A chronograph is a really important piece of kit for airgun shooting, and the NateChrony is a great option as it’s compact, easy to operate and sensibly priced.
There are several reasons for needing a chronograph, the main one for sub-12ft/lb airgun shooters is checking that your airgun’s power remains within the legal limit when changing between different ammo. A chronograph is also an essential item for airgun tuning, enabling you to see exactly how adjustments made to your airgun affect muzzle velocity, power and consistency. A chronograph is also handy for simply checking the muzzle velocity, power and consistency your airgun produces with different ammunition when choosing between different pellets or slugs.
The NateChrony 2.5 has a recommended retail price of £140.95 and comes in a choice of colours – the one features here is described as black aluminium. It is very compact and would be no trouble to stash in a kitbag or toolbox. It weighs just a shade over 80g, is 90mm long – 110mm with thread adaptor fitted – and is just 30mm wide.
This little chronograph comes in a cardboard box, in which you will find a pouch to keep it in, an alternative muzzle thread (most shooters will probably only need the standard half-inch UNF), a little screwdriver for swapping out the muzzle threads and a USB lead. Also inside the box are a couple of QR codes which you can scan to get connected and up and running in a matter of seconds.
Below top: The NateChrony attaches directly to your airgun's muzzle.
Below bottom: The chronograph comes with useful extras including a screwdriver and alternative thread attachment.
The NateChrony mounts to the muzzle of your airgun via the thread you would use to attach a silencer and there is even a clamp available that lets you use it in conjunction with a silencer if you want to keep your power testing quiet. The supplied connectors make for quick and secure attachment with excellent alignment.
If the connection on your phone fits the lead that comes with the NateChrony, you can plug straight in and you’re away. The chrono uses the phone as a power source and also as its display. My phone didn’t fit the lead but that wasn’t a problem. If that’s the case, all you need to do is connect the NateChrony to a power bank via its USB port and then pair it with your phone via your wifi settings. It is very easy.
I really like the fact that there is no messing around installing apps and no data sharing, and the whole system is very simple to operate. As previously mentioned, if the NateChrony doesn’t automatically take you to its page, you just need to scan the QR code on the box.
Below: A quick scan of the QR code on the NateChrony box gets you up and running.
I don’t like tech that’s complicated to use because it can really spoil the shooting experience – using the NateChrony couldn’t be easier. Open the menu and select Setup and you can set pellet weight, choose from metric or imperial measurements and give your profile a name. You can even choose whether you want a voice to give you an audio notification of the readings as you take each shot.
Choose Shoot from the menu and you’re ready to start shooting and recording muzzle velocity and muzzle energy data. Apart from seeing your shot strings, you can also see minimum and maximum velocity and power for each string, standard deviation and spread. All the info is there and, if you choose Shoot Data from the menu, you can even download it for sharing or printing. Saving and clearing data is very straightforward and you can also choose to view it on a graph.
Below : The NateChrony enables you to read shot string data on a table or graph.
Apart from being easy to use, the NateChrony is also very accurate. The menu gives you the option to calibrate to your own chrono, but the unit is already calibrated against Nate’s master chronograph and is accurate to within 1fps at 1000fps, so you know the readings you get will be reliable.
Also, because this chronograph is muzzle mounted, it is impossible for there to ever be any variation in the distance between its sensor and the end of your barrel. Keeping that distance and angle constant plays a huge part in getting consistent and accurate readings, and you just can’t get it wrong with this setup.
NateChrony also make a Steady Shot chronograph, this is a training tool which can also measure muzzle movement and I believe the standard model can be upgraded to the same specification. I imagine that most shooters will be content with the standard version, which I think is brilliant and hasn’t missed a single reading in all the hundreds of shots that I have fired through it.
I really can’t fault the NateChrony when it comes to choosing a compact and accurate chronograph for airgun shooting. It combines a simple and very effective means of measuring and recording muzzle velocity and muzzle energy with the convenience of a muzzle mounted chronograph and does exactly what it is supposed to with minimal fuss.
VITAL STATISTICS
NAME: NateChrony v2.5 Ballistic Chronograph
SUPPLIED BY: John Rothery Wholesale
RETAIL PRICE: £140.95
LENGTH: 90mm
WIDTH: 30mm
WEIGHT: 80g
ACCURACY: Within 1fps at 1000fps
AVAILABLE FROM: ihunter.co.uk
MORE INFO: NateChrony
Article first published 22nd May 2025
