Labradar?

[craigkim]

Anyone have or has used a Labradar yet?

I don't own a chronograph, but I have been borrowing a Chrony Beta Master. It works, but I have wasted so much time messing with it trying to keep it from getting blown over in the wind, trying to shade it from direct sunlight, trying to use it indoors, etc. Testing ammo is just a HUGE chore with it. This option looks awesome..... Mine should be here next week!

 

[ckcollins2003]

I haven't ever messed with a lot of chrono's myself. A buddy that I shoot with has a MagnetoSpeed and it is extremely accurate and reliable. If I were to spend that kind of money on a chrono, I would go with the MagnetoSpeed, as I know it works and works well.

American Rifleman has a review of the Labradar and says it's the best thing out there. For that kind of money, I would hope so...

https://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2015/12/16/review-labradar-chronograph/

 

[straight-shooter]

From the reviews I've heard some great things and not so great. Of course the positive is you keep it on the bench so therefor you can setup without disturbing others. It keeps the records on a mem card too so that's a plus since you can later review your shots on a PC. Also a optional battery pack if you don't want to use 6 AA batteries.

The not so great is other people shots can get recorded on it since it listens for a shot but I read they would almost have to be shooting at your target or real close to it. Also it has a hard time recording a suppressed rifle or a 22lr without the use of the optional microphone but some say it makes it even more sensative to others shooting.

I've been eyeballing this so please let us know first hand how you like it. It looks like a very viable piece of equipment to be had.

 

[craigkim]

I haven't ever messed with a lot of chrono's myself. A buddy that I shoot with has a MagnetoSpeed and it is extremely accurate and reliable. If I were to spend that kind of money on a chrono, I would go with the MagnetoSpeed, as I know it works and works well.

American Rifleman has a review of the Labradar and says it's the best thing out there. For that kind of money, I would hope so...

https://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2015/12/16/review-labradar-chronograph/

I had been looking at the magnetospeed for some time and had too many reservations about it to purchase one. I didn't like the reported POI shift since I really wanted to shoot for velocity and accuracy testing at the same time. In the past, I had tried to shoot over the beta master at a target, but that could be very frustrating for the aforementioned reasons. Later, I chose to shoot different loads for accuracy first and then save some of the ones that seemed good to put over the chrono. It took a LOT of time and was a hassle. It also meant that I needed to have more ammunition loaded to accomplish the same thing. In 458, for example, that was expensive. The other thing I didn't care for was the necessity of attaching the magnetospeed to the firearm. I am usually testing through 3 different firearms.... and then I wasn't sure how you put it on a 1911 with no rail? All in all, I am sure it is good, but it wasn't good enough to get me to cough up the $380. The Labradar is $170 more, but I think IF it works as advertised, it should make getting data a TON easier.

This reloading hobby sure is saving me money! (sarcasm)

 

[gopurdue02]

I own one and I am very happy with it. Of course, I am usually at the range by myself so I've never experienced the issue of picking up other shots and there speeds. My only grip is it struggles with suppressed guns. Often I have ro remove the cans to get shots recorded. Others then that it was worth it not having to deal with my pos croney

 

[ckcollins2003]

I had been looking at the magnetospeed for some time and had too many reservations about it to purchase one. I didn't like the reported POI shift since I really wanted to shoot for velocity and accuracy testing at the same time. In the past, I had tried to shoot over the beta master at a target, but that could be very frustrating for the aforementioned reasons. Later, I chose to shoot different loads for accuracy first and then save some of the ones that seemed good to put over the chrono. It took a LOT of time and was a hassle. It also meant that I needed to have more ammunition loaded to accomplish the same thing. In 458, for example, that was expensive. The other thing I didn't care for was the necessity of attaching the magnetospeed to the firearm. I am usually testing through 3 different firearms.... and then I wasn't sure how you put it on a 1911 with no rail? All in all, I am sure it is good, but it wasn't good enough to get me to cough up the $380. The Labradar is $170 more, but I think IF it works as advertised, it should make getting data a TON easier.

This reloading hobby sure is saving me money! (sarcasm)

I could definitely see the issue with using the magnetospeed on different firearms. It does take some time to set up and yeah, it would be pretty much impossible to set up on a pistol since you would have to wrap it around the slide. As for the POI shift, I was still able to hit a 2" plate at 100 yards with it attached, so I don't see that actually being an issue. As for the others though, hopefully that Labradar will work. After you drop the coin on it, let us know how you like it!

 

[padawan]

We use a Competition Electronics Pro. Only read the reviews on Midway about the Labradar so far but seems impressive. Again, buy once, cry once, but might be worth it.

 

[shibumiseeker]

First I'd heard of it and now really really want. Curse you OP!

 

[LeverGunFan]

I've used one for three ranges sessions. As noted, using the external microphone with rimfire ammunition at a busy range can be a problem, but it's easy to identify and delete the false readings. Shooting two different handguns in the same session, a .357 and a 44 Special, was a breeze, the Labradar only missed one shot at a busy range with another shooter in the next bay. It does take a bit of experimentation with cartridges that have a low muzzle blast, I was shooting a lever action in 32-20 and I had to re-position the muzzle closer to the Labradar so that the internal microphone would trigger properly. Once I did that, it registered most of the rounds fired. Probably more experimentation with the settings and location of the Labradar would improve it's performance, and I'm sure I'll learn more about how it works as I use it more. The big advantage of the Labradar is that it's quick and easy to set up at the range, and switching between firearms only requires at most a couple of button pushes on the Labradar.

 

[craigkim]

Finally got to use my Labradar on Wednesday. It was awesome. Super easy to use. I took it out to Atlanta, so I could only test it to around 15 yards, but the capabilities are impressive. I took velocity readings at muzzle, 5, 10, 15 yards just for fun to see them.

I had a few problems. When shooting my 300 blk with the Noveske KX3, the labradar refused to pick up the shot unless the muzzle device was about even with it on the bench, instead of being several inches forward of it. My firearms with brakes and my 9mm had no such issues. Made me think that the "internal microphone" operates more on concussive pressure than actual sound. I can't imagine it working at all for a suppressed firearm. The other problem is that it eats batteries. If you put it in the max power saving mode then the screen is almost never on and you have to keep turning the radar back on. I did not. I went somewhere in between and the batteries 6xAA only lasted about 2 hours. You have the option of attaching an external USB battery, so that is what I will do in the future.

I had about 8 different ladders (with 6-7 steps and of 5-10 loads each step) to test in 9mm and 300 blackout. The great thing to do would be to establish a different "series" within the machine for each load and then it would store them in order to review them later. It gives you all sorts of calculations for each series and can do so, because you enter the bullet weights.

Unfortunately, it was hot! It was 91 degrees, so I didn't spend a lot of time messing around. I pretty much just kept it on the same series and hand recorded on a piece of paper. If I only had a few different loads I would have made different series for each, but the bugs and the heat made me lazy, plus I was learning to use the machine. Again, ideally, you put in an sd card and you make a new series for each load, then you can hook it up to your computer and access the data on your desk top. Now that I have it narrowed down more, I will do this next time.

 

[LeverGunFan]

Your experience with low muzzle blast rifles seems to be the same as mine, where I had to position the muzzle of my 32-20 WCF even with the side of the Labradar in order for the shot to be recorded. Handguns do not seem to have that issue, as a 32 H&R triggered OK with the muzzle well in front of the Labradar.

I've used the default power management settings, so I try to be efficient in my use of the Labradar "on" time. For equipment this expensive, I use lithium batteries, so far they seem to be holding up well. If you can find them on sale, they run about $8 to $10 a set - not cheap, but I don't worry about the batteries leaking and damaging the Labradar.

The SD card will make use at the range much easier.... no need to take notes while shooting.