Anger Management

So this last weekend I decided not to blow a gasket when my Competitive Edge Dynamics Millennium 2 chronograph once again gave me absolutely nothing of worth. This was my 5th range trip using it without a reading at all, or at least an accurate one. When I got my third reading of 85osomething fps from my 308, I tried my 1911 with handloads and got 600 something, so I went ahead and did myself a great big favor and calmly dismantled the device with accurate fire from my pistol.



If they weren't so expensive, I would probably buy a dozen more for this purpose as it worked pretty spectacular as a target; at least, way better than it does as a chronograph. As I had said before, from all of my research on chronographs, the sensor/screen technology is very primitive, and when you chose one brand of chronograph over another, you're not buying better electronics so much as you're buying features. The sensors are going to be the same.

Checking out this post on LongRangeHunting.com forums told me what to expect from CED's customer service, which appears to be lacking. I wasn't interested in a $72 refund check for my troubles, and I also decided that I wasn't getting duped for another $90 for the IR screens only to have to build a "black box" to make a supposed reliable piece of equipment perform as it was intended to without it. In my experience, Competitive Edge Dynamics builds their chronographs out of the finest snake oil, and perhaps I should have seen it coming. From their website:

Expanded digital chip design now gives the CED M2 the ability of reading velocities at much lower light levels. On clear days, this means the ability to chronograph from early morning till almost sunset.

Close to sunset is when my Shooting Chrony Beta and Competition Electronics ProChrono would start to give errors, so this is the line that sold me for the most part. The M2 gave me errors the first time I ever took it out, which was in the late afternoon, so the above line is bullshit.

I also did research on gun forums to find out what the general consensus was, but apparently didn't look hard enough. I also could have scrolled down on CED's information page to find an extensive list of reasons why their shit chronograph won't function. Caveat Emptor - buyer beware: if you have to do a "flashlight test" on a product that costs twice as much as the competition just to see if the fucking thing is even working, you have been shammed. I offer you evidence now about this piece of equipment with the hopes that somebody looking into chronographs will know what to expect. If my words aren't enough, take a look at what you can expect at 3 o'clock in the afternoon while out testing loads on the range:



This could be you , sports fans! See all those "e" marked down? Those are errors. Also, actually shooting these loads that I tested at range showed the velocities to be over 200 fps faster than what the chrony was reading; gravity doesn't lie. Now you know and can make your choice. For me, I'm going to buy another $80 Shooting Chrony Beta model to put in my range bag, and later buy an Oehler 35 when I have the fundage. And for the time being, I'm on a jihad to expose all the pathetic pieces of gear out there with reviews and posts like this one.