I've had my Labradar for about two weeks now. I thought I'd share some impressions after a couple of trips to the range in case some of you are considering purchasing one, as I know there aren't that many reviews out there yet. For some context, I'm a devoted Oehler guy and an avid handloader. I've had an Oehler 35P for several years, and I've used it a lot.

If you're a Magnetospeed fanboy, fear not! I won't be casting aspersions on your beloved device (though you can count me among the folks who don't want anything touching the end of their barrels).


POSITIVES

- There have been several write-ups on Labradar precision vs. the 35P, but suffice it to say I took several known loads in three different rifles to see if I got similar numbers, and I most certainly did. Even the standard deviations where in-line with previous results. I'm using Firmware v1.1.3, which is the most current.

- Once I got the settings and positioning of the device correct, I had ZERO dropped shots or shots that failed to read. Position of the radar relative to the muzzle is critical, especially with regard to fore and aft placement. On my first trip, I had the muzzle way too far forward of the device, and it wasn't picking up shots when triggering by microphone (it worked fine when trigger was set to "doppler," but that's NOT the way you want it set, as it's then sending RF energy out constantly and eating your batteries much faster). After a call to Richard at Labradar, and a pleasant 20-minute conversation in which he answered all my questions, he got me straight, and I had no more issues triggering by microphone.

- It's easy to set up. Did I mention that it's easy to set up? If you've used a chronograph at all, you know that setup is the WORST thing about them, and the Oehler is the absolute worst of them all (despite being the most reliable and precise of the bunch). If it weren't for setup, most serious reloaders would have their chrono at every range session. Well, with the Labradar, you can have it at every range session, as it takes only a minute to set up, and no tripod is required if you have the table-top stand (which I highly recommend).

- I fired dozens of shots from my AR-15, and it registered every single shot. The new firmware release addressed an issue in which .223 caliber bullets were often missed/dropped by the radar. It seems to work great now.

- Customer service is GREAT. The trouble is, the tech support phone number is almost impossible to find on the website until you click "BUY NOW" and scroll all the way down to the page footer for the 6-point font. Call the number, however, and you'll be transferred to one of the most helpful technicians with whom I've had the pleasure to work with (Richard).


NEGATIVES

- It eats AA batteries. In all fairness though, it's a freaking radar powered by AA batteries (what do you expect)? I strongly recommend you pick up a USB power pack and run it off that. I have a Mophie Powerstation Duo, and it went all afternoon without losing a bar's worth of juice. Get something like this, charge it before heading to the range, and it'll be a non-issue.

- The user manual is in its infancy, and it could stand some improvement. The flow charts that show how to navigate back and forth between modes might as well be written in Cyrillic, but the truth is that the device isn't that hard to figure out even without it. There's a learning curve, so you shouldn't expect to power it on and begin cranking out shots immediately. There are quite a few options that aren't explained as thoroughly as I'd like, so don't be surprised if you still have questions after digesting the guide. 20 minutes reviewing the manual would be time well spent though, and I'm a guy who normally skips the instructions.

- The table-top stand came with a very "jenky" swivel head affixed, and mine wouldn't tighten properly. Frankly, it was crap. They must know it too, because as soon as I mentioned that it wasn't working to Richard, he said he'd be sending me a replacement. The gen 2 head that I received is a big step up in beefiness and quality, and it's a quick change out. If you'd prefer to run this thing via a tripod, that'll work just as well and won't require the table-top stand.


CONCLUSION

All in all, I couldn't be happier with this thing. The "negatives" I listed above are trivial. The Labradar works as advertised, and I love it. Buy one, or buy my used 35P, as I won't be needing it anymore. This thing is going to change the way I use chronographs, as there is no going back to skyscreens, tripods, and paper rolls.

Great review.

I got mine a couple of weeks ago and my experience parallels those above. I also missed a few shots when I had it too far back from the muzzle and last week was chronographing handguns along with rifles and missed a few shots when I forgot to switch from handgun mode to rifle and vice versa.

I too, tried the doppler mode and it didn't miss any shots but you're right it does use up batteries pretty quickly that way.

I don't know which base model I got but the ball joint tightens down well and holds the unit steady.

Timely review, thanks. I was looking for reviews earlier today and ordered (pre-ordered) one earlier today. Just hope it doesn't take months to get.

Thank you.

Thanks for the write up. No problems on an indoor range?

Edit: according to their site, other shots are not a problem.

Thanks for the report - nice to see the pro's and con's presented. I've got one on order and looking forward to not ever having to set up a chronograph again!

I haven't tried it on an indoor range yet. I had no problem picking up other shots, but I haven't had it on a super crowded range yet.

Thanks for the report. Very interesting chrono......


Casey

Does the unit measure actual BC?

I've had one since last fall.

How did you get the 223 bullets to register?

No trouble with 243/105's and up.

The BC can be calculated as the unit gives velocities at several points along its path, then can be back-engineered to get a BC, easy with the aid of a ballistic program.

Concur with everything the OP stated.

Honestly, I pulled the trigger. No problems whatsoever. Are you running the latest firmware?

Bryan Litz had some issues getting his early unit to track .223 FMJs about a year ago. He attributed it to the non-flat base of the bullets. He changed to some boat-tail .223s that actually had a flat base on them and got good results.

I had no problems last weekend getting readings on 50 gr. Ballistic Tips doing 3700+ from a 22-250

The 'radar is about 6 months old, use 75 gr A-Max's. It will pick up the velocity rarely.

How do I get the latest firm ware?

Anybody try one with .17 and .20 caliber bullets?

Go to mylabradar.com and click on the "downloads" link. There's a hyperlink to download firmware v1.1.3, which I'm betting is one later than what you have. There are instructions there and in your manual that tell how to upload it to your device.

Thanks , I'll try that .

Anyone tried 17 caliber bullets with it.

I have heard these are hard to pick up

Mine shipped yesterday - will try some .17 HMR and .223 Remington when I take it out for its "maiden voyage". Hopefully the learning curve is not too steep.

thank you!

Finally got my new LabRadar out to the range. I mostly shoot at a fairly busy range, but had it to myself for the first hour this morning. Shot three different rifles - .25/06, .223 Rem and a .17 HMR. The HMR was mostly to see if the LabRadar would pick up the .17 cal bullets and would reliably trigger on the softer muzzle blast of the rimfire.

A few thoughts on my first experience - pretty much echoes many of the comments already made here on 24HCF and other places people have given reports.

- Very easy to set up - especially compared to my Shooting Chrony and tripod - a real pain at this range because of the number of people shooting
- Bit of a learning curve to navigate the menu - especially on playing back shots, but got over it quickly
- Forgot more than once to hit the "arm" button - yes, I'm a doofus!
- The LabRadar caught all of the .25/06 (total of 20 rounds); most of the .223 Remington and most of the .17HMR. Played with the sensitivity settings a little early in the process - had it at the midpoint due to concerns about interference from adjacent benches. Setting it back to the most sensitive setting (affects the internal microphone to pick up the muzzle blast) and putting the .17 HMR muzzle even with the LabRadar mostly fixed missing .17 HMR shots. The .223 Rem seemed to do better with the LabRadar about four inches behind the muzzle and once I figured that out (and did I mention I forgot to hit the arm button a time or two) it was pretty much on.
- "Tracking" distance for the .223 and .17HMR were only reliably in the 40 to 60 yard range. The .25/06 was a little better at mostly 80 yards with several reading out to 100. I set the default read distances as 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100 yards. This range has a large wood baffle about ten feet in front of the benches to keep any round fired from an elevated barrel from leaving the range which I think may have affected the radar beam. Next time I'll try to get a little better centered between the vertical posts, but nothing I can do about the horizontal. In the end, I'm mostly concerned about the muzzle velocity. I never had any downrange information before and not really sure how the downrange info will help me (yet)!

Don't know about accuracy - both the .25/06 and .223 Rem loads have never been run over my old chronograph. But, the .17 HMR numbers were consistent with a bunch of readings done a few years ago. Certainly the lot to lot variance in the factory rimfire ammo comes in to play, but the overall numbers were pretty close.

Overall, I'm pretty pleased with the inaugural run - sure better than setting up the Shooting Chrony.