Caldwell Ballistic Precision Chronograph Premium Kit with Tripod - Accurate MPS/FPS Readings for Indoor & Outdoor Shooting | Perfect for Range Testing, Reloading & Ballistics Analysis

I do a lot of testing for my hunting setups and up to this point, was exclusively using a Caldwell G2, which I also bought on Amazon.Besides recording your numbers via Bluetooth, the ORIGNAL chronograph (this one) is head and shoulders above the updated G2.Not only is the original Caldwell more accurate (though they claim it's the same processor), it is more consistent.The G2 will give you lower figures indoors , despite multiple attempts at lighting changes. The original just needs the sunshade light turned on, and that's it.My G2 will now be going in the garbage where it belongsThe unit display only gives you last shot velocity. All other data requires that you have your phone connected, an added nuisance. My old chronograph had all the funtions on board. This is like you are getting half a chronograph.Had to wait for a couple of weeks for the rain to stop and Finally got out to a friends house today 5/18/22. Weather overcast and mild breeze, 64 degrees. New battery installed. the chronograph registered the first 3 shots then went 12 with error 3 message. I tried turning on and off, realigning the chronograph, connecting and reconnecting the iphone, double and triple checking the level condition. Checked iphone settings several times. Out of 30 shots I received 5 readings. I burned all my loads which I was testing for velocity and future loads. Very disappointed. The tripod is very flimsy and you must be very careful with it. We'll see how the company backs the product. I have gotten a response. The phone support was terrible. But in the defense of the company I DID get a written response by email same day. I've upgraded the Chronograph today as I was able to get it to work today. Also I was able to receive a written response from support. Perhaps the connection from the unit to the Iphone XR was the issue.I don't usually leave 5 star reviews because most products don't really live up to 5 star expectations. This product does. Remembering that this is on the lower end of the price scale and the number of lower starred reviews, my expectations were not all that high. But in researching chronographs this Caldwell was very much liked by the independent reviews I was able to find and not being able to afford several hundred dollars for a high end chrono, I took a leap and was pleased to land on solid ground. First off, the shipping. I have prime so I knew it would be free. It was well packed in a box with padding to protect the product box inside. I expected it to show up late today (Tuesday) or maybe even tomorrow (Wednesday) since I ordered it on Sunday afternoon. Much to my surprise when I got home yesterday in the early afternoon (Monday) there it was, sitting on the front porch waiting for me. In case the way I listed the days is confusing, it arrived in less than 20 hours from the time I ordered it. Now that is fast shipping. On to the product. It comes in a surprisingly nice cloth case which looks fairly stout and should last a while. The instructions were simple and clear and I was able to be ready to shoot through it in less than 30 minutes. The battery compartment has a space for a spare battery which will be mighty handy in the future. Kudos to Caldwell for thinking of that one. All the listed parts were there and everything fit together like it is supposed to. Of course I have already tested it out with three different rifles, a bb gun, an airsoft gun and a bow and arrow. Consistent readings all the way down the line. I had previously tested one of the rifles on a big heavy expensive chrono that a nearby club has and there was only 1 fps difference between this one and the professional one. Not bad. I am one of those slightly off center people that play around with muzzleloaders and this will be invaluable in determining correct loads for the different shooting situations that muzzleloading presents in a lot less time and much less waste of black powder, which has gotten a bit pricey over the last few years.The one consistent comment throughout the reviews was about the tripod and I have to go with the consensus on that one. The tripod is pretty spindly. It is very light and doesn't seem like it can hold up even it's own weight and if I was using this with any threat of wind, I would think real hard about staking it to the ground to prevent the whole rig from falling over. But that one thing was known before I ordered it and given the low cost of the kit, I am happy that they threw in a tripod at all. The last decent quality tripod I bought cost more than this entire kit. As for how long this is going to last, well I will have to revisit this review after a while to report on that, but for now, I am completely satisfied and would recommend this to anyone that wants a quality chronograph and doesn't have the spare bucks around to get into the professional arena.I bought this to help in developing handloaded ammo. It is not very stable. A light breeze blew it over and bent one of the shade rods. It would only read about half the shots so not very consistant. If you buy this, I hope you don't need replacement parts. That bent rod took 3 months before I got an empty package because they packed it wrong and the rod poked through and got lost somewhere. First impression was it looked great and I had high hopes because of the Caldwell branding but soon turned to disappointment. My 30 year old Chrony outperformed this easily.At the heart of the package is the chro itself. The item is an old and trusted design and it works well, giving good consistent results. Do be aware that whilst the item you receive will be 'new' it may be old stock, (mine was QC dated 2009!)The unit is a bit 'crappy' on the build front, but will serve fine providing you don't use it as a hammer. On a more positive note, the lighting strip that comes with the premium model works well; I have reliably chronographed shots at night without issue, which is a real bonus if you shoot late on or come those early winter sunsets.As for the 'extras'... well... the tripod is trash... and I have ditched it, preferring instead to clamp the unit into a pig-saddle fitted to a set of Primos trigger-sticks... ten times better.The App... well now... as no 'modern' smartphone has a headphone jack you'll need an adapter and even then it isn't a simple case of 'plug & play'. You will need to go into the settings menu on your mobile, open the App and allow it access to the phones camera, files etc etc. there are a few videos on YouTube that you can turn to for assistance. Providing you can get the phone to run the App, then once it's functioning it's great... but it is fickle and half the time I sod it off and just write down the shot string results myself in my dope book, (which is perfectly fine).The unit is a clear improvement over the standard 'folding' version, which I was using until I managed to put a WMR round through the back of it a few weeks ago ?.All in all, I like it and would happily recommend to anybody looking for a reluable bit of kit at a budget price.Hope this helps.With the Chronograph linking via cable to your mobile phone, you enter into the phone app the details of how far the Chronograph is from your rifle muzzle. You enter the ballistic coefficient and the mass of the bullet in grains and the app is able to work it backwards to your muzzle to obtain the exact velocity. An excellent package.Looks great and very good price but I have not used yetI was using this for nerf blaster modifications, and was told to only get the version with the lighting kit, as even on cloudy days outside, it will have issues, and inside not work at all. The extra $ for this premium kit I feel more than covers the useful extras included, being the tripod, lighting kit, and carry bag, which has walls for each piece. I've been using this daily, and it has been perfect. The only error readings I get are from not shooting straight across both sensors, so it functions flawlessly to date.As long as you don't need super consistent results, this chrono isn't too bad. I use it mostly for archery and it was just ok. It gives you a pretty good idea of arrow speed, but it's far from precise. I was typically seeing 3-6 fps differences using the same arrow. I upgraded to a ProChrono DLX and the biggest variance I've seen is 1 fps.In short, if you just want a general idea of arrow speed, the Caldwell will work fine. Just don't expect precision.