So let's not let $$$$ enter into the discussion. The good, bad and ugly.

Wasn't sure if you meant the dog or the country until I checked the spelling...assuming you mean this https://mylabradar.com/

Misses some small projectiles and won't read much over 3900fps

I've been using one regularly for several years. I've never used batteries, only a power pack (or whatever they are called). You get about twelve hours of use with a fully charged power pack. I've never had trouble "sighting" the unit, but some buy gadgetry that does the same thing. I did buy a base that I think works better than the one that comes with the unit. I've never had a need for a tripod, but some use them. I also bought the handy zippered soft case from LabRadar, but a laptop case of the right size would probably work as well.

Occasionally, I'll get no reading but a slight repositioning of the unit or gun barrel will correct this. I used to use a chronograph a lot and I've had six chronographs over the last forty+years, including the Oehler 35P. All of them have had slight quirks that you become accustomed to and and can work around. I haven't tried to chronograph bullets smaller than .22 on the LabRadar and I shoot no loads with velocities over about 3,700 fps, so I can't comment on those alleged drawbacks.

I don't have a strong background in computers or anything high tech. The LabRadar manual is written for smarter people than I am.

I like mine a lot. I don't shoot calibers smaller than .22 much or cartridges that have velocities over 3900 fps, so those limitations are not an issue for me.

The big thing is that I shoot at a range where there are usually other shooters, so setting up sky screens is a bit of a hassle. That's eliminated with a Labradar.

I find that I need to be careful to aim the unit precisely at the target in order to get consistent readings. I added a little plastic sight I got on Amazon to top of the unit to make that easier.

Otherwise I find the Labradar easy to use and quite consistent in its readings. And it's not affected by lighting variability.

For me the unit works great.

Have posted this before, but I bought one a few years ago to see what the deal was. Loved it for about six months, but as the Labradar people admit it didn't read bullets under .22 caliber, or over 3900 fps.

Then I went to the range one day with a 6mm rifle and a bunch of loads for a magazine assignment--and it wouldn't read the base of a very streamlined boattail, no doubt because it was so tiny. And it was reading other bullets, not just in that rifle but others, so was "aimed" right.

So I had to finish the range session with a light-screen chronograph I also had along. Went home and put the Labradar up for sale on the Campfire Classifieds.

If they ever fix those problems would buy another--and they work fine for shooters who don't have such a wide range of requirements.

Thanks everybody for the input. They are out of stock right now, so it looks like I get to wait.

A software limitation prevents you from returning to a previous string and adding to it, which makes shooting multiple rifles an issue.

For example: You shoot String 1 with Rifle A. Now, while Rifle A cools off, you shoot String 2 with Rifle B.

Now you want to shoot Rifle A again, but you now have to shoot String 3 with Rifle A, as you cannot return and add to String 1. That means the data from Rifle A is now separated into two strings, which means for combined data, you have to compile by hand (or spreadsheet program).

Get into multiple groups with multiple rifles, and the issue just multiplies.

As I have written before ... come on, Labradar, let’s see a Gen 2 (or a software upgrade).

To be clear, I still own and use a Labradar. I just used it Friday shooting pistols.

RickBin, just thinking out loud. Could you use multiple SD cards. Just switch out when you change guns. I too bring several guns when I go to the range.

I take multiple guns to the range and record information like temperature, app. wind speed, group sizes, maybe bullet hardness with cast bullets, etc., so no software limitations for me as long as I have my paper notebook.

Could get tedious , and error prone calculating Standard Deviations on an interrupted string.

Everything that Lotech said.

As Rickbin said it would be nice to record multiple strings from different loads/rifles. But just like Lotech everything gets written down in my load binder anyway.

Different SD cards should work, but a guy has to remember to change cards everytime he changes load/rifles. Knowing me, I would at some point most surely forget………

One of the biggest benefits of the LR is the ability to shoot from prone and record velocities. There is a piece of godforsake BLM ground 5 minutes from my house that deer and elk don’t even winter on. I have surreptitiously measured distances and driven short stakes in the ground out to 500 yds so I can set up targets or steel. Several pinion trees provide shade in the summer. Spend a lot less time driving and setting up.

as mentioned small bullets , some boattails and higher velocities are limited with a Labradar that i have heard but a cheap Chony always works which i have .

I’ll also add when I first bought my LR I compared it a few times to my M35, correcting for distance to muzzle. Except for 3 shots out of ~200 the two were very close with velocities.

The LR hasn’t had a problem picking up bullets from my 223 or 22-250, but I haven’t tried any uber VLD’s.

I've been running a LabRadar for a few years. I have had no problems once I figured everything out. There is a short learning curve when first starting. I shoot plenty of .224 bullets with boattails and they all get recorded. None of my stuff shoots at the 4,000 fps limit, so no problem there either. I bought an inertia trigger because it was highly recommended. I never use it because it just wasn't needed with my set-up. I use a LabRadar battery pack and no memory card. I mount the unit on a tripod and place it directly in front of me (off the bench) where I can easily reach the buttons from my shooting position. Get a hard case from Harbor Freight and the unit will never get damaged.

I highly recommend the LabRadr, it's one of the best investments I've made.

Too many missed readings with mine. I wouldn't recommend it.

Tony

Was at my club's range a couple months ago and a guy was there with his brand new Labradar unit. He volunteered to chrono some of my 7x57 rounds to help him with his learning curve. First few didn't register but then he started getting the hang of it. He admitted that it was all new to him but he said that so far he liked it. Looked to me to be complicated as he kept fiddling with something. I plan to keep my shooting chrony until it dies from old age or gets shot.

I had two PACT chronographs before my LABRADAR. With the PACT units it wasn’t unusual to miss shots depending on the sun angle. For my purposes I won’t ever go back to screen trigger units. IIRC, I’ve been using it from about summer of 2016.

With the LABRADAR, I’ll occasionally miss a shot because I forgot to switch the velocity range from rifle to handgun or vice versa. Once in a while I’ll miss the first shot because I didn’t aim it quite right or I bump the unit out of alignment. I position the unit to the right of the rifle, even with the receiver so I can reach the control buttons. I try to aim the unit toward a point that’s about 3/4 of the way between the muzzle and the target.

I’ve gravitated to the “doppler” trigger mode and that’s worked best for me. A few months ago I bought one of their power packs and that was a good addition and has plenty of power reserve. The loads I shoot that probably pose the biggest challenge for the LABRADAR are the 40 grain Ballistic Tips and Hornady Vmax with their tiny BT bases, out of a 22-250. I’m only pushing them to around 3800 fps. I don’t have any 17’s or 20’s that are faster than that, so the LABRADAR does fine for my purposes.

I have a Shooters Crony, CED, and Labrador. The Labrador is by far my favorite. I rarely chrono .22 and smaller and never over 4000 fps, so that's not a problem. Missed shots are rare. The greatest advantage for me is not having bad readings from variations in sun/cloud cover...Labradar doesn't care.

Easy set up and easy to use.

I wish I would have gone this way.


I started with wind screens but there’s only 1.3 days a year where the wind isn’t blowing here ( ). OK many 1.7 days, OK? I hated with a passion those damn screens.

Then I went with the device that attaches to the barrel. Works great on barrels without magazine tubes. Sure I have 17 caliber rifles where the Labradar may not have worked well, maybe a 204 or a 22-250AI, I don’t know.

I wish I had Labradar! I have a few rifle with magazine tubes. I take 4 or 5, maybe more rifles I shoot near the same time. Switching from barrel to barrel with the strap on barrel unit is a bother. I suppose I could build a longer bench and build a device like Dirt Farmer’s or MD’s…

If I had it to do over again I’d be buying the Labradar!

I have 2 Labradars. If I miss a shot its my fault.
I have registered 17 cal on up.
I can pull up an early shot session, and add to it. or delete single shots.I must have a special one.
Goes to show some people can read instructions, some complain
I can pull out the 35P for shots over 4000, which is once every 5 yrs.

I moved from a Shoot' Chrony to a Labradar about 4 years ago. The Labradar is a big step up in convenience, for sure. I miss fewer shots with the Labradar, too. It does have its limitations, like sometimes not reliably reading small bullets and won't read much over 3900fps, but for most of my shooting, it works great. It is so easy to use that I pretty much always have it set up when target shooting. Works great for archery, too. Be aware that there are other doppler radar chronographs coming onto the market that may be worth looking at.

This is some great info!!!Thanks for sharing.

Shoot a couple of strings, merge them together in excel and you've got your data. It ain't rocket surgery...
The guys I know that shoot the "ELR" use Labradar to verify their velocity data.

This was the suggestion made to me by the LR folks when I asked about it. Pretty silly to lack the ability to go back and add to previous strings, if you ask me.

I have had a Labradar for about five years and generally like it. The one SERIOUS ISSUE I have with it is that their software only works with Microsoft. My computer and cell phone are Apple and I can neither upgrade my software nor can I download ballistic data to my computer. I have discussed these problems with Labradar numerous times over the years but they do not seem interested in correcting them. Maybe some competition will motivate the company to address this.

my thought is when Mule Deer finds a Radar Chronograph that works on all bullets including boat tails that reads up too around 4200 FPS every time i am in. > before i got old i liked fast women but now days at my age i like fast bullets and a good chronograph that works and doesn`t lie.

John,

Is there any chance your battery was getting weak when this happened? I have been reading many streamlined .224” and 6mm bullet with the LR, including the .224” 75gr ELD-M and AM, 6mm 108gr ELD-M, 112gr Matchburner, 115gr DTAC, etc., with nary a missed shot. But I have noticed more than once that if I let my power bank get too low, the LR doesn’t alert me to the fact that the radar signal is getting weak, and it starts to miss some of the more challenging bullets to pick up. Swap in a charged power bank and it’s back to business as usual.

Labradars? Was a good breed until they got popular, and then the breeders/puppymill bunch pretty well ran them into a genetic mess.

Interesting. I’d love to know how you manage to do that. Even the LR folks couldn’t answer that for me, and simply suggested using different SD cards for different loads/rifles.

You will have to ask John, as he is the authority on matters of this importance.
Just a flea on a dog here..




Are you guys really that dense.. Open office, and Libre office works on both platforms, and is free.I am a Libre guy myself........Google dude

public range = Labradar

I have a magneto speed but it's a big pita to swap

BIG thumbs up on Open office.

Not if you use a separate mount for the MS, as some shooters do, rather than putting it on the barrel.

A few months ago I was shooting a few positions over from a guy running a Labradar. I forget what I was shooting, but my shots kept getting picked up by his LR when they were fired at about the same time as his. He started waiting for me to fire before he did to prevent the interference. IIRC, he finally realigned the thing somewhat which seemed to help; at least he stopped fussing about it.

It seems bulletseeker is a directly competing product. It would be great to find someone with first hand experience using that before committing to labradar. I don't have either, but I am shopping.

Good point, Jordan. I have observed the LR doing funny things like missing shots or giving the odd reading when battery has been, unwittingly, low.

Last time I used it, on a fully charged power bank, I used it simultaneously with a Magneto Speed, over a 22-250 with 77 TMK and 88 ELD.

The readings with the LR were consistently higher. An average of 35 fps higher in the TMKs and an average of 15 fps higher in the ELDMs. By consistently I mean that they were higher, and close to that average, in all individual shots and not just in the average with individual reading spreads being all over the place.

Alvaro

All he had to do was change the triggering sensitivity by a couple of numbers and he would have been good to go...

We've used them during prone rifle matches to get large shot strings in and don't have triggering issues. 😉

I recently put together a 300 Ham'r and have been following Bill Wilson's writings on the cartridge. He has reported the same thing, I believe along the lines of 20 fps, in general.

I have one, along with a Magnetospeed and an Oehler 35, and to keep things consistent, have pretty much relied on the Magnetospeed to get velocities with that cartridge due to that's what I started load development with.

The MS and the Oehler agree with each other within a couple fps, so I'll have to directly compare the MS and LR as the subject of a range visit....Damn, that means I'll have to shoot some more. Bummer....

The LR sure is convenient and I really like being able to calculate real-life BC.

Do you mean by calculating BC both at the muzzle and 100 yards? This doesn't actually work--except for calculating BC out to 100 yards.

Ballistic coefficient tends to drop a lower retained velocities. (No, it isn't a fixed number, as many shooters believe.) This is why some bullet companies got into a little bit of trouble after high-BC bullets became the trend. The traditional way to calculate BC was to chronograph bullets both at the muzzle and 100 or maybe 200 yards, but this doesn't work for 500+ yard shooting, because the calculation provided a BC that . Which is why bullet companies started using calculations using actual retained velocity results at extended ranges--and Oehler developed their Model 89 for obtaining actual long-range results.

I became aware of that years ago, looking at Sierra Manual, I believe. There are several factors that will affect flight.

The part I like is being able to see what BC is with the actual conditions I'm testing the load are. Lately, I've gravitated towards lower velocity rounds, and with some of them, 458 Socom in particular, it gives me a better idea of what it really is. Another is that some bullets don't have a published BC, and whether it is relevant or not, I just like to know what is happening with a 425 grain LFN GC with a MV of 1650 fps (.45-70) or 405 LFN GC at 1550 fps (.458 Socom) are doing at 100, 200, 300 yards, and where it may go transonic.

Probably information that is really not needed. I've never shot extended distances with either round, but I'll have an idea of what to expect at the distances I would use such rounds during load work up and before actual shooting at that distance.

I also noticed that my Labradar seems to read a little faster than my Oehler 35P. But the Oehler is harder to use and more finicky, at least where I shoot. It doesn't like direct sun and all the shade structures I've rigged up don't do well if the wind blows. It can't be set up in dappled shade. And if you've got direct sun and a strong breeze, forget it.

This is probably all related to the specific conditions at my range.

Laziness has lead me to using the Labradar 90% of the time, despite the fact that it misses more bullets. Those who can shoot on their own property might make a different decision, though.

Never had that issue, think it BS but haters gotta find some problems even if imaginary.

🤣
Set up your nifty 35P here.
There's a 3½' drop aprox two foot in front of the muzzle. And before you decide to be a 🤏 🍆, I've had a 35P for over twenty-five years... 😛

And just what does your fantastic 3 1/2 ft drop have to do with this statement? Please enlighten me on the relevance.

It doesn't like direct sun and all the shade structures I've rigged up don't do well if the wind blows. It can't be set up in dappled shade. And if you've got direct sun and a strong breeze, forget it.

Has anyone used a Labradar to measure velocity of shotgun shotshell loads? I'm sure if it would work for that.

We are very range deprived here in Australia and where I shoot the benches are close together. Had no end of problems till I acquired a recoil trigger then its great and improves the reliability of getting a reading. In fact I could not get readings with braked rifles otherwise. For the price you'd think they would come with it standard! Its disappointing that the manufacturers have not continued to develop it in both hardware & software.

Since my range is over 1 hour away I'm always bringing several rifles along to shoot and for multiple rigs the Labradar is much more convenient than a Magnetospeed. In fact my friend who had a Magnetospeed V3 bought one after seeing my unit perform. I have also used it indoors where the shooting lanes are very narrow and have long side baffles between benches. Initially, I could not get readings then I found out the secret is to keep the Unit in the Middle of the shooting lane. Presumeably because the radar beam comes out in a conical shape & when put to one side the beams hit the baffles and reflect back causing interference. Like everything you need to learn & trial & error to get the most out of it. Contrary to what everyone & even Labradar's own info the alignment to the target is not that critical as I was led to believe. I set mine to read at each 25m interval to 100m and usually I'll get MV, 25m & 50m. If my alignment to target is really good I can sometimes get it all the way to 100m but that is not necessary.

Ideally, I think the product would be improved if it came in 2 parts. A tube like a riflescope which contained the guts of the radar unit & a seperate screen or control unit to run it or forget the screen and connect to an app on your phone by Bluetooth or wifi connection .

haven't used my LabRadar yet, but the limitations are good to know.

I have an old shooting chrony that has been providing service to me for 20 plus years... It originally cost me $69.00.
And when I've compared it results to Oehlers and a couple of other brands, some of my friends have, when we run into each other at the range... readings are only differing several fps, normally within 5 or less..

What other chrony would some of you gentlemen recommend over the LabRadar?

One of the biggest advantages of the Labradar is shooting at public ranges, since you don't need to set it up in front of the bench.

The other chronraph with this advantage is the Magnetospeed, since it's designed to be mounted on the barrel. The problem there, however, is this mounting can affect both rifle's accuracy and point-of-impact, so it's difficult to work up a load for both velocity and accuracy at the same time. The solution is to put the "bayonet" (as the muzzle-mounted part is called) on a separate base, so it doesn't affect the barrel vibrations.
The trouble with this is some benches aren't long enough to provide quite enough room.

On the other hand, the Magnetospeed costs considerably less than the Labradar, and only requires one or two standard batteries, depending on the model--which last a long time.

Magneto speed is that it give actual "muzzle" velocity while conventional chronographs require 10 to 15 feet behind the screens

jwp,

That doesn't matter much at all, since it's a pretty easy calculation to come up with an "actual" muzzle velocity.

In general, this ends up being around 1 foot-per-second per foot of distance the chronograph is in front of the muzzle. So a light-screen chronograph set up 15 feet in front of the muzzle is 15 fps different than muzzle velocity. This doesn't make any difference in practical trajectory, since most ammo will vary that much (or more) in velocity anyway when shooting even 3-round strings.

The other thing I would point out is that the MS requires more precise barrel alignment and positioning relative to the device than does the LR.

Well, it can. But if you've used a MS for a while it ain't a big problem--at least in my experience.

I started with a Shooting Chrony, shot it intentionally, around 30 yrs ago, after getting an Oehler 35P, eventually got a Magnetospeed V3 about 8-9 yrs ago. I like both the Oehler and Mag, thought about the Labradar when it finally came out, decided not to, glad I didn't, as now there are a few others starting to get out on the market, which are a bit more loot. But, they appear to work a lot better. F Class John has been beta testing an Andi Scan for near a year or so now, has vids on YT, then there is the Bulletseeker, and FX Airguns is coming out with one they showed at IWA 2023, which apparently will also do rifles, supposed to be next month. By the time you buy all the goodies for a Labradar, they are not much more loot, if any. Sure there are likely a couple more in the works somewhere.