Caldwell G2 Ballistic Precision Chronograph with Tripod and Rechargeable Battery for Shooting Indoor and Outdoor MPS/FPS Readings

10/18/2019 Just a foot note before I get started. First off you need to be smarter than the Tri-Pod. It works just fine for what it is built for, period. I will be back with my full report soon.So I went out in the backyard and tested some of my reloads. Per Hornady my fps should have had a MV of 1350 fps. The Caldwell reported the MV at 1524.I will keep testing and keep reporting. Also just received this last week but the plate on the unit is dated 2016, hmm11/08/2019 - Today I was able to spend 7 hours out in the backyard with my Caldwell and a Labradar Ballistic Velocity Doppler. Using the same firearm, load, powder and bullet I put the Caldwell to the test against the Lab. Even though I am not a big fan of Doppler, I am not in anyway a fan of the doppler to be honest, the results were not what I had expected. The fps were within 20 feet per second of each other and sometimes closer. There may have been some greater spreads but none that I had notice.I did notice that when the Caldwell was sitting idle while we were using the Lab, we would still get a ghost reading on the Caldwell. Strange to me but I am not all that smart in the first place. The distance between the two unit was close to four feet.The sky started getting covered with thick heavy gray clouds so I turned on the lights, shot five times and the only reading I got was "E2", Turned the lights off and the unit went back to reading the fps again.I really started out thinking that I was going to be throwing money out the window but no, I am very happy with this unit. I am super happy that I didn't spend the bucks on the Labradar. Which by the way, it used up it's batteries. Put brand new ones in this morning and it couldn't last through the day.The only part of the unit I dislike is the way it is made. Very flimsy and will fall apart easy. You must handle from the bottom and that can be a pain also. Could have made it so the top would snap together with the lower. Also I have a problem mounting the unit to the tripod without the unit wanting to collapse. Very bad design.Yes I do recommend with no hesitation.

I absolutely love this thing. I have used several chronographs in the past, and recently I had purchased the Deluxe Chronograph Kit from Caldwell but was having issues with it giving errors and misreadings. I sent it back to Amazon as defective (I was getting roughly 40 missed readings a minute when the IR lights were on, even when I wasn't passing anything through the screens...I'm guessing one of the IR light panels were bad and flickering, making it appear something was passing through the screen). Anyway, I decided to upgrade to the G2 and try it instead; I'm VERY glad I did. the rechargeable battery works great, and lasts 2 hours on a charge if you are using the lights, and much longer than that if you do not use the lights. The days I've used it have been dark and very overcast (actually I was rained out the first time I took it out), so not a lot of light to work with and the LEDs worked perfectly as intended. I love that it has bluetooth and can work work with the Caldwell App wirelessly. The App is actually really neat, you can download it and kind of check out how it works before buying the chronograph to get a feel of what it can do. In two full days of shooting hundreds of rounds through it, I got ZERO missed readings and ZERO extra false readings. I don't expect it to work that well, as I'd assume all chronos miss every now and again, but this one really exceeded my expectations. it comes with a tripod and carrying case too which is nice. Another great feature that goes unnoticed is the fact that it charges via a micro USB port. The reason that is great is you can buy those "portable power banks" designed to use on cell phones, and use it instead to power the chronograph. I use Milwaukee Power Tools, and they sell a "power bank adapter" (as does Makita and Dewalt) to convert their batteries into USB power supplies...using one of my Milwaukee M18 batteries allowed me to run this thing all day long with zero issue, and I had plenty of power to spare, so if you get a little creative, you can use this all day long without worrying about batteries dying on you! I cannot recommend this chronograph enough to anyone who is looking for a solid performer in any condition and wants the added convenience of Bluetooth wireless phone connectivity and rechargeable battery pack that can be also be powered by micro USB!UPDATE 4/5/18: I've owned this Chronograph for a few months now and have had it out a few more times since my initial review. I still give it 5 stars, but something I found that could use improvement is the tripod...it turns out it is very wobbly (head unit) on a breezy/windy day. the tripod itself has a hook on the bottom to hang weight from to keep it from tipping over (I learned the hard way!) but the head is so flimsy that it tilts and spins the unit fairly easily, even when the knobs are all tight (it's just flexible and cheaply built - the head of the tripod that is). The good news is it's easy to get a better tripod if you experience the same issue, but since this is dedicated to this task I may take all the adjustable features of the head of the tripod and eliminate them by epoxying everything together as one piece, eliminating the flimsiness and flex inherit of the design. I don't expect much better given the fantastic price point of the whole package, but just an observation I wanted to share with everyone.

I've been using this for a few months now and love the ability to bluetooth to my phone and get readings saved there. The app that goes along with this is pretty good... maybe not the most user friendly(I spent a while trying to find the settings to switch the app to use bluetooth), but the features are good. The app lets you save your loading information (in Notes) and save that with your recorded shot velocities. Then you can add a picture of the group and even have it measure the group for you. One issue is that I've noticed it's recorded velocities vary based on the lighting. That is I loaded some ammo in the morning and shot it shortly afternoon when it was really bright and I was getting averages of 2635fps or so. The same loaded ammo tested later in the day at like 5pm when there was no longer direct sunlight shining on the chrono (still bright outside), read an average of 2544. Those same shots later in the day were shot over another chrono at the sametime and read in the range of the 2635 as expected. So, if you shoot in different lighting conditions the results can be different even with the same ammo. So, I feel I can always get a good understanding of the SD of ammo, but if there's not the same lighting for each session, I can't compare strings from one session to another session.

Works very well, great accuracy (the chronograph, not me!) and the app worked no problems at all. I did have to manually set permissions for the app in android otherwise it would crash when trying to get the GPS location. When you get it working the app is fantastic, being able to save sets and attach a photo of the group if you want. The rechargeable battery is a cost and hassle saver too. The only downside is the tripod which is a bit flimsy, but does still work as Intended. Good carry case too.

Perfect, comes with everything needed right out of the box, including carry bag, tripod, and built-in led lights. Works in conjunction with the free Caldwell app for your smartphone (via bluetooth) for recording readings and providing instant analysis. Take a picture of your grouping and attach it to your results. Extremely easy to setup, place your phone beside you, pair it via the app, and get shooting. Sensors are placed on top reading down so powder burners need not worry about shooting low and blowing the electronics up. Works in all (or no) lighting conditions.Expect to do only one thing with the G2 and that is to shoot A LOT. No slow downs, no clunky cables, no fumbling with pen and paper, no hardware limitations on storing data strings, no cryptic read out codes or menus, and no expensive add-on accessories required (ie external display, printer, lights, etc). I did a run of 130 shots continuously with my Benjamin NP2 air rifle in very poor lighting conditions and encountered only 2 errors. This is truly a modern and innovative chronograph that is way ahead other brands. No doubt a chronograph is a must have particularily for any dedicated air gunner and the G2 is an easy choice at a very reasonable price. Highly recommended!Thanks Amazon and Canada Post, outstanding service! It was delivered in 1.5 days via free standard shipping (5-8d)

The product seems to work as advertised however time will tell if it is accurate, as a baseline has not been established by me yet.I was however not satisfied with the tripod supplied. The tripod supplied with this unit should be more stable and a bit heavier, feels like it would fall over in a slight breeze. I am considering using a photo type tripod as I feel the one supplied is inferior to the product.

Works great

very good product, affordable