Having seen recent information on the Oehler System ’89, I thought I’d get a bit more out there for those that may have interest.
Disclaimer: I don’t work for Oehler Research. I’m good friends with Dr. Oehler and have used his equipment for many years. Any work I’ve done with Oehler Research has been voluntary. I’m not posting as a salesman.
I have wanted this technology for a long time. I volunteered my time and ammunition to do most of the beta testing on this system. I believe it is mature and works well.
What is it? - A system capable of giving very accurate Time of Flight and velocity measurements.
How much does it cost? - $2,985.00
Who is it for? - Those that desire to measure external ballistic performance of their system(s), particularly for ELR shooting.
Does it work in supersonic or subsonic range? - Either/both.
How far has it been tested? - 2 miles.
Does it require power? - It is battery powered and wireless between the gun and target units.
The Oehler System ’89 is not for everyone. You can go to the range and use Weaponized Math and get everything you need for shooting 100 - 1,000 yards. Nope, the ’89 won’t help you if that is what you want to do.
If you are not planning on shooting past about Mach 1.2 or if you are a rimfire guy and you don’t plan to shoot past 100 yards, it also probably won’t be of much help to you.
If, however, you are one of those that has made use of one of Bryan Litz’s excellent CDMs or PDMs, you probably could benefit from being able to measure future changes in your system.
I have run the ’89 simultaneously with Doppler Radar. When both are setup properly, they give the same avg. muzzle velocity and BC number for the range that the ’89 is deployed. The big difference in data is that radar gives you numbers for the entire flight of the bullet. The ’89 only gives you MV and a TOF to one distance. The TOF given by the ’89 includes the effect of drag over the entire flight. Make that distance the farthest you plan to shoot and use a drag function that is a good fit to your bullet and you have good data for everything in between.
A recent development is the community’s appreciation of SD of BC. We’ve understood for a while the importance of a low SD of MV. Little thought has been given to the SD of BC. Many people didn’t even consider that BC might change shot-shot and gun-gun. I believe the reason it has been ignored is that very few could actually measure it. Kind of like asking someone if they wanted to shoot over your chronograph and they would say “Why, the velocity is printed right on the box of ammunition”. That sounds funny today but I remember when it was a common response.
The Oehler ’89 will give you a velocity and BC number for every shot. It will give you an avg. and SD of both MV and BC for a group of shots. I’ve done a group as large as 100 shots.
Best part about SD of BC is that you don’t have to have a long range to measure it. For most centerfire cartridges, about 300 yards will do.
Want an accurate BC number to shoot far away? You must measure far away. Simply want to measure SD of BC? 300 yards is sufficient.
The ’89 will also give pure TOF measurements. That means you can run another type of chronograph to measure MV if you don’t want to bother with SkyScreens and long spacings. If you choose that route, you’d need to calculate the BC for every shot yourself. The ’89 includes a Stepped BC calculator that makes it pretty easy.
When measuring by bullet impact, MV, BC, AJ and shooter ability all play a part. Since the ’89 measures MV and BC and not impact location, none of those things influence the results.
No, it is not for everyone. Neither are chronographs. It is the first instrument I’m aware of that has this capability in this price range. The predecessor to this would do the same measurements but cost about $18k and was more difficult to operate.
The ability to measure TOF and, therefore, BC certainly answers some questions. The best part, though, is that it creates more questions than it answers. Want to know if modifying a bullet (tipping, nose ring, etc) helps with SD of BC? Yep, the ’89 will do that.
I always thought using a G1 for subsonic rimfire was the way to go. I tested the ammo at 100, 200 and 500 yards. I got different G1 numbers. I recomputed (don’t have to reshoot) under G7 and got the same number for all three distances. The G7 was the best fit over the velocity range of the subsonic ammo! Who would have thought that?
Imagine all the questions, and therefore answers, that will happen as more shooters gain this ability.
My hope is that this technology will advance our sport. If you believe posting this info on other forums will help, feel free to do so.
There are a few of these systems out there. A manufacturer of bullets that are well known in the ELR world has had a system for a couple of years. If you have experience with this system, I encourage you to add to the conversation with your thoughts.
Note to Mods: Permisison to post this was requested and approved by Lowlight.
Disclaimer: I don’t work for Oehler Research. I’m good friends with Dr. Oehler and have used his equipment for many years. Any work I’ve done with Oehler Research has been voluntary. I’m not posting as a salesman.
I have wanted this technology for a long time. I volunteered my time and ammunition to do most of the beta testing on this system. I believe it is mature and works well.
What is it? - A system capable of giving very accurate Time of Flight and velocity measurements.
How much does it cost? - $2,985.00
Who is it for? - Those that desire to measure external ballistic performance of their system(s), particularly for ELR shooting.
Does it work in supersonic or subsonic range? - Either/both.
How far has it been tested? - 2 miles.
Does it require power? - It is battery powered and wireless between the gun and target units.
The Oehler System ’89 is not for everyone. You can go to the range and use Weaponized Math and get everything you need for shooting 100 - 1,000 yards. Nope, the ’89 won’t help you if that is what you want to do.
If you are not planning on shooting past about Mach 1.2 or if you are a rimfire guy and you don’t plan to shoot past 100 yards, it also probably won’t be of much help to you.
If, however, you are one of those that has made use of one of Bryan Litz’s excellent CDMs or PDMs, you probably could benefit from being able to measure future changes in your system.
I have run the ’89 simultaneously with Doppler Radar. When both are setup properly, they give the same avg. muzzle velocity and BC number for the range that the ’89 is deployed. The big difference in data is that radar gives you numbers for the entire flight of the bullet. The ’89 only gives you MV and a TOF to one distance. The TOF given by the ’89 includes the effect of drag over the entire flight. Make that distance the farthest you plan to shoot and use a drag function that is a good fit to your bullet and you have good data for everything in between.
A recent development is the community’s appreciation of SD of BC. We’ve understood for a while the importance of a low SD of MV. Little thought has been given to the SD of BC. Many people didn’t even consider that BC might change shot-shot and gun-gun. I believe the reason it has been ignored is that very few could actually measure it. Kind of like asking someone if they wanted to shoot over your chronograph and they would say “Why, the velocity is printed right on the box of ammunition”. That sounds funny today but I remember when it was a common response.
The Oehler ’89 will give you a velocity and BC number for every shot. It will give you an avg. and SD of both MV and BC for a group of shots. I’ve done a group as large as 100 shots.
Best part about SD of BC is that you don’t have to have a long range to measure it. For most centerfire cartridges, about 300 yards will do.
Want an accurate BC number to shoot far away? You must measure far away. Simply want to measure SD of BC? 300 yards is sufficient.
The ’89 will also give pure TOF measurements. That means you can run another type of chronograph to measure MV if you don’t want to bother with SkyScreens and long spacings. If you choose that route, you’d need to calculate the BC for every shot yourself. The ’89 includes a Stepped BC calculator that makes it pretty easy.
When measuring by bullet impact, MV, BC, AJ and shooter ability all play a part. Since the ’89 measures MV and BC and not impact location, none of those things influence the results.
No, it is not for everyone. Neither are chronographs. It is the first instrument I’m aware of that has this capability in this price range. The predecessor to this would do the same measurements but cost about $18k and was more difficult to operate.
The ability to measure TOF and, therefore, BC certainly answers some questions. The best part, though, is that it creates more questions than it answers. Want to know if modifying a bullet (tipping, nose ring, etc) helps with SD of BC? Yep, the ’89 will do that.
I always thought using a G1 for subsonic rimfire was the way to go. I tested the ammo at 100, 200 and 500 yards. I got different G1 numbers. I recomputed (don’t have to reshoot) under G7 and got the same number for all three distances. The G7 was the best fit over the velocity range of the subsonic ammo! Who would have thought that?
Imagine all the questions, and therefore answers, that will happen as more shooters gain this ability.
My hope is that this technology will advance our sport. If you believe posting this info on other forums will help, feel free to do so.
There are a few of these systems out there. A manufacturer of bullets that are well known in the ELR world has had a system for a couple of years. If you have experience with this system, I encourage you to add to the conversation with your thoughts.
Note to Mods: Permisison to post this was requested and approved by Lowlight.
