Labradar Chronograph

[A-5_Guy]

Gents, I just wanted to pass along some personal observations of the Labradar radar chronograph. It's not a full blown review, as there are plenty of those on You Tube.

Picked this up from Midway USA for about $560, plus a carrying case and stand that added a bit more to the total. So far I'm really impressed with the unit. Navigation of the menus are fairly self intuitive once you figure out which button functions as the "back" button.

Pros:
- Don't have to go down range to set up - so you don't interrupt anyone, or waste your time waiting for the range to go cold
- Works in all light conditions
- Battery and USB power sources
- Can save and print off reports for shot strings via SD card. Can input pictures of groupings with load data on these reports
- No cords to trip over
- No "ticker tape" printing paper to get ruined by heat, water, etc.
- Can evaluate both chrono AND accuracy data of loads since nothing is attached to your barrel (as is the case with the Magnet technology chrono's - no effect on barrel harmonics)
- Was not affected by other shooters' muzzle blasts.

Cons / Limitations:
- There is a "v-notch" on the top of the unit that you use to sight your target. It's crude and not really effective. I taped a cut down straw on the top and it worked very well.
- I feel like at this price the unit should give you a drop card (I knew it didn't do this going into it). Although you can just input your data into a ballistics calc and your good to go.
- Cannot add to a shot string once you've created another one (knew this before hand, clearly stated in manual)

Overall, I'm really impressed with the Labradar. It's going to be very useful in the future as I build my library of load data.

Now for the good parts:







Anybody else using this type of technology? BIG upgrade over my 1992 PACT chronograph - but, that dinosaur does print drop charts!!! :hump:

 

[VikingsGuy]

I just bought one two weeks ago and LOVE it. Was tired of shooting loads for velocity and then for grouping (as I had to do with the MagnetoSpeed V3 I was using as it changed both POI and accuracy on my barrels). My only problem is that the sometimes I need to power down and then power up to add a new series - only takes 15 seconds, but a glitch hopefully they patch.

 

[N2TRKYS]

I’ve used one at the range that a guy had out. I prefer my Caldwell.

 

[Don Fischer]

I have someone else shoot and I get where I can see the bullet and use my stop watch to time the bullet. I allow to bullet to travel 18" after starting my stop watch and then hit the stop button. Very very accurate! Velocity is whatever I say it is! Actually I have two, a Pacy MK IV timer and one of those new Magneto speed's. Never used the magneto speed yet, Pact is a great one just to much involved in setting it up! Actually not setting it up but getting it aliened so I can shoot through it at the target.

 

[Festus]

My buddy has one. We didn't totally trust it since it calculates backwards from the point that the projectile enters the radar beam/cone. We shot it side by side with the Magneto Speed and they were very similar - I can't remember now but they were within a few feet of each other (like 3-6 fps) every time on several shots with 2 different rifles.
Once you get the hang of it, very friendly to use...

 

[todwyer]

The UPS man is delivering one to me today! Can't wait to give it a go. I had an old Pact chrono that gave up a few years ago. I think I shot it too many times...those sky screens aren't bullet proof it seems.

 

[todwyer]

What kind of battery life you getting? i don't have the USB charger yet. going to run off lithium AA's for now.

 

[VikingsGuy]

What kind of battery life you getting? i don't have the USB charger yet. going to run off lithium AA's for now.

My current set of NiMH rechargeables are at 2 of 4 bars after about 6 hours of range use. I swap rechargeables every 8 hours of use or so. Lot of room for variance here as depends on how long you leave armed between rounds, how quickly it goes to screen saver, etc. For me, I just have 2 sets of rechargeables in the bag so never a concern (as long as I remember to recharge them ;( . A USB charger is just another item and cable to mess with so I am sticking with rechargeables NiHM.

 

[A-5_Guy]

@festus I wondered about this as well. I messed around and actually found the left and right lateral limits of the doppler cone. Since the unit is set near the muzzle, the point at which the projectile enters the cone is usually within 10' or so. It's accurate enough for me. The delta between V0 and V10 was only about 10FPS.

@todwyer and @vikingsguy I've got about 5 hours on my alkaline AA's and it's still going strong. I have my screen saver and arm time set very conservatively, however.

 

[Festus]

We plug a dark energy power pack to it and it's good for the whole day - several shooters, very lenient arm time (some of us are slow in our old age).

 

[todwyer]

Used my Labradar for the first time today. Overall, I was very pleased.

-For me, the v-notch aiming thing seemed to work ok. Target was set up at 100 and 200 yds.
-I had velocity set distances set a 10, 25, 50, 75, and 100 yards. It had no problem reading 10, 25, and 50, but 75 was sporadic, and it only read 100 twice (about 60 total shots today) Maybe this is related to poor aiming?
-Was not affected by other shooters at next bench
-It missed a couple of shots. I realized my muzzle was not lined up with the edge of the device as described in the manual. It was a few inches foreward of the device. Once I made sure to keep muzzle even with the edge, it worked fine
-When I bought it, I didn't realize you could pair it with a smart phone via Bluetooth and control the device from the phone. Download the free Labradar app to the phone and pair it with the device. This made running the Labradar easy as you didn't have to get up and reach over to the device to push buttons to arm/dis arm the device. Just keep the phone within reach and you're good to go. Labradar feeds ballistic data back to the phone so you can read it in your hands, instead of trying to view the small screen on the device itself.
-I was worried that the range construction would interfere with the radar beam. Supports beams and overhead bullet stops, concrete wall, target stands, etc. didn't seem to have much affect that I could tell.