Lab Radar

[Wayne Dobbs]

I've been paying attention Lab Radar for a couple of years and wondered if any of you own them and your impressions. Also, your thoughts on what to buy for accessories, etc. All help is appreciated!

[JCN]

I've been paying attention Lab Radar for a couple of years and wondered if any of you own them and your impressions. Also, your thoughts on what to buy for accessories, etc. All help is appreciated!

I have one and like it. It’s nice for indoor ranges. It also is nice because you can multitask and zero ammo at 25 yards while checking velocities.

Note: the radar triggers on the sound pressure of the shot, so suppressed guns can be a little finicky.

It eats batteries and doesn’t have an auto-off so if you have it in your vehicle and it gets bumped on, you’ll get to the range with a dead battery…

I use my Makita USB battery pack most of the time to power it and any cheapo generic mini tripod will work.

[GJM]

They seem the chrono of choice at uspsa matches that chrono. Usually two are set up, side by side.

[mtnbkr]

Note: the radar triggers on the sound pressure of the shot, so suppressed guns can be a little finicky.

How is it on busy ranges where there may be a guy on each side shooting loudenboomers?

Chris

[EMC]

I have a love/hate relationship with Labradar. On one hand the setup is convenient and you don't have to put anything down range or hang anything off the barrel, on the other hand their software updates are not great, and the bluetooth connectivity is very fickle. Recent attempts at updating their app and firmware have been less than stellar.

Seems like every time Secondscount is on the range with me wanting to use it, it fails to track shots. I blame him for some hidden offense to the software gods. [emoji1]

I finally splurged for one of the recoil triggers to help with missed shots on the more fickle loads. The downside to that is you get a lot of false shots in the series that you have to delete afterwards.

[JCN]

How is it on busy ranges where there may be a guy on each side shooting loudenboomers?

Chris

It’s pretty good. I usually flip it to “orange” from resting “blue” light only when I’m ready to shoot. And then the sound trigger usually doesn’t get triggered off other people’s shots that I know of. I’m sure something extreme like a muzzle brake SBR peeking past the stall could set it off but you could move it farther back in your stall if you had a tripod.

[entropy]

I’ve had mine for a few years, upgrading from an optical unit. I like it, and it’s far more reliable. That said, the function buttons drive me nuts. I never can seem to scroll thru what I need. My normal operating procedure now is to shut it off and start it again if I want to start a new series of shots. It’s just easier. It can be a bit finicky setting up the trigger. There is a “distance from bore” setting, a “Handgun/Rifle” setting, and then a “Threshold Setting” (1-5 IIRC) to get it to sense. You get the hang of it, but for example I had a hard time getting a 25-20 levergun to sense correctly. But again...far far better than optical units, and it IS accurate.

I have the baseplate which is handy for a bench. I also have a tripod and ball mount which comes in handy. I’ve never had battery issues, as I have an external pack that I attach. I can shoot all day and not drain it. Any powepack off Amazon will do. Yes...the firmware updates are a Royal Pain in the Ass. The thing is designed by engineers who happen to be shooters.

[foxj66]

I really like mine. I much prefer reading the data off the phone app. An external Battery is a must for it as it kills batteries fast. I just have there tripod and case for accessories and both work as expected.

[rdtompki]

I haven't used mine since moving to Idaho 4 years ago, but never had a problem with handguns or an AR-15. Shooting exclusively steel challenge my needs for a chrono have diminished.

[SecondsCount]

I have a love/hate relationship with Labradar. On one hand the setup is convenient and you don't have to put anything down range or hang anything off the barrel, on the other hand their software updates are not great, and the bluetooth connectivity is very fickle. Recent attempts at updating their app and firmware have been less than stellar.

Seems like every time Secondscount is on the range with me wanting to use it, it fails to track shots. I blame him for some hidden offense to the software gods. [emoji1]

I finally splurged for one of the recoil triggers to help with missed shots on the more fickle loads. The downside to that is you get a lot of false shots in the series that you have to delete afterwards.

Haha! The first time we took it out, I believe you had just upgraded the firmware, and there was a setting that was off. The second time, it wouldn't pick up my 223 bullets.

I have shot over another labradar and it was able to pick up the 223 bullets in flight without an issue. The owner had me set the gun in a specific place on the bench, and shoot at a specific target.

The technology seems to be very accurate but has a bit of a learning curve to get setup correctly.

I'm waiting on v2.0 or v3.0 to come out. In the meantime, I run my old 3-screen Oehler which has proven to be very accurate and less finicky, just takes a little longer to setup.