follow TGR on Facebook and Instagram to get your shooting fix.
Firstly, where the hell did March go? Between shooting events, reloading, work, and an overseas holiday, I can’t say there’s been very much time to write anything. However, I did make time to attend Precision Shooter’s inaugural PSNZ22 practical rimfire shooting event.
Remember that horrendous rain and flooding we had a few weeks ago? Yes, we were shooting in that. I have never shot in such wet and miserable conditions in my life – and it was great fun! Being RO for our detail of 6 also presented its own challenges in the rain (i.e. keeping scorecards dry – which didn’t happen).
The test shoot
I was lucky enough to be invited by Kerry Adams to the test shoot a month prior, where we shot the course and provided feedback for the competition proper. It couldn’t have been in more different conditions. I walked away dripping in sweat, and completely sun burnt, but having had a great time.
I shot the test shoot with my bolt action Norinco JW-15 in a Boyds Pro Varmint stock, topped with a 6.5-20 x 44mm Weaver 40/44. The stock was great, and I was glad I had a bipod, as I used this to lean on fences and obstacles (even when folded), which avoided damage to my rifle. I also used one leg folded out as a foregrip on the tank trap and barricade obstacles with great success.
Chris takes alternating left- and right-handed shots at the practice shoot, with the entire detail watching, Kerry videoing, and me taking photos. No pressure.
The scope was an interesting choice – but the only one I had on hand at the time. The course was not designed for taking wind and dialing elevation – it was designed for holding over and snap decisions. With a duplex reticle and capped turrets, I was going to have a hard time.
So, what I did was sight in at the range the day before at 75 metres, and figure out my drop to known ranges of 50, 75, 100 and 150 metres. I did this by firing a group at a target at the known distance, and then using the magnification to zoom in or out, until one of the posts lined up with the group. I then tested the holdover and it worked fine.
This was far from ideal as I shot 50 m targets at 20x and 150 m targets at 6.5x. The latter is fine, but shooting close targets at high magnification while moving around is pretty difficult.
If you have a FFP scope, or a reticle with drops that you know at each magnification setting, then a magnification range like this is not the worst idea.
The test shoot was a success, and we provided Kerry with our feedback, which we were happy to see was integrated into the final course. The feedback was around timing, clarity of course of fire, etc. In other words, exactly why you have a test run.
PSNZ22
The day of the shoot we all came prepared with wet weather gear, wondering if it would be called off. Spoiler: it wasn’t.
Although it absolutely bucketed down, we never got to a point where it would have been unsafe to continue. The only thing the rain affected was how we carried and covered our equipment and rifles, and again, the score sheets got soaked, but each team came up with a way to keep track of their scores.
I was highly impressed with my equipment. I shot with a different set up this time around. I had an HK 416 D145RS .22LR, topped with a Vortex Strike Eagle 1-6 x 24mm with AR BDC reticle. The HK, manufactured under licence by Carl Walther, stood up to some serious abuse. I had only shot it once prior, which was the day before, when I tested ammo and sighted in. After chowing through 300 odd rounds of eight different types of rimfire ammo, I found CCI Standard to shoot very well and Winchester Target 22 shot almost as well. Hey, if the best ammo happens to be the cheapest one tested too, who am I to complain?
Both of the above brands shot less than an inch at 50 yards, off a bipod, with the butt stock unsupported. The CCI was closer to 0.8 inches.
The eight types of ammo tested in the HK 416 .22LR, with CCI standard coming in tops, and Stingers throwing the worst groups.
I didn’t clean the rifle thoroughly after testing, but ran a bore snake through twice, with a few drops of Hoppes No. 9. Generally speaking I leave a rimfire rifle for 500 – 1000 rounds before cleaning the barrel (or as soon as I notice accuracy starting to drop off). However, with a brand new rifle I didn’t want to take the chance.
I missed my cold bore shot on the first target, which was extremely disappointing, as it was worth 5 normal shots. The gun walked on to target within 5 rounds as the match grade barrel liner leaded up nicely. I shouldn’t have run the damn boresnake through. The course was roughly 90 rounds over about 4 – 5 hours, and even though the rifle was exposed to pouring rain almost the entire time, it never jammed once. The blowback mechanism did a fine job, and the magazines held up well, feeding reliably, and remaining super easy to load, thanks to the tabs on the side which hold down the spring and follower.
The scope performed beautifully. The AR BDC reticle is designed primarily for .223 Rem ballistics, and lines up nicely with average loads. It’s also pretty good with a .308 as well. To use the .22LR I used the Vortex LRBC to enter the data for CCI Standard ammo.
I did a different reticle print out for each magnification setting, and confirmed these at the range the day before. For some shots I used the full 6x magnification, but for most I used the 4x, as with a zero at 50 metres, I had convenient holdovers at each hashmark that approximated 75, 100, 130 and 170 metres.
This scope was way easier to use, but again highlights the need to either know your magnification, ranges and subtensions, or use an FFP scope for field shooting.
The only equipment failure I had was when my rail-to-stud adapter crapped itself, and my bipod fell off on the tank trap stage. I was annoyed, but it didn’t slow me down too much, and really, the rest of the shoot went fine. I went into Serious Shooters the other day to get a replacement (turns out the hole in the stud was a bit low, and the radius on the stud a bit high/wonky). They sorted me out with another stud, so that’s all good for next time.
Thanks Auckland Isuzu for thinking of us poor shooters out there in the wet, and providing brollies to keep us dry (…ish). Image credit: Precision Shooter
The course was innovative and challenging, and kept everyone moving along at a reasonable pace. Some of the running stages highlighted how unfit we were, while the fine wording of the Course of Fire was tested by some of the more competitively natured among us. The obstacles and shooting parameters were a good test of skill, as shown by the vast range in scores at the end of the day. My advice – slow down. Finishing a stage with 15 seconds to spare doesn’t mean squat if you miss 4 or 5 shots (yes, that was me…).
The wet weather slowed us down a bit, but we reached the end of the course eventually. I came in around the middle of the field, which I was okay with, with a new rifle and a different style of shooting. As the scores were being tallied, the prize draws began.
Ridgeline had already provided every single shooter with a pack of goodies, including bright orange blaze gear for the ROs. In addition to these packs, they provided some awesome prizes too. The real draw card of the day was a Lithgow LA101 Crossover, which was done as a random draw. After the main event, shooters raided the table for swag from Ridgeline, Auckland Isuzu and Gun City (including $50 vouchers – thanks!). The Gun Rack proudly supplied some ammo as a prize.
The top shooters on the day were Hennie, Shane and Simon Gillice, with a tied first place, and only one shot making the difference between tied first and coming in third. If I recall correctly, all placing shooters used a bolt action rifle (I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure!).
There were some pretty interesting rifles there on the day. Image credit: Precision Shooter
The day was a great success, and Kerry and the team who put it on deserve all the thanks and congratulations they received. It was an excellent time, ringing steel in the rain with inexpensive ammo and lots of good banter. The pub afterwards was full of stories from the day, as well as general shooting chatter and hunting stories, as you’d expect.
Removing and disassembling the bolt of a Swedish Mauser is a pretty simple affair and may need to be undertaken for any number of reasons. Most commonly, you’ve picked up a rifle nearing a century in age, and there’s a lot of gunk and crap in there that needs to be cleaned out. The other scenario is that you could be modifying your bolt to cock on close, or reduce lock time with lighter materials and a stronger spring.
Hopefully if the latter is your reason for stripping a Mauser bolt, you’ve inherited or bought a sporter – there are fewer and fewer whole specimens left.
Below are a series of pictures showing how to disassemble a Mauser bolt (small ring, not a K98). If your bolt looks different, don’t fret. This is from a commercial rifle, not a military conversion. It has a blued finish and a bent bolt handle, which thankfully clears my Weaver 44/40 scope, thanks to an EGW 20 MOA rail. If you’re wondering how the extra height affects consistent cheek weld and sight lines, a Boyds stock with adjustable cheek rest helps out there.
Step 1 – Get the firing pin out of the bolt body
After checking the rifle is unloaded, close the bolt fully.Lift the safety lever into the upright position and remove the bolt without lowering the safety. You may need to remove your scope if the safety won’t clear it.The bolt shroud should easily unscrew from the bolt body now. Note the cocking piece is held under spring tension by the safety lever.The firing pin separated from the bolt body. Again, note the spring and firing pin are locked back – if you don’t do the next step carefully, the spring, cocking piece, and firing pin could separate with a fair amount of speed and force.
Step 2 – Separate the firing pin from the bolt shroud
Find a hard surface you don’t mind denting. Or, if you have an original stock with brass disc, you can use the indent for this step. With the firing pin against your hard surface, force the bolt shroud downward. The safety lever provides a good amount of purchase.Twist the cocking piece 90 degrees. At this point make sure you have a firm grip on the bolt shroud and firing pin, and slowly release the spring tension to avoid sending pieces flying.Fold the safety lever all the way over and pull it back to separate it from the shroud.Shroud, cocking piece, spring, safety lever, and firing pin.
Step 3 – Remove the extractor from the bolt body
Note the extractor sits in a groove just before the bolt face.Rotate the extractor about 90 degrees so that it exits the notch.Apply downward pressure with your thumb, as you slide the extractor forward. Remember this sweet spot, as you’ll need to apply pressure in the same spot to get the extractor back on.Getting this collar off is easy, but you will stretch it as you do so. A flat screwdriver can be used to pry it open if needed. Getting it back on once it has been taken off is harder, and a vice of some sort will be handy, as you’ll need both hands to get the extractor back on.When reassembling the bolt, getting the extractor onto the collar is probably the hardest bit. If you have locking pliers or a small vice, it shouldn’t be hard to slide the slot on the underside of the extractor onto the collar. Remember where you applied downward pressure to remove the extractor – this is the same spot you need to apply pressure to as you slide it back on.
From here on, the rest of the reassembly is easy, and is simply the reverse of the above.
Chassis systems have really come to the fore in the past few years, as tactical and precision rifle shooting has gained a larger following. Throw in lots of product innovation and modularity, and you’ve got a recipe for success.
There are three rifles that usually get the royal treatment, and have chassis built for them by most major manufacturers. Namely, the Remington 700, Savage 110, and the Tikka T3(x). The Howa 1500 usually features too. If you’re looking for a chassis for any of these rifles, you’ll have plenty to choose from. Having looked around the market, I decided to to give the TAC21 chassis a go.
The reason the TAC21 really stood out as a potential option for the build I was working on, was that the forend came off as a separate piece, but still had a continuous Picatinny rail. This was particularly important for me, as my Tikka T3 in 6.5×55 has a full over-barrel MAE suppressor that comes right back to the action. It has a 1.26″ OD and would need to be removed after every shoot to get gas residue and powder fouling off the barrel and crown. The TAC21 looked like it was up for the task – and it sure looked a lot easier than taking my rifle out of its standard stock every time I left the range.
The TAC21 by Modular Driven Technologies (MDT). Note the dimensions are for a Remington 700 SA. [Image credit: MDT]So, after deciding on a chassis, MDT offered us one to review. This is always a good sign – when a manufacturer stands by their products enough to let them out into the wild with reviewers! So, after customising my order on the MDT website, it was time to wait for it to be shipped to NZ.
The agony
Nothing is more painful than having a cool new toy come from across the world, and not knowing when it will arrive!
Compounding my dilemma was the fact that it was a Tikka T3 long action. This meant that standard AICS mags would not work, because of the shorter magazine port. MDT makes their own magazines, in metal. They are Cerakoted the same colour as the chassis too. Unfortunately as I placed my order, they were out of stock and back ordered, so I waited “patiently” as they made up some new ones.
When the rifle did arrive, I happily single-loaded for a while, until the magazines were ready.
However, this was all mitigated by the fact that MDT’s staff are perhaps the best human beings on the planet. I judge a company a lot by how they treat their customers, and MDT tops the charts in my books. The only other company that would share that rank would be Vortex. And when it comes to some of the really big bullet and component manufacturers, I can tell you, your concerns are right at the bottom of the pile with them.
You may think I received special treatment as a reviewer and that my experience is not really a true customer experience. Well, the first person I spoke to knew I was a reviewer – the other two people did not. So, I’m comfortable standing by the statement above.
The best day, was when I inquired after progress on the mags, and was told they were a few weeks out still. How was this the best day? The kind lady at MDT offered to send my entire order ASAP, and then expedite the magazines to me when they were available, at no charge.
To which I said ‘Yes’. Very much yes.
I really wanted to give this chassis a thorough testing, and I didn’t mind single-loading for a month or so if I had to. And I’m glad I did, as this gave me a chance to work through some of the unique aspects of the system, and also take it along to some cool events, such as the Long Range Fundamentals course with Kerry from Precision Shooter.
First impressions
I cannot overstate how excited I was when I opened my package from Canada. But I unfortunately couldn’t use it straight away, as I was sighted in and good to go for my first F-Class shoot. After I attended that shoot with the Franklin Rifle Club at 600 metres, I got home, stripped and cleaned the rifle, and got busy putting it into the TAC21 chassis.
The first thing I noticed was that the solid aluminium chassis and Skeleton Rifle Stock added a good deal of weight. This was ideal for my purposes (an F-Open build), where extra mass means more stability and less felt recoil. If you’re after a lighter chassis system, for more run-and-gun shooting sports, look at the LSS or HS3 chassis by MDT – many of the same benefits as the TAC21, but much lighter by design.
Assembly
I won’t go through how to assemble the product – it’s pretty easy, and there are step-by-step instructions included. There are also some Youtube videos out there if you’re a visual learner.
While I was putting the rifle together I immediately noticed a few points. This chassis is not carelessly designed. There are some very obvious cutouts and reliefs specifically for my Tikka, where a Remington or Savage would have a different layout (bolt stops, safeties, etc.). Instead of finding a way to cookie-cutter design this chassis, they designed it around the actions they wanted to house, and did so with a high degree of accuracy and utility in mind.
The safety is easily accessible, and there is nowhere for the bolt to hang up. The bolt stop/release has its own little slot in the aluminium housing (they provide a longer retaining pin for this), and there’s even a window cut into the side so you can see your serial number. That last detail impressed me as an extra little bit of thoughtfulness.
The MDT 300 WM metal magazines give you an extra 1 – 2mm to play with.
Other things to note… The Tikka’s free-floating recoil lug has just been upgraded for you. The chassis comes with a steel lug, that is far superior to the soft, aluminium one that comes standard on the T3. You’re also completely replacing your trigger guard and mag well, so this means you can’t use your factory mags. This is no problem though, as the factory magazines are always too small in capacity and never long enough to load out to the lands for you reloaders.
The MDT Tikka T3 LA magazines are solidly constructed out of steel, and designed for cartridges up to .300 WM. You can bend the feed lips to suit your round. I lightly bent the lips on my two magazines to get a grip on my 6.5×55 cartridges. I could have bent them over a bit more, but I found them tight enough that nothing would knock the rounds out unintentionally, and I could get 6 rounds per mag instead of 5. This is ideal for the F-Class shooting that I’ve been doing, where you shoot your 24 rounds in 2 details of 10 scoring shots and 2 sighters. This means only one mag change per detail, rather than the four mag changes I was having to do with the factory magazines.
The forend snugged up nicely to the body of the chassis – the offset screw holes helping to lock it in place. The rail on top truly was continuous, with perfect machining. The attachment of the forend is one of only two improvements I could think to make to this design.
The screw in the top rail could be hard to get to, depending on your scope/mount situation. I actually found I could just clear the scope with an allen key and remove the forend when necessary. Although most shooters would not need to remove this piece as often as I would, to clean under the full suppressor.
As I said – just enough space with my setup. Note the screw holes on the side for attachment of 1913 rails.
I would perhaps have done two screws on the diagonal sections between the rail (top) and the sides, rather than have the screw on top. I would rather have four screws to undo, than potentially have to take off my scope if I needed to work on the barrel exterior. However, I am no engineer, and aside from the extra labour and materials that would be required, I couldn’t tell you if my idea for fixing the two pieces together is anywhere near as good as the original design (in terms of robustness, etc.). So, a grain of salt and all that.
The other thing that I think would improve this design (for the Tikka shooters amongst us), would be replacing the bolt stop/release with an aftermarket one that sticks out further. It can be a bit finicky to get the bolt out, but certainly not to the point where I would say it is a flaw in the design. Just an area that could be improved – and perhaps this is an area for the end user to look at.
The Tikka T3 bolt stops differ from calibre to calibre. This allows to Tikka to produce a more uniform action, cutting down costs. I imagine it would be quite an undertaking to design, make and stock all of the possible options. However, if you look around, some machine shops and gunsmiths do make aftermarket versions out of steel or what-have-you, so it could be something to look at if you have fat fingers like me.
Breaking her in
This rifle has become my main centrefire rifle over the past few months, and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. I did have some frustrations at the start, and we’ll go through how to avoid these yourself.
Scope mounting. If you have a large objective lens (which you likely do if you want a chassis for your shooter), it will not clear the full-length rail on short or standard rings. Unfortunately my Vortex precision-matched rings were 1mm too short to clear the chassis, so I hopped onto the Optics Planet website and set about ordering a one-piece riser, to get some more height.
I was told the riser I wanted was considered an AR-15 part, and therefore couldn’t be exported from the US. Annoying, but rules are rules. They gave me a couple replacement options and I went with a pair of quick detach risers (ironic, as these seem much more suited to an AR, but anyway).
So, I mounted my Vortex Viper PST 6 – 24 X 50, and hit the 100 metre range at Waiuku Pistol Club. I almost cried. My rifle, which was shooting handloads into 0.2 MOA groups was now double grouping and doing just under 1.5 MOA. I felt sick to my stomach at the thought of having to do this review, with such a negative result.
After burning through around 50 rounds of pricey handloads, hearing comments like ‘shooter error’, I was ready to go home. I took the chassis apart to wipe the barrel down and noticed the QD riser at the front had worked loose, and must have been shifting back and forth a minuscule amount under recoil. Feeling like an idiot, but a hopeful idiot, I went home to reload some more rounds and hit the range the following weekend.
Thankfully I have a 2-inch offset cantilever ring mount, provided by Vortex for an upcoming review on their Strike Eagle scope. I switched this in and patiently waited another week to get to the range. With the cantilever mount, the centre of my scope now sat about 2.5″ above the centreline of my bore. Not a major problem, except this will accentuate any user error involving cant. I would suggest getting a bubble level to ensure vertical alignment to the target. If you’re into long range shooting, you probably have one already.
Thanks to Vortex I had an offset mount on hand. Note the height off the barrel.
Another almost negative was that I found the latch that secured the Skeleton Rifle Stock to the chassis to be very stiff. I spoke to MDT and sent them some photos, of where paint had scraped off the housing for the latch’s retaining pin, indicating it was having trouble camming fully over.
This tiny build up from initial use was making it difficult to connect the chassis and stock. It didn’t take long to sort it out though.
The MDT staffer said that a break in period could be expected, as the part was machined to tight tolerances to ensure a tight fit for the life of the rifle/chassis. He offered to send me another latch pin, free of charge, so I could polish down my current one, and use the new one after it had broken in. I said thanks, but no thanks. It wasn’t worth wasting their time and money if it was such a simple solution.
To ‘speed up time’ with my break in period, I gave the latch a couple hard taps with a wooden dowel and a rubber mallet. It now works perfectly.
The Skeleton Rifle Stock V4 is heftier than it looks, and features adjustable LOP and comb height. There’s also mounting points for a rail at the bottom, to attached a monopod.
Findings
The TAC21 is designed to take your rifle from factory to precision with very little effort. Bedding is one of the most important aspects of increasing the accuracy of a rifle, and MDT makes this easy. The action only touches the V-bedding in a few spots, and with incredible repeatability and sturdiness. The forend leaves your barrel completely free-floating, for any barrel less than the diameter of the action.
If I had started with an out-of-the-box rifle with factory ammo, I would have expected to see dramatic gains in accuracy. MDT claims up to 28% increase in accuracy, and I can believe that, looking at the design.
Taking an already accurate rifle and putting it into the TAC21 chassis system, what I was looking for was accuracy (repeatability of shot placement – not smallness of group size).
With scope now properly mounted, I was surprised to find there was hardly any POI shift from the 20 MOA Nightforce rail that was mounted to the Tikka action, to the 20 MOA rail integral to the action housing on the MDT chassis. It was literally a couple of clicks to get centre at 100 metres.
With factory ammo, I noticed accuracy was perfect. I had my doubts and expected I might get some shift in POI due to the optic being mounted to the chassis and not the rifle, but the repeatability was there. I had less than a full box of Norma ammo, so didn’t do too much grouping, but did notice a decrease in group size as well, by about 0.1 – 0.2 MOA, down to an average of 0.7 MOA.
Profile of the MDT TAC21 and Tikka T3.
My personal handload featuring Norma brass, 143 gr Hornady ELD-X projectiles, Federal Gold Match LR primers and ADI AR2208 powder (Varget) was just as repeatable.
As I mentioned before, repeatability was the test here, not smallness of group size. My handloads were tuned specifically to my rifle as it was, and this testing was done with the exact same load, with no further adjustment. It wasn’t shooting 0.2 MOA anymore, but it was shooting a consistent and repeatable 0.6 MOA.
Why did my handload group size increase, while the factory ammo groups decreased in spread? I suspect the bedding of the rifle worked its magic on the factory ammo, which is made to much lower tolerances than my reloads – and therefore could really benefit from the improved bedding.
I suspect my handloads increased in group size because the tension on the action has changed – almost double the torque to secure the action to the aluminium chassis, compared with the factory plastic stock. I imagine this has changed the harmonics somewhat. To reduce my group size again, I could either move my charge weight up or down a small amount, or I could play with seating depth.
Even at 0.6 MOA I was happy to take this rifle out to an 800 metre shoot, and it did quite well. Note if you use a rear bag, the inline stock will be higher off the ground, so you may need a bigger bag.
The latter is now a much more distinct possibility, as I have an extra 1.5mm of mag length to play with. I hope you haven’t got this far into reading this (fairly lengthy) article, and believe the increase in group size is an indication of negative performance on the part of the TAC21 chassis. As mentioned above, this is purely a function of my handloads being tuned to the rifle as it was.
With a bit more time to play around, I expect I’ll get this rifle back down to its 0.2 MOA capability, while enjoying the modularity of the rifle and ergonomic bliss that comes with having the action and butt stock inline. Just quickly, these are the features that I really like about the MDT TAC21:
V-bedding block for increased accuracy and decreased points of contact
Thoughtful design
Included recoil lug
Straight-line design to absorb felt recoil and decrease muzzle flip
Full length top rail – 20 MOA too!
Plenty of places to add a Magpul rail or two for your bipod, monopod, laser, printer, coffee maker, whatever…
Sling swivel stud included for bipods, but easily removable for rail mounted varieties
Excellent finish of hard anodizing plus Cerakote in your preferred colour – I had no marks on the stock after months of use, except for where the QD riser was loose on the top rail, and a couple points in the butt stock attachment area, that are not visible anyway when the rifle is assembled
Huge tolerance for barrel size, meaning you can have straight no-taper barrels, massive muzzle devices, whatever you want
Decent amount of weight for prone shooting and recoil reduction, but light enough to lug around a bit if necessary
It looks fantastic, and your factory rifle can play with the RPRs and HCRs and whatever else is on the firing line
Better magazine options
If you want any more convincing, head along to the MDT website and check out the customer reviews for this product. You will see exactly what I have experienced. Great product, fantastic service, and an all round improvement in your rifle.
Chronographs are getting more and more common in shooting circles these days, and you will likely see at least one on your next visit to the range. So what exactly do they do? Well, on a basic level, they tell you how fast the projectile you are firing is traveling once it leaves the rifle.
Why is this important to know? Well, a couple of reasons. Firstly, all things being equal, the more consistent speeds your projectiles travel at, the more consistent you groups should be (ignoring all other factors which contribute to overall accuracy). Secondly, and perhaps most importantly, by knowing how heavy our projectile is, how aerodynamic it is, and how fast it is travelling when it leaves the barrel we can accurately calculate the bullet’s trajectory over any given distance.
Ballistic Precision Chronograph G2 – A light operated chrono by Caldwell Shooting Supplies [image credit: BTI Brands]As a bit of background on me, having worked at several paintball fields over the years using chronographs to check the speeds of every paintball marker each time it entered the field, I can comfortably say I have spent more time using chronographs than most recreational shooters. I have also previously owned a radar chronograph and currently own a magnetic chronograph. That being said, I’m by no means an expert on the topic, and the purpose of this article is really to help those new to the topic understand a little bit more about these instruments.
What types of chronographs are there?
The first thing you need to know is that there are three main types of chronograph available to us as shooters; Light Chronographs, Magnetic Chronographs and Radar Chronographs.
I’ll try and explain a little about each below:
Light Chronographs
Light chronographs use a series of light sensors (usually two, but sometimes more) placed at a controlled distance apart in order to measure how long it takes for a projectile to break each of the light beams and calculate speed based on this. These chronographs are set up at a specific distance in front of the rifle or pistol on a tripod or bench (i.e. in front of the firing line, for those shooting on a range this may be a problem) and shots must be made in a way that breaks both beams.
Light chronographs are considerably cheaper to manufacture than the other types, and so can often be purchased for a reasonable amount. This type of chronograph is however affected by ambient light, so much so that even clouds passing in the sky may have an impact on speed readings. To get around this many manufactures create plastic hoods to help control the light above the sensor with varying degrees of success, but the same round is likely to show a slight variation day to day depending on conditions.
For this reason, light Chronographs are generally considered less accurate by nature than the other types available. This may not be an issue in reality however, as 10 or so feet per second variation between shots when you’re talking about 2800 fps is really quite minimal so may be fine for what many shooters require.
One thing I personally don’t like about light chronographs however is I find them hard to read. This is very much a personal thing and I’m sure 95% of people won’t have this issue, but I find trying to read a small LED screen that is 2-3 m in front of me, with a sun reflection, quite difficult. And because it’s in front of the shooting line I can’t just go up for a closer look. Some units do allow aftermarket screens to be connected which are either larger or sit closer to the shooter to get around this (just something to consider).
Having a screen at the shooter’s position makes life a lot easier.
Magnetic Chronographs
The second type of chronograph is a magnetic chronograph. These types of chronographs use sensors which produce magnetic fields and then measure metal projectiles as they pass through this field. These types of chronographs often mount to the rifle, or have a platform the rifle sits on when firing in order to keep a constant distance from the projectile as it passes.
The types that mount onto the rifle have positives and negatives, the positives are that the measurements are consistent and accurate as the chronograph and rifle move together it eliminates any error created by the shooter’s/rifle’s position repeatability, it also means that a shooter doesn’t have to go in front of the firing line in order to set it up, and this type of chronograph has the ability to register very fast strings of fire (i.e the ability to register and measure every shot on a full-auto AR-15 without skipping a beat).
If you’re going to shoot subs or cast lead bullets, don’t forget to adjust your sensitivity settings.
The negative is that you are strapping something to your rifle which has the potential to affect harmonics and adjust your point of impact. I will say I own a barrel mounted magnetic chronograph and have not had any change in point of impact as a result of using it and neither have many shooters I have spoken to. However, I have heard from some shooters who have had very slight point of impact shifts. This may or may not be a problem for you depending on your setup and requirements.
This type of unit may also be difficult to use on certain pistols, particularly those without rail mounts on their frames. One other negative is that solid lead rounds may be difficult to detect without sensitivity adjustment (jacketed bullets are fine), as lead has a very low magnetic field.
[Editor’s note: As long as you remember to adjust your sensitivity settings, you should be fine. I’ve used this type of chrono on subsonic (~950 fps) cast lead bullets with good success.]
Radar Chronograph
The third type of chronograph is a radar chronograph, and you guessed it – this type uses a radar (Continuous Wave Doppler) signal to project downrange and calculate the speed of the projectile as it travels through the radar wave zone.
The benefits of this type of system are that you set it up parallel to your shooting position, so there is no need to go forward of the shooting line. They also don’t touch your rifle, so have no possibility of impacting harmonics, and unlike an on-barrel magnetic chronograph, you set it up once per session and you don’t need to move it in order to test different rifles.
Some radar chronographs also give you the ability to set a tolerance range and any shots outside that range will be indicated by an audible ‘beep’ so you are getting instant feedback without having to monitor the output screen. The downside to this type is that they often struggle to distinguish between different shooters / projectiles as they pass through the radar waves. If you are at a range with people shooting next to you, it’s potentially not going to know whose shot is whose and may give you readings for the guys next to you, also. Some units have different methods of trying to prevent this, such as microphone triggers / built in software etc.
These units may also struggle to work in some shooting tunnels both due the their need to be set up near the shooter and project forward and also the radar wave “bouncing” off the tunnel walls giving false signals.
Test fire and choosing a chrono
Some recent basic testing we did using a magnetic chronograph and a light chronograph showed 6-7 FPS variation between the two respective readings for the same round, with the light chrono reading faster than the magnetic. With the speeds we were shooting this equates to around a 0.2% variation between the two units which I would suggest is more than accurate enough for most recreational shooters to know what they want to know.
How much you want to spend on a chronograph is up to you, as always there are cheaper and more expensive units out there, and what features you want will also impact price. In general, light chronographs start around $200 NZD for basic models and go to about $500. Magnetic and Radar chronographs start about $400 and go up to about $1000 depending on what functionality you want.
Some of the positives and negatives discussed above may or may not be applicable to you and how you intend to use it. Hence the cheapest light chrono may be fine for your purpose, or you may feel you need to spend $1000 + on a radar unit with all the bells and whistles. I would suggest if you’re looking for your first chronograph that you will probably use a few times a year to develop loads for hunting, then the cheapest light chronograph will likely tell you everything you need to know.
Just prior to Christmas I was lucky enough to get a call from a friend who told me he was helping out with an 8 gun competition shoot the following day, and would I be interested in entering.
I had no idea what an 8 gun shoot was exactly, but hearing there would be shooting out to about 800m involved, I was in! (Those sorts of distances don’t come up too often living in the city).
There was a reasonable entry fee, but I was also told I didn’t need to bring any ammo or guns as it was all covered in the entry fee. I was given directions to a private farm about an hour north of Auckland and told to arrive before 9am.
Ammo included, and trying out some new toys? Why wouldn’t you?
Arriving bright and early in the morning I was guided by a person in Hi Viz to a carpark area and told someone would be along to collect me shortly, after a few introductions with others in the carpark area, we all jumped in various 4wds and were driven to the staging area.
Still not really knowing what I was in for, the organiser Shawn gathered us all around and explained we would all be given a scorecard to carry with us at all times, as we rotated through 8 shooting stations throughout the day and would be scored by the range officer at each station.
A good result after a great day of shooting.
The stations were:
Shooting spinning targets at about 25m meters with a .22LR
Shooting a lever action .45 at falling steel plates
.338 Lapua at a series of distances out to just shy of 800m, and;
A 50BMG with incendiary rounds at an engine block at 300m
Each shooting station had a “range officer” in Hi Viz who explained the course of fire, helped where required, and scored each shooter.
With some 30-odd competitors, experience was varied from people who had never shot before, to those with substantial experience. This event catered for all. Even the locals from neighbouring properties were invited along and it was great to see them coming over and showing their support for such a great event. Some of the young ones also got a chance to have a shoot with the smaller calibres under supervision.
The day was about fun - and there was plenty of it.
Nice shooting!
Even the wee fellas got a go!
Shotgun station.
After a great day’s shooting and meeting some like-minded people, we were invited back to the house for a BBQ and informal prize giving.
The only thing better after a great days shooting than a cold beer and a BBQ was the awesome trophy I managed to score, winning the event!
Over all it was a great day out, and I would highly recommend it to shooters of all levels.
If you’re interested in attending the next one (planned for March 2017), contact Shawn at 77shawnking@gmail.com or 021 180 3823 to register your interest.
![The TAC21 by Modular Driven Technologies (MDT). Note the dimensions are for a Remington 700 SA. [Image credit: MDT]](http://www.gunrack.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/TAC21-R700-SA_DIMENSION.jpg)
![Ballistic Precision Chronograph G2 - A light operated chrony by Caldwell Shooting Supplies [image credit: BTI Brands]](http://www.gunrack.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/caldwell.jpg)
