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I have wanted a chronograph for a long time, and almost bought an Oehler, and then almost got a Magnetospeed. When the LabRadar was announced (2013?) I put my name on the company's interest list and followed their story.
Prior to the LabRadar unit I have not owned a chrono, but I have used most of the available units with friends. They all seemed clunky and a pain in the neck to me.
Once the first LabRadar reviews were published confirming its function, I renewed my efforts to get one.
I ordered a LabRadar from LongRangeHunting.com a long while back, after being frustrated by the lack of response from the LabRadar company website. I have no connection to LabRadar or LongRangeHunting, and this was my first purchase from LongRangeHunting.com.
LongRangeHunting was great to work with, communicated with me quickly and clearly, and I would highly recommend ordering the LabRadar from them instead of the importer. My unit arrived a week ago, and I had a chance to test it out this morning. My unit has a serial number around 400, so there are not very many of these in circulation yet.
I had a chance to fire 180 rounds of various 9mm, through 3 pistols, but after a first use it seems properly adjusted for pistol usage. The Glock 19 that was fired posted higher velocities (20-30 fps) than a Beretta M9A1 with all ammunition tested, I guess Beretta needs polygonal rifling?
I think use at rifle distances will require a little adjustment of the settings and preferences.
It took me 30 shots and about 15 minutes, to get the device recording every shot of 9mm with a target at 15 yards or so. It was able to detect one shot per second, but I did not try to go any faster or try to out run the unit.
If I had read the manual closer instead of winging it, I may have saved a few shots but you really need to use it at the range to learn it. It also takes some experience with placement of the muzzle, direction of the unit to target, low power vs. standard power, and trigger level, etc.
At first I used Winchester 9mm Nato Ranger brand to set the unit, since it has a more or less known velocity it helped me position everything quickly to get accurate readings and allowed me to dump a few crazy numbers (928 fps low and 2325 fps for a high in my second string!) from the first couple strings. After 30 shots I had adjusted it enough so it was recording every shot and i was not getting any abnormal readings. I fired 3 different handloads and 3 different factory loads.
I really like the Labradar unit. It takes 3 minutes to set up or take down and put in the case. They are going to sell millions of these things. I think they will own the entire market.
It ran fine off of 6 AA batteries, and seems like it has 3-4 more similar range trips left in those batteries. I did shut it off when I was not shooting (e.g. changing targets, cease fires, etc.). I thought about getting an extra USB battery but I will be holding off for now and just carryign a few sets of spare AA's.
A few people were shooting near me, but none of their shots were collected.
The carrying case is way above average in quality, even though made in China. I would prefer it was made in Canada or USA, but the high quality of the carry case construction is noteworthy.
If I was a maker of any other chronograph unit I would sell the company ASAP, as this LabRadar device will only get better, smaller, thinner, and it seems pretty darn good so far. It is very light, small, and was easy for a non technical person like me to understand the unit's operation and data output in a very short amount of time.
A few very minor things that I wish were different: 1) it really should talk to my iPhone and my PC via blue tooth or something wireless; 2) the carrying case should have one extra pocket or a little more room to hold the bench top stand; 3) the carrying case should have D rings for a shoulder strap. Admittedly, these are almost frivolous complaints.
The 4 GB card looks like it will hold a vast amount of data, so I will not be getting a larger card anytime soon. The company literature seems to indicate the unit has a dormant bluetooth capability, and that future firmware updates are planned, so this will probably get better and better.
Is it waterproof? Not sure, but I will let someone else figure that out. Does it work if there is snow or rain falling? Does it matter? I was hoping to test that from under a roof cover, but no rain for us today.
I wish had I brought more ammo to test the unit further and play with the settings more. I hope to test it with .22 rimfire handguns soon.
One warning, this unit will make you and all your friends want to test all your guns and all your factory ammo and handloads for speed so plan on spending a bunch of money on ammo and more time at the range after you get one of these.
Prior to the LabRadar unit I have not owned a chrono, but I have used most of the available units with friends. They all seemed clunky and a pain in the neck to me.
Once the first LabRadar reviews were published confirming its function, I renewed my efforts to get one.
I ordered a LabRadar from LongRangeHunting.com a long while back, after being frustrated by the lack of response from the LabRadar company website. I have no connection to LabRadar or LongRangeHunting, and this was my first purchase from LongRangeHunting.com.
LongRangeHunting was great to work with, communicated with me quickly and clearly, and I would highly recommend ordering the LabRadar from them instead of the importer. My unit arrived a week ago, and I had a chance to test it out this morning. My unit has a serial number around 400, so there are not very many of these in circulation yet.
I had a chance to fire 180 rounds of various 9mm, through 3 pistols, but after a first use it seems properly adjusted for pistol usage. The Glock 19 that was fired posted higher velocities (20-30 fps) than a Beretta M9A1 with all ammunition tested, I guess Beretta needs polygonal rifling?
I think use at rifle distances will require a little adjustment of the settings and preferences.
It took me 30 shots and about 15 minutes, to get the device recording every shot of 9mm with a target at 15 yards or so. It was able to detect one shot per second, but I did not try to go any faster or try to out run the unit.
If I had read the manual closer instead of winging it, I may have saved a few shots but you really need to use it at the range to learn it. It also takes some experience with placement of the muzzle, direction of the unit to target, low power vs. standard power, and trigger level, etc.
At first I used Winchester 9mm Nato Ranger brand to set the unit, since it has a more or less known velocity it helped me position everything quickly to get accurate readings and allowed me to dump a few crazy numbers (928 fps low and 2325 fps for a high in my second string!) from the first couple strings. After 30 shots I had adjusted it enough so it was recording every shot and i was not getting any abnormal readings. I fired 3 different handloads and 3 different factory loads.
I really like the Labradar unit. It takes 3 minutes to set up or take down and put in the case. They are going to sell millions of these things. I think they will own the entire market.
It ran fine off of 6 AA batteries, and seems like it has 3-4 more similar range trips left in those batteries. I did shut it off when I was not shooting (e.g. changing targets, cease fires, etc.). I thought about getting an extra USB battery but I will be holding off for now and just carryign a few sets of spare AA's.
A few people were shooting near me, but none of their shots were collected.
The carrying case is way above average in quality, even though made in China. I would prefer it was made in Canada or USA, but the high quality of the carry case construction is noteworthy.
If I was a maker of any other chronograph unit I would sell the company ASAP, as this LabRadar device will only get better, smaller, thinner, and it seems pretty darn good so far. It is very light, small, and was easy for a non technical person like me to understand the unit's operation and data output in a very short amount of time.
A few very minor things that I wish were different: 1) it really should talk to my iPhone and my PC via blue tooth or something wireless; 2) the carrying case should have one extra pocket or a little more room to hold the bench top stand; 3) the carrying case should have D rings for a shoulder strap. Admittedly, these are almost frivolous complaints.
The 4 GB card looks like it will hold a vast amount of data, so I will not be getting a larger card anytime soon. The company literature seems to indicate the unit has a dormant bluetooth capability, and that future firmware updates are planned, so this will probably get better and better.
Is it waterproof? Not sure, but I will let someone else figure that out. Does it work if there is snow or rain falling? Does it matter? I was hoping to test that from under a roof cover, but no rain for us today.
I wish had I brought more ammo to test the unit further and play with the settings more. I hope to test it with .22 rimfire handguns soon.
One warning, this unit will make you and all your friends want to test all your guns and all your factory ammo and handloads for speed so plan on spending a bunch of money on ammo and more time at the range after you get one of these.
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