Garmin Xero C1 Pro Chrono - Tested, Accurate, and Simple

It’s no mystery, the Garmin Xero chronograph is the most badass piece of tech the hunting industry has seen in recent years. Garmin took a cumbersome tool, the chronograph, and made it easy to use even for a knuckle dragger like me. You don’t need to be a tech-savvy millennial to operate it, and you certainly don’t need to carry a bunch of equipment to erect an old-school apparatus that reads your muzzle velocity. It’s been well documented that Garmin made this unit simple, rugged, quick to deploy, and compact enough to fit inside any range bag. So is it accurate? 

Recently, we had a chance to set up the Garmin Xero C1 Pro alongside the Magnetospeed Sporter Ballistic Chronograph on the same rifle to compare the readings. For this comparison, we were shooting 300 Win Mag 200 grain Hornady ELD-X Precision Hunters, published with a 2860 fps muzzle velocity. As you know, diving into rifle ballistics and the many variables that are at play can get deep into the weeds. Worry not, this brief report will not be getting into those weeds. I’m here simply to tell you a few things about my experience with this nifty little unit after 3 lengthy days on the range. Furthermore, no opinions here have been paid for by Garmin. I paid for this unit myself with hard-earned money.

#1: Its differential is consistent when compared alongside the Magnetospeed. You can see from the 5 noted shots in the picture below that the Magnetospeed was consistently either 4, 6, or 10 fps faster than the Garmin Xero C1 Pro (We started having too much fun to note every shot. You understand) We saw this variation stay consistent across many more shots as well, upward of 25. More than 5 times within those 25 shots, both units read the exact same muzzle velocity. I’m no physicist, but it makes reasonable sense to me that even with those minor variances, having that consistency is reliable data to plug into your ballistic solver. More testing will be done, but so far, every adjustment I’ve made with several loads has resulted in an accurate solution in my calculators.

#2: The session summary provided at the end of your session is easy to read and understand. Not only is the setup as simple as choosing between two ranges of velocities, then placing it the correct distance from your muzzle, getting your min, max, standard deviation, and average speeds is hardly something you need to think about. The unit does the rest during and after your session. The way data is displayed gives you a very intuitive understanding of how your ammunition and rifle are performing.

#3: The battery life is more than sufficient, and the charge time is rapid enough to plug it in on the way to the range. Both times I’ve started a range session with a full charge and shot for over 2 hours, the battery was still at 25-40% charge by the end. Once I forgot to charge it the night before, and plugged it into my phone charger in the car. In a 45-minute drive, the battery went from 20% to just over 90% charge.

All in all, I’m very impressed with the Garmin Xero C1 Pro Chronograph thus far. This unit has only been with me for a couple of months, so time will tell how the battery, build, and performance hold up with time, but I’m confident it won’t disappoint. Stay tuned down the road for a much more in-depth comparison with other chronographs and many more bullets down range from our rifle authority, Colton Bagnoli. 

Price: $599.99