Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Magneto speed vs lab radar

If cost was not a factor, which one is best? Shooting will take place in the same spot each time(30’ from the house). Multiple rifles will be tested. I’ve used magneto speed and have no complaints. A buddy is debating which one to get and we haven’t personally dealt with a lab radar user.

Thirty feet from the house? Oehler. Setting up at a busy range? MS or Labradar, Labradar if you have a relatively thick wallet and/or don't want group size or POI effected by something hanging off the end of your barrel. MS if all you want is to check MV now and then for anecdotal reasons- that's why I went with MS.

Get the Labradar. You don't have one and we are talking about spending your buddy's money after all!

LabRadar- there’s no reason not to get velocity and accuracy data at the same time. The MS will only give you velocity. You might as well be shooting into a bullet trap.

The downside of LabRadar is that you're much more likely to miss a reading in my experience. Otherwise it's nice for getting accuracy data too.

How is the LabRadar more likely to give false readings?

He said miss.

The Labradar does occasionally decide to miss shots. I’m not sure if it’s placement or what, but it happens. Magnetospeed rarely, if ever, misses. MS allows me to shoot into a trap by house where I don’t have a range. Both are very good, and while I prefer the Labradar overall, I won’t be selling my MS.

Magneto Speed

I have mine rigged on a pedestal as a stand alone unit. It never drops a shot. It works in rain, snow, sleet, sun or low light.

Labradar. All day long.

Labradar without a doubt. Honestly, the only reason not to go this route would be cost. All of the other choices are a compromise. The aiming issue is way overblown and you will figure it out after the first few shots on your first range session. I will post 4 to 6 targets side by side at 100 yds and rotate through shooting five or six rifles without touching the LR and it doesn't miss any shots. Period. I'm shooting all bolt guns from .222 to .416 and position the unit about 15" to the side and a bit behind the muzzle. I did cheap out on the baseplate and made my own out of 3/4' plywood but after around 10 range sessions I haven't had any issues. Setup time is less than 5 minutes at the start of the session and after that there is nothing else necessary to do until you are done shooting - no adjusting for each rifle, no worry about shooting the thing, no strapping some gizmo to the end of each rifle barrel and then swapping between rifles, and best of all shooting for accuracy while collecting velocity data at the same time. I won't deny that the cost is considerably more than the other options, especially when you add in the other necessary accessories (battery pack, ball mount, hard case, baseplate) but if you are serious about load development and care about what speed you are shooting there is only one best answer.

Oh you cynical, cynical man!

I’d like to hear more about this.

Me too. That's the one and only downside I have to the Magnetospeed. I'd love to see something easy that doesn't attach to the rifle barrel.

Whatever you decide, you should get two, or a unit that makes two measurements. Redundancy provides not only truth but safety.

I was measuring velocities yesterday. This was ammunition I loaded. I was using an Oehler, System '88. This system measures velocity twice and reports velocity and a "Proof" number. The "Proof" number is the difference between the two velocity measurements. Ideally the proof number should be small. Nobody knowledgeable in the measurement of velocity would expect two readings to always perfectly agree.

Shot 1 2374 proof of 1.4
Shot 2 2385 proof of 1.4
Shot 3 2396 proof of 2.2
Shot 4 3182 proof of 782.7

All chronographs can (and should be expected to) give the occasional false reading. Based on Shot 4 being WAY out of line and the "Proof" value also being WAY out of line, I knew to ignore that data and press on. Looking at the velocity only, Shot 4 appeared to be 786 fps higher than shot 3. However, the "Proof" value is about 780 fps greater than the other "Proof" values. This means the Proof velocity probably read about 2399. That corresponds with shots 1-3. Therefore, it was probably an error in seeing the bullet.

Had I not been making two measurements, I'd have no way of knowing if that was a chronograph error or a reloading error. IF I had a 786 fps jump in velocity, I'd certainly expect that shot to be over pressure. Of course, bolt lift was normal. Casing didn't show signs of excess pressure. But, I've seen 80K psi casings that didn't show signs of excess pressure.

Without the extra reading, what to do? Chance it and shoot another round? Tie the rifle down and pull the trigger with a string? Stop, go home and disassemble the remaining ammunition to ensure I didn't over charge a cartridge?

Nope, the data allowed me to make an informed decision and continue with the project.

That is the reason I prefer making two measurements.

I’ve thought that a way to attach to the forward sling lug would be very handy. It would need to be very rigid and be adjustable to position precisely. Any carbon fiber experts out there?

It's not so much false readings as no readings. It's very dependent on alignment, and the shot detector to tell it when to turn on the radar. Neither aspect is 100% reliable in my experience.

One way to do it. The main issue is keeping the bayonet lined up with the bore, close enough, but not in the line of fire. It needs to be checked after each shot. Otherwise works pretty well, not influencing groups. Need a long bench. Check this one out. Sacks of deer corn in the truck, Gibraltar drum throne works great for a bench rest seat.

Have never used a LabRadar, think they are neat.

DF

I can post my picture when I get home tonight. Mine is similar to DF's. But, I have an extension rail on mine for short bench tops.

Anyone know of any kind of a deal out there on the lab radar units?

I remember that now DF. Good pics. I'm plagued with a short bench too though.