I love my LabRadar. The JPK Precision external trigger is a great addition along with an improved sighting system. Bluetooth connection dropping is very annoying and should have been fixed long ago with a firmware or app update. The instructions don’t mention that 22LR requires handgun mode to read reliably.
Labradar vs Optical Chronos: Real World Experiences?
- Thread starter CarlGeorge
- Start date
I did this to mine a while back, co- witnessed the cheap red dot using the plastic speed square technique.
Made life smoother, and it's easy to tell at a glance if things get knocked out of alignment for some reason.
Needing this much training, just to capture bullet speed seems absolutely ridiculous to me. Especially when you pay $600 for the privilege. No thanks.
Paul
Ledd Slinger
Silver $$ Contributor
Paul, don’t let the people badmouthing the unit fool you. It’s actually really simple and easy to use. It honestly baffles me why people have so much trouble. Everyone else has already done the work on figuring it out over the years. You really just need to know where to set the unit by the rifle and have a good sight to aim it properly. That’s it. Takes maybe 2 minutes to set up and it works every time. I just ran my unit for a 4 hour shooting session this morning and again it never missed a single shot.
Used 4 different rifles during the session this morning. Labradar never moved or needed adjustment, just swapped out rifles and placed them in the same position next to it. 3 rifles had brakes, one did not. Shot many strings with varying bullet weights, speeds, and muzzle blast characteristics and the unit read everything with zero issues.
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Figuring out a VCR back in the day was harder....LOL
I own a Shooting Chrony, Magntospeed, and a LabRadar.
The Shooting Chrony does work, but it is a PITA to set up, especially on a public range. Accuracy varies depending on lighting conditions.
Magetnospeed is dead easy to use, super reliable, and very accurate. Drawback is that it hangs off your rifle barrel and definitely affects POI, and possibly group size.
Labradar is easy to use and reliable once you get past the learning curve, very accurate, and doesn't affect POI or group size. Enough people have, by now, figure out the quirks of the system, so that it is very easy for a first-timer to set it up correctly. The Labradar is so quick and easy to use, and doesn't affect bullet flight, that I always collect velocity data whenever shooting off a bench.
My Magnetospeed and Labradar always agree to at least within 0.1% of each other.
JMHO
The Shooting Chrony does work, but it is a PITA to set up, especially on a public range. Accuracy varies depending on lighting conditions.
Magetnospeed is dead easy to use, super reliable, and very accurate. Drawback is that it hangs off your rifle barrel and definitely affects POI, and possibly group size.
Labradar is easy to use and reliable once you get past the learning curve, very accurate, and doesn't affect POI or group size. Enough people have, by now, figure out the quirks of the system, so that it is very easy for a first-timer to set it up correctly. The Labradar is so quick and easy to use, and doesn't affect bullet flight, that I always collect velocity data whenever shooting off a bench.
My Magnetospeed and Labradar always agree to at least within 0.1% of each other.
JMHO
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Ned Ludd
Silver $$ Contributor
Paul, Jager's suggestions are largely aimed at troubleshooting and/or preventative measures in the event the unit is presenting problems. I can assure you that normal operation of a LabRadar doesn't require much thought other than turning it on and making sure it is aimed properly at the target, things that are required for use by pretty much every type of chronograph made. The greater cost of the LabRadar relative to light-based chronographs or the MagnetoSpeed is a big difference, no doubt about it. IMO - the cost is more than offset by its ease of use and features not available to other types pf chronographs, but that is solely my personal opinion, and clearly not one shared by everyone. Both light-based chronographs and the MagnetoSpeed also have their own caveats and/or design pitfalls, I've used all three types. There really isn't a wrong choice among the different types of chronographs, merely personal preference.
Thanks for the great advice guys. I have an older friend that wants me to help him set-up his new Labradar for the first time. Been kind of dreading this, but maybe it will not be as bad as I had envisioned. Lol! Wish me luck!
Paul
Paul
I find my Pro Chrono are very easy to set up. When I get to the range I am unpacking my gear while the range is hot.
-Unlock the tripod. Set at appx bench height.
-Attach Pro Chrono body and sunscreens.
- Turn on the Prochrono and fire up the blue tooth ap on either my phone or my tablet.
- I put a laser bore sight in the chamber or a universal in the muzzle if need be. I prefer the chamber ones.
- When the range goes cold I place my target and place the chrono tripod 4 paces from my muzzle
- using the red dot from the boresight and a piece of cardboard or my hand I align tripod so the red dot is in the center between the sunscreens. Takes me about 2 minutes from the time I walk forward of the firing line
The ProChrono never misses a single shot and all shots are recorded on the bluetooth ap. I can change and name strings, get shot data. export the data into spreadsheet form and email it to myself to incorporate into my PC database etc, change rifles without any tweaking of settings or position
No external accessories required or settings to change if I decide to change to air rifle. suppressed .22LR, pistol, my .204 Ruger @ 4K FPS, pistol or anything else.
All at a price of 1/5 the price of a Labradar. The price is not the limiting factor for me though, if the Labradar went on sale for $49.99 I would not purchase on after my first experience. Maybe I had a lemon, maybe not. I think the whole design lacks. It sucks power from the internal batteries. Has a mini USB power connectors that gets loose over time and won't connect the external power supply. . The bluetooth is a joke which is something they have known about since it's release and still cannot fix
I have to wonder why some on here seem to gloss over known issues and downgrade the competition. All it takes are a few google searches or reading a few reviews to see that all the problems I mentioned above are real world
-Unlock the tripod. Set at appx bench height.
-Attach Pro Chrono body and sunscreens.
- Turn on the Prochrono and fire up the blue tooth ap on either my phone or my tablet.
- I put a laser bore sight in the chamber or a universal in the muzzle if need be. I prefer the chamber ones.
- When the range goes cold I place my target and place the chrono tripod 4 paces from my muzzle
- using the red dot from the boresight and a piece of cardboard or my hand I align tripod so the red dot is in the center between the sunscreens. Takes me about 2 minutes from the time I walk forward of the firing line
The ProChrono never misses a single shot and all shots are recorded on the bluetooth ap. I can change and name strings, get shot data. export the data into spreadsheet form and email it to myself to incorporate into my PC database etc, change rifles without any tweaking of settings or position
No external accessories required or settings to change if I decide to change to air rifle. suppressed .22LR, pistol, my .204 Ruger @ 4K FPS, pistol or anything else.
All at a price of 1/5 the price of a Labradar. The price is not the limiting factor for me though, if the Labradar went on sale for $49.99 I would not purchase on after my first experience. Maybe I had a lemon, maybe not. I think the whole design lacks. It sucks power from the internal batteries. Has a mini USB power connectors that gets loose over time and won't connect the external power supply. . The bluetooth is a joke which is something they have known about since it's release and still cannot fix
I have to wonder why some on here seem to gloss over known issues and downgrade the competition. All it takes are a few google searches or reading a few reviews to see that all the problems I mentioned above are real world
Ledd Slinger
Silver $$ Contributor
I’m out tuning again this morning at 870 yards. If you set the labradar up in this one position, it will work flawlessly with braked and un-braked rifles. Just remember this one position and you’re good.
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Ned Ludd
Silver $$ Contributor
Paul - I would strongly suggest to your friend to pick up the JKL Kinetic Trigger and magnetic mount. They will cost $50 together and make the LabRadar easier to use...i.e. without potential interference from other close-by shooter's shots that are common when using the internal microphone sensor. I mounted a ~1" x 3/8" bushing (steel tube) I picked up at Lowes with clear silicone rubber directly into the aiming slot on the top of the unit, but there are a variety of ways to make aiming the unit a snap. I think you'll find it's a piece of cake to use.
Labradar Trigger Gen 2
This is the gen two trigger for the LabRadar chronograph. It will work on anything from a 22LR to a big bore rifles. The trigger works great with suppressors and crowded ranges. The new, removable …
jklprecision.com
Labradar Trigger Magnetic Mount
Magnetic mount for the labradar trigger. Quickly and easily mount the device to your rifle and easily switch between firearms. Perfect for bolt actions where there is no pic rail or you don’t wan…
jklprecision.com
My LabRadar is easier to setup and use than the ProChrono, as well as the Chrony, Millenium CED II, and especially the Oehlers I have had. The LabRadar is as reliable as the Oehler and more so than the others.
Let's not gloss over the known issues of optical units.
1. Any optical chrono is sensitive to the amount of light, some worse than others
2. Many firing lines are raised, and an optical chrono simply can't be used
3. It takes more time to set up an optical unit and you MUST go in front of the firing line to do so. That can't be done at every range
I am SO over fussing with optical chronograph......
YMMV
Ledd Slinger
Silver $$ Contributor
I bet you prefer a Savage action over a BAT too. Lol!
I suppose you think wind reading and shooting technique can be bought with a credit card and practice is just for people with shallow pockets ?I bet you prefer a Savage action over a BAT too. Lol!
To answer your question though. These days I am leaning toward Deviant and Bighorn actions for my builds. I still have 3 Savage/Stevens receivers in the gunsafe. Since I started shooting casually 12 years ago and competing three years ago those little Savages took me from mid 180's to 195's and 196's scores in both mid and long range. Best thing was I still thousands left over for powder, primers, bullets and about a dozen Criterion barrels to burn out while I worked on my shooting skills. One thing I noticed during these last three years since I shot my first match is how many jump in dump a ton of money then quit. I have seen at least five or six guys discover F class shooting, immediately dump 10 - 15 thousand (maybe more) on rifles and accessories then quit in disgust by the end of their first season becasue all that money did not buy them as much as a third place.
Maybe when I get to where every match I am getting a 198 or 199 I will break down and buy a custom built on a Bat but right now I still think I have some room to grow with my present rifles. That HM card is bear to get, it's going to take me another season/barrel or two
I
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i own both(ohler35p). i have not compared same time same gun, but i have not used the 35p since getting the labradar. the labradar instructions suck..but the tool works.( they include no instruction with the user manual on how to start a new string of shots.
I ran a quick test this morning of LR vs PC, vs Magnetospeed and even tossed the Shotmarker numbers in. On a ten shot average the Labradar and ProChrono numbers were almost identical. The Magnetospeed measuring at the muzzle was fastest of course and the Shotmarker measuring 100 yards down range reflected the velocity drop. All the curves were virtually identical when graphed. I would rate the Magnetospeed as the most accurate since nothing can really affect it's readings. I still think the ProChrono as the best value for the dollar. Both the Labradar and the Magnetospeed can be set up with out needing a cold range. To get the Labradar functioning reliably my friend has equipped his with a external trigger and a cheap optical scope for aiming. To me the hot range setup is no real benefit when load developing since I will be setting my target and chrono up at the same time.
For those interested in the numbers here is the thread
For those interested in the numbers here is the thread
Labradar vs ProChono vs MagnetoSpeed vs Shotmarker
I ran a quick test this morning I set up my .223 and shot 10 rounds of Lapua factory ammo across all four. A friend loaned me his Labradar with an external trigger an set it up for me. The front sensor of the ProChrono was exactly 12 ft in front of the muzzle. Due to my error the first shot was...
forum.accurateshooter.com
Well sort of. Page 4.1 shows you the series button. Page 4.3
tells you how to start a new series.
Had a disgruntled user this morning. Some really weird numbers
being displayed from a 243 Winchester. I keep my manual with
the unit. He left his at home. Radar is 4 weeks old. We ran down
the set up parameters, and not many were right, biggest problem,
and ran across this in the past, where a user chooses Dopplar as
the trigger source instead of the internal sound trigger. Common
mistake. The Dopplar trigger should only be used for large, slow
projectiles. Bottom line is the individual thought it was, turn it on
and start banging away.
Ledd Slinger
Silver $$ Contributor
Old news. Many people have done that test over the years.
The accuracy of other chronographs vs the LR are not being debated here so that’s not really relevant. I’ve had TWO Pro Chronos in the past. One worked fine except when hard sun angle would mess it up like all optical chronos. But it was a good unit until a bullet came apart in my barrel and blew multiple holes thru it. The other Pro chrono I ordered after that was the newer Bluetooth model. Never did get the Bluetooth to work for a single second and the unit would last about 10-15 minutes before completely draining the 9V battery dead. Was that way straight out of the box. So unless you could do all your shooting in 15 minutes or wanted to purchase a truck load of 9V batteries to take to the range, that particular Pro Chrono was completely worthless. Customer service told me to send it in, but I didn’t feel like paying $30 for shipping to them and at that point I had just about had it with the tedious setup of an optical chrono because I use one all the time. Bought a LR and have never looked back.
Besides the faulty Pro Chrono, I also have a faulty Chrony Beta and Caldwell Ballistic G2 sitting in my shop. So that’s 3 optical chronos that have failed me within the last 5 years. Talk all you want about how great the optical units are but I have a junk pile of them to prove otherwise
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You have some crap luck there Ledd. I am on my 2/nd ProChrono, the first died after many a trip on the dirt road in the back of a Jeep Wrangler. Actually it still worked but something inside was rattling and at 100 bucks it was not a hard decision just to replace. I have put easily 10K shots across them with no bullet damage. A $25 universal laser boresight makes setup a piece of cake. It has recorded everything from .22's to .338 Lapua and even tested it with a Daisy Red Ryder in my back yard when I bought my first one. The bluetooth connection works on my Samsung Tablet, my Motorola phone as well as my wife's Apple XS max every time without fail
Todays test confirmed for me that it's accuracy is just as good if not better than a Labradar and costs 129.99 vs 559.00 , midway USA prices as of this posting. I can see no good reason to go out and drop almost 600 dollars on a Labradar but that is just me.
Oh by the way the rifle I was testing cost less than 1K including optics to put together and later on I did a initial powder test using IMR 4166 and 80 gn Bergers, I had several 100 yard groups (best was in the threes) less than .5 MOA on a barrel that has 3K plus rounds down it. Not bad for a action that cost me less than $100 and a rifle that I put together in my shop
Todays test confirmed for me that it's accuracy is just as good if not better than a Labradar and costs 129.99 vs 559.00 , midway USA prices as of this posting. I can see no good reason to go out and drop almost 600 dollars on a Labradar but that is just me.
Oh by the way the rifle I was testing cost less than 1K including optics to put together and later on I did a initial powder test using IMR 4166 and 80 gn Bergers, I had several 100 yard groups (best was in the threes) less than .5 MOA on a barrel that has 3K plus rounds down it. Not bad for a action that cost me less than $100 and a rifle that I put together in my shop
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