Earl J. Chronister Jr.

Last updated

Earl Chronister (November 2, 1924 - July 8, 2009) was the world record holder for the 1,000 yards (910 metres) shooting championship for over 20 years. [1]

He was born on November 2, 1924, in Dallastown, Pennsylvania to Mabel (Markey) and Earl J. Chronister Sr. Since 1952 he worked as an electrical contractor. After suffering a heart attack in 1965, he took up long-distance shooting in an effort to hunt at long range. [1]

Winning the state shooting championship in 1965 prompted Earl Chronister to get involved in researching long range shooting and testing bullets for the Sierra Bullet Company. He went on to win several shooting championships among them the 4.3 in (11 cm) world record at 1,000 yd (910 m) and the US Army's Mile-and-a-Half shoot held at Indiantown Gap shooting a .30-378 Weatherby Magnum. [1] [2] The world record was broken by his protegee Robert Frey of Airville in 1993.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Weatherby</span> American gun manufacturer

Weatherby, Inc. is an American gun manufacturer founded in 1945 by Roy Weatherby. The company is best known for its high-powered magnum cartridges, such as the .257 Weatherby Magnum, .270 Weatherby Magnum, .300 Weatherby Magnum, .340 Weatherby Magnum and the .460 Weatherby Magnum. The company's headquarters is in Sheridan, Wyoming.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.338 Lapua Magnum</span> Finnish rifle cartridge

The .338 Lapua Magnum is a Finnish rimless, bottlenecked, centerfire rifle cartridge. It was developed during the 1980s as a high-powered, long-range cartridge for military snipers. Due to its use in the War in Afghanistan and the Iraq War, the cartridge has become widely available.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.460 Weatherby Magnum</span> Rifle cartridge

The .460 Weatherby Magnum is a belted, bottlenecked rifle cartridge, developed by Roy Weatherby in 1957. The cartridge is based on the .378 Weatherby Magnum necked up to accept the .458-inch (11.6 mm) bullet. The original .378 Weatherby Magnum parent case was inspired by the .416 Rigby. The .460 Weatherby Magnum was designed as an African dangerous game rifle cartridge for the hunting of heavy, thick skinned dangerous game.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.257 Weatherby Magnum</span> Rifle cartridge

The .257 Weatherby Magnum is a .257 caliber (6.53 mm) belted bottlenecked cartridge. It is one of the original standard length magnums developed by shortening the .375 H&H Magnum case to approx. 2.5 in (64 mm). Of the cartridges developed by Roy Weatherby, the .257 Weatherby Magnum was known to have been his favorite, and the cartridge currently ranks third in Weatherby cartridge sales, after the .30-378 Weatherby Magnum and the .300 Weatherby Magnum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.375 H&H Magnum</span> British rifle cartridge

The .375 H&H Magnum, also known as .375 Holland & Holland Magnum, is a medium-bore rifle cartridge introduced in 1912 by London based gunmaker Holland & Holland. The .375 H&H cartridge featured a belt to ensure the correct headspace, which otherwise might be unreliable, given the narrow shoulder of the cartridge case. The cartridge was designed to use cordite which was made in long strands – hence the tapered shape of the case, which, as a beneficial side effect also helped in smooth chambering and extraction from a rifle's breech.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.300 Winchester Magnum</span> Rifle cartridge

The .300 Winchester Magnum is a belted, bottlenecked magnum rifle cartridge that was introduced by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company in 1963. The .300 Winchester Magnum is a magnum cartridge designed to fit in a standard rifle action. It is based on the .375 H&H Magnum, which has been blown out, shortened, and necked down to accept a .30 caliber (7.62 mm) bullet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.378 Weatherby Magnum</span> Rifle cartridge

The .378 Weatherby Magnum was designed by Roy Weatherby in 1953. Although inspired by the .416 Rigby, it is an original belted magnum design with no parent case. The cartridge features a high powder capacity relative to its bore size, and can hold upwards of 7.13 g of powder. This consideration prompted the Federal Cartridge Company to introduce the 215 Magnum primer specifically for this round. The .378 shares the double radius shoulder design found on the other Weatherby magnum cartridges.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.338 Winchester Magnum</span> Rifle cartridge

The .338 Winchester Magnum is a .338 in (8.6 mm) caliber, belted, rimless, bottlenecked cartridge introduced in 1958 by Winchester Repeating Arms. It is based on the blown-out, shortened .375 H&H Magnum. The .338 in (8.6 mm) is the caliber at which medium-bore cartridges are considered to begin. The .338 Winchester Magnum is the first choice among professional brown bear guides in Alaska to back up clients where a powerful stopping caliber is required on charging bears. It is also the most popular medium-bore cartridge in North America and has the most widely available choice in rifles among medium bore rifles. The action length is the same as a .30-06, and most major rifle manufacturers in the United States chamber rifles for the cartridge including the semi-automatic Browning BAR Mk II Safari, making it a very powerful combination against charging dangerous game. The cartridge was intended for larger North American big-game species and has found use as for the hunting of thin-skinned African plains-game species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.30-378 Weatherby Magnum</span> Rifle cartridge

The .30-378 Weatherby Magnum is a .30 caliber, belted, bottle-necked rifle cartridge. The cartridge was developed in response to a US Army military contract in 1959. While still unreleased to the public, the cartridge went on to set world records for accuracy including the first ten 10X in 1,000 yards (910 m) benchrest shooting. It is currently the highest velocity .30 caliber factory ammunition available.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elmer Keith</span> American rancher and handgun developer (1899–1984)

Elmer Merrifield Keith was an American rancher, firearms enthusiast, and author. Keith was instrumental in the development of the first magnum revolver cartridge, the .357 Magnum (1935), as well as the later .44 Magnum (1956) and .41 Magnum (1964) cartridges, credited by Roy G. Jinks as "the father of big bore handgunning." Keith was born in Hardin, Missouri, and overcame serious injuries that he had sustained at age 12 in a fire when he was living in Missoula, Montana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">7mm Remington Magnum</span> Rifle cartridge

The 7mm Remington Magnum rifle cartridge was introduced as a commercially available round in 1962, along with the new Remington Model 700 bolt-action rifle. It is a member of the belted magnum family that is directly derived from the venerable .375 H&H Magnum. The original purpose of the belted magnum concept taken from the .300 H&H Magnum and .375 H&H Magnum, was to provide precise headspace control, since the sloping shoulders, while easing cartridge extraction, were unsuitable for this purpose. Improved cartridge extraction reliability is desirable while hunting dangerous game, in particular when a fast follow-up shot is required. The 7mm Remington Magnum is based on the commercial .264 Winchester Magnum, .338 Winchester Magnum, and .458 Winchester Magnum, which were based on the same belted .300 H&H Magnum and .375 H&H Magnum cases, trimmed to nearly the same length as the .270 Weatherby Magnum.

The .300 Remington Ultra Magnum, also known as the .300 Ultra Mag, 7.62×72mm or .300 RUM, is a 7.62 mm rifle cartridge introduced by Remington Arms in 1999. The .300 Remington Ultra Magnum is one of the largest commercially available .30 caliber magnums currently being produced. It is a beltless, rebated rim cartridge, capable of handling all large North American game, as well as long-range shooting. Among commercially produced .30-caliber rifle chamberings, the .300 Remington Ultra Magnum is second only to the .30-378 Weatherby Magnum in cartridge-case capacity.

The .264 Winchester Magnum is a belted, bottlenecked rifle cartridge. Except for the .244 H&H Magnum and .257 Weatherby Magnum, it is the smallest caliber factory cartridge derived from the 2.85 in (72 mm) Holland & Holland belted magnum case. It was introduced in the late 1950s and early 1960s with the .338 Winchester Magnum and the .458 Winchester Magnum as one of a family of short-cased 2.5 in (64 mm) belted magnum cartridges developed by Winchester based on the .375 Holland & Holland parent case. It was officially introduced to the public by Winchester in 1959. After many years of dwindling use it began enjoying a mild resurgence in popularity in the mid-2000s among long range rifle enthusiasts and reloaders due to the high ballistic coefficient of the heavier 6.5mm bullets and increasing popularity of cartridges such as 6.5mm Creedmoor, .260 Remington, 6.5 Grendel, benchrest and wildcat cartridges in 6.5mm.

The .300 Lapua Magnum (7.62×70mm) is a rimless, bottlenecked, centerfire cartridge developed for long-range rifles. The parent case of the .300 Lapua Magnum is the .338 Lapua Magnum necked down to a smaller caliber. The .338 cartridge case was selected to withstand high chamber pressures. Combining these high pressures with smaller, lighter bullets than its parent case, .300 Lapua Magnum loadings have high muzzle velocities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.300 Weatherby Magnum</span> Rifle cartridge

The .300 Weatherby Magnum is a .30 caliber rifle cartridge created by Roy Weatherby in 1944 and produced by Weatherby. It has become the most popular of all the Weatherby cartridges.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.270 Weatherby Magnum</span> Rifle cartridge

The .270 Weatherby Magnum was the first belted magnum based on the .300 H&H Magnum to be developed by Roy Weatherby in 1943. The cartridge is short enough to function in standard-length long actions with a brass length of 2.549" or 64.74mm and an overall length of about 3.295".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.340 Weatherby Magnum</span> Rifle cartridge

The .340 Weatherby Magnum rifle cartridge was introduced in 1962 by creator Roy Weatherby to fill the gap between the .300 Weatherby Magnum and the .378 Weatherby Magnum, and in response to the .338 Winchester Magnum released in 1958.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.375 Weatherby Magnum</span> Rifle cartridge

The .375 Weatherby Magnum (9.5×73mmB) is a medium-bore rifle cartridge. The cartridge is blown out, improved and provided with the Weatherby double radius shoulder – given the Weatherby treatment – version of the .375 H&H Magnum. Unlike other improved versions of the .375 H&H Magnum like the .375 Ackley Improved, the .375 Weatherby Magnum is not a wildcat and existed as a proprietary cartridge until the CIP published specifications for the cartridge.

The .465 H&H Magnum also known as .465 Holland & Holland Magnum, is a modern big bore firearms cartridge. It was introduced by Holland & Holland in 2003 together with the .400 H&H Magnum. The .465 H&H Magnum is a .468 caliber, belted, bottleneck cartridge. The cartridge is a necked-up, shoulder-lowered tapered cartridge based on the .378 Weatherby Magnum case.

The .500 Whisper or .500 Whisper Short Belted is a subsonic rifle cartridge developed by SSK Industries for use in suppressed rifles. It is capable of firing a .51 caliber bullet weighing 750 gr (49 g) at roughly 1,050 ft/s (320 m/s).

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Earl J. Chronister Jr". York Daily Record. July 10, 2009. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
  2. Simpson, Layne (January 2011). ".30-378 Weatherby Magnum". Rifle Shooter. Palm Coast, FL: InterMedia Outdoors. Retrieved 23 November 2012.

External sources

Chronister's Passion Lead to His Record