Well I finally got my browning B92 Centennial back from the gunshop .I had them put a better front blade and rear sight.I went to the range with 2 differant ammo. I set up at the 50 yard mark.I set up my F-1 chronograph. The 2 ammo were Hornady 300gr XTP (1050fps) factory loads and the other was Federal American Eagle 240 gr 1180fps factory loads.I chronied 5 shots from the Federal ammo and heres what I got coming out of a 20 " barrel.Federals -1221,1274,1095,1080,1162. The Hornadys were 978,1079,835. I gave up after seeing these figures.Arent these way too low? I thought you pick up about 300fps on pistol ammo thru a rifle. AND look at the spread!! Its horrible.I know my chrony is accurate from testing other guns BUT I did have the B92 barrel about one foot to the first window sensor.Could it have been too close to the chrony?Maybe the blast and smoke gave erratic off readings? Anybody experience this? Oh yeah, I cant believe how much a 44 mag lever gun kicks,Im not happy abouy this either.I did manage to shoot a 2" group at 50 yards though but it was no fun! I love the looks of the gun and it functioned smoothly.The Hornadys should also have been a tight high quality ammo,but those 3 shots were also a huge spread.

Your first screen is way too close to the muzzle. I generally put them at 10 feet for handguns and usually 15 feet for high power rifles.

Ted has that right...but I don't think you're going to get a 300fps increase across the board....someting more in the line of 140-200fps would be more likely.

Yup, way too close. The shockwave from the muzzle blast can distort the light enough to trigger a sensor, let alone fire from the muzzle blast. Curiously, I've found that the .357 Magnum out of a 6" revolver is worse than a .30-06 rifle, and 15 feet is good and 20 fett is better.

Bye
Jack

From experience I can tell you that, like the other two posters, your chrono is WAY too close to the muzzle. Pretty well suprised you didn't blow it over during testing.

As far as recoil goes, you never realize what kind of power you are putting out of a hangun until you fire the same cartridge in a carbine.

I certainly would have put the darn chrony further up front .But at the range here in NY its not so accomodating and the benches we use are 4 1/2 ft long.So the gun and the chrony has to fit.Im going to have to ask the range officer if we can setup another bench in front but 10-15 ft is probably out of the question since thats already downrange! Man do I wish I live in the country!!!These suburbs suck! Has anyone here seen the increase in fps from a too close chrony ?Im betting on seeing at least 100fps more and probably higher.Yeah I could try and reload 44mags and download it a bit for pleasure.Or I could use 44 specials and up the power a bit.I really wish this 44 mag B92 was a 45 colt!Thats the handgun I shoot and its very pleasurable.

Can you find a good camera tripod for the Chrony? That's what I use. If it's a skinny tripod that you have to extend to the max, hang some weight on it. Velocity loss is around 1 f.ps. per foot of range, not 100 fps, so it's muzzle blast triggering the Chrony that's your problem.

Bye
Jack

What these guys are telling you is correct. Move the chrony out a little bit. I was using mine too close in the early days and found that particles of unburned powder will penetrate the plastic display cover if you're not careful. Ended up putting a piece of clear adhesive laminate over the display to extend life...it has held up so far. I have the F1 too and believe that it has an error code for low battery but have seen instances of erratic (unbelievable) velocities when the battery starts to run low. Usually starts to happen later in the session just like you'd expect.

You may be surprised at how much you can reduce your extreme spreads by making a cardboard stop and positioning it so your forend touches it for every shot. It surprising how much a forend stop helps trim these figures.

The .44 Mag. does kick with 300 grain bullets. Kicks hard enough with 250's!
My 21" TC barrel is so light with a Williams Guide reciver sight on it the forend has pulled through the barrel tennion and left the forend in my hand - TWICE! Even with a past pad you need to have your back straight to help handle the recoil. If you can, shoot standing up on a leaning bench or across the hood of a pick-up. There is a good reason you see savvy old timers like Elmer Keith resting a hard kicker like the .50 BMG across the roof of a sedan in old pictures. You can hoot all afternoon standing when five shots setting at the bench will make you hear your wife calling.

Thats a good idea.It was definately the muzzle blast. What I meant by the 100fps was not the loss from putting the F-1 10-15 ft out front but the error from my readings to what they could have been .I mean if a 44mag bullet is stated at 1180fps ,Im assuming that is for Pistols.For rifles with the longer barrels it should pick up 200-300fps more at least.And since I had the same trouble with my Colt New frontier and my reloads, those readings seemed low too.ID bet they should have been at least 100fps more.Anyway-- I will get a tripod.

Thats a good idea.It was definately the muzzle blast. What I meant by the 100fps was not the loss from putting the F-1 10-15 ft out front but the error from my readings to what they could have been .I mean if a 44mag bullet is stated at 1180fps ,Im assuming that is for Pistols.For rifles with the longer barrels it should pick up 200-300fps more at least.And since I had the same trouble with my Colt New frontier and my reloads, those readings seemed low too.ID bet they should have been at least 100fps more.Anyway-- I will get a tripod.

Factory loads, as they are, usually show something like 150-200FPS increase from a rifle length barrel... it's dependent on the powder being used. Reloaded ammo using slower powders usually gains a bit more, certainly the 300fps mentioned and in some cases a good bit more.

Even black powder .45colt gains about 300fps over handgun speeds (from a bit short of 900fps to a bit short of 1200fps).

Tripod is a good idea..so long as they let you put it down range. Has worked for me (a friend with a laser pointer is a help getting it lined up straight with the bench in one try).

I've merged these three threads as they're all on the same topic and by the same member. It helps keep things organized by replying to the original thread, rather than starting a new one.

Bye
Jack

You should be in the +1500fps range with hot 300s.

Marshall's 265s are my favorite for this rig, pushed to around 1680. They'll go front-to-back on any whitetail at open sight ranges.

The Centennial has the 'comfy' carbine butt shape. With the yet more stimulating crescent butt, it seems to help if you mount the gun firmly muzzle high (10 o'clock) and bring it down to the target. (Keep your finger out of the guard until target acquired, etc...)

It's a great plinking rifle with spl loads and it'll kill anything you can find at open sight ranges. It's a lot of fun.

of the B92 Centennial? What kind of velocitys could I expect?Seems theres 2 ways to address this hard kicker, reload for 44mag and downsize the power a bit ,or run 44 specials and up the power a bit for deer hunting.---Right?

I find it better to download the full-length cartridge (.44 mag) than to shoot the shorter (.44 special) cartridges. Seems to enhance accuracy and reduce leading. For my .44 mag rifle, I shoot 7 grains of WW231 behind a 240 gr. SWC bullet in the .44 mag case for mild fun/cowboy loads. Shoots about like a .22!

I haven't chronographed my .44 rifle, but with my .454 handgun and .454 rifle I found a 500 fps increase in velocity with the rifle over the pistol (30 gr. H110, 300 gr. Speer bullet) - 1950 fps vs. 1450 fps. I would suspect 300 fps would be abour right with your setup. As a side note, the .454 definitely has quite a kick in a rifle. Arm motion must absorb a lot with the handgun!

I have one of the Winchester-labelled Mirokus. I haven't seen much difference to earlier B92s.

fyi - Waters did an article on loads for his Centennial in Pet Loads for Handloader magazine in 7/83, which is reprinted in his Pet Loads tome.

I have not used any copper in the 92, only BTBs and cheap, bulk 240 swcs (and some 205swcs).

My notes say 6.0grs of HP38 with Bull-X 240s SWCs (cheapo) come out around 950fps. 6.5 grs come out a 1050 and are very accurate (3/4" - my favorite load) at 50yds. At 100yd, it's accurate, too, but I'm not as consistently good, happy to keep them in that squinty black spot yonder.

A little warmer, 18grs of H110 behind the same 240 plinking bullet is going 1500 and very pleasant to shoot - about the line for "shoot all day fun". Roughly equivalent is 21.5gr of IMR 4227. Nice load at 1455fps with the 240s

Found my notes:

The BTBs are terrific. 22gr of H110 and the 265 (270 actual)WFNs are my hunting load at 1680fps. I was a little disappointed not to top 1700, but it really is academic.

The 280 WFNs (285 actual) I pushed with up to 21.7gr H110 and 1650. The 300WFNs (300 actual) were not much slower at same level of H110 (my max for 300s) at 1630fps. Surpisingly little diff between weights with heavy loads.

These last heavy loads get your attention. Not too bad after you get used to them, but you remember that you have to wash your car after about 30.

Also, lead slugs should be about 50-75fps faster than copper.

I'd recommend the 6.5grs of HP38 with bulk semi-keith wadcutters in 240s for plinking and practice. (Genuine Keiths are a little long for the chamber, in my experience.)

The BTB 265 WFN with 22gr of H110 is my hunting load.

Its good to write down your point of impact/rear sight setting with each load. With 300s, I have zero as 3rd step for 50yds and 4th step for 100yds, etc. Helps to keep track.