RELOADING
PACT Professional Chronograph XP
The compact PACT XP chronograph clocks and computes for the serious handloader
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The chronograph is the fundamental tool used to determine (or evaluate, in our case here at G&A) ammunition performance. Every manufacturer of ammo uses one and publishes a muzzle velocity figure in feet per second for each of its loads. It is rare indeed to see factory ammo produce velocities higher than the catalog values, and it's therefore nice to be able to have figures for a given load that tell how it shoots through your own personal rifle. That's why a good chronograph is an important tool for shooters, and handloaders can't live without one.
Most serious shooters can benefit from having a chronograph available. Besides handloaders, target shooters need to standardize their ammo, and many of the Practical Pistol competitions require a competitor to use ammo that meets a minimum power factor (bullet weight times velocity). If you need to know velocity, a chronograph is a must.
The digital age has made useful chronographs both affordable and practical for any shooter with the desire to own one. The latest entry into the market is PACT's Professional Chronograph XP. (PACT stands for Practical Applied Computer Technology.) While a chronograph, in its simplest form, is nothing more than an electronic stopwatch, today's chronos are far more useful. The PACT XP prints out a tape with the velocity for each shot within a string, as well as statistical values such as average velocity and standard deviation.
Other handy information figures include IPSC Power Factor, energy, momentum and Taylor Knock Out Index. The Knock Out Index is basically a momentum calculation that is adjusted for bullet diameter. It was originated many years ago by John "Pondoro" Taylor as a "power yardstick" for African rifles, and many hunters still use it today in evaluating loads.
The XP also is equipped with a data port that allows you to download your chronograph's data into a computer at the end of a day's shooting. This feature allows you to manipulate data in ways that the chronograph cannot. If you are serious about your shooting, then good record-keeping is important, and this feature makes it possible to really organize ballistic information.
This new PACT chrono is of a conventional design in that all the important electronics stay on the bench with the shooter, and only the screens that sense the bullet's passage are out in front of the gun. Many new chronograph owners see those parts out in front of the gun and think some form of protection, like a steel plate, would be a great idea. Not so! At chronographing distances, the spatter from a bullet hitting a steel plate becomes a real hazard for the shooter and anyone else in the vicinity. You can get badly hurt that way, and it isn't worth the risk. (PACT offers new screen components for $5 in case you do actually shoot one.)
