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Post by yoderjac on Jul 7, 2022 20:03:27 GMT -5
I've been looking for one of these for over a year based on recommendations from this forum. Finally I found that Scheels now has a non-bluetooth "lite" version in-stock so I ordered on. I don't need to mess with a phone app so I think it is pretty much the same thing with the bluetooth card removed. In case others are interested, here is the link: Labradar Lite at ScheelsI have a brick that I think I can power it with over USB, and I just ordered a cheap sight mount from ebay as I hear aiming is important. I'd love to hear any other tips folks might have for use, particularly with the Encore SML that hank built with his break on it. |
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Post by hillbill on Jul 8, 2022 4:18:31 GMT -5
They are pretty straight forward, just follow instructions.
did you get a base for it? If not you will need one, I have a base made by a gent on Accurate Shooter, very handy and very adjustable. Folds up and fits in the front pocket of the bag. Bought a swivel mount for it and it works great.
I have a remote trigger for it but seldom use it, If it's aimed right it will read.
Just make sure you have the settings correct for bullet type, weight, etc.
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Post by buckeye68 on Jul 8, 2022 6:22:13 GMT -5
I have the original version and it works great. I wasn’t a fan of their base or the bags they sell with them. I bought a water proof hard case and cut foam to fit the lab radar with the same base as Bill described. The base is made by Arkco Machine. Very nice base. I also have a remote trigger for it but haven’t used it since I’ve changed to my new base setup. I now use the quad pod mount that Lab Radar sells. I bought 1 1/4” PVC from Lowes and cut them down for the legs and Lab Radar sets over top of the barrel. I taped a brass tube on of the unit for a aiming device. Since I started using the quad pod base, it haven’t missed reading a shot.  |
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Post by yoderjac on Jul 8, 2022 8:10:11 GMT -5
They are pretty straight forward, just follow instructions. did you get a base for it? If not you will need one, I have a base made by a gent on Accurate Shooter, very handy and very adjustable. Folds up and fits in the front pocket of the bag. Bought a swivel mount for it and it works great. I have a remote trigger for it but seldom use it, If it's aimed right it will read. Just make sure you have the settings correct for bullet type, weight, etc. Thanks. I did not buy a base. I've got some old tripods laying around. I had just planned to repurpose and rig a head so I could attached it directly to my shooting bench. |
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Post by ballistic on Jul 8, 2022 8:30:13 GMT -5
 I love my labradar but there is a learning curve - so see the attached pic. I also use the remote trigger as it works really well for muzzlebrakes and non brakes and 22 rim fire i offset the labradar about 12” to the side of my rifle and about mid point of the scope. The labradar tripod works really well at the bench and for about 95% of prone shooting in the field. Use sandbags when the wind blows. best wishes…. Attachments:
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Post by SURESHOT on Jul 8, 2022 9:09:28 GMT -5
View AttachmentI love my labradar but there is a learning curve - so see the attached pic. I also use the remote trigger as it works really well for muzzlebrakes and non brakes and 22 rim fire i offset the labradar about 12” to the side of my rifle and about mid point of the scope. The labradar tripod works really well at the bench and for about 95% of prone shooting in the field. Use sandbags when the wind blows. best wishes…. the learning curve is there, but with enough hands on, it gets better! also the trigger for myself works very well ! I also have the blue tooth it has its pros and cons |
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Labradar
Jul 8, 2022 14:13:28 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by ballistic on Jul 8, 2022 14:13:28 GMT -5
There’s a learning curve on the trigger as well-lol
That’s another reason why i use my cheat sheet……….
The trigger allows the labradar to stay in 1 spot -and you can swap out your muzzlebrake gun to one without a brake without a hiccup and shoot a quiet 22 rifle with great results. Without the remote trigger I had to move the labradar out to the end of the barrel (without brake) and ahead of the barrel (with brake) and that doesn’t always work well on shooting benches.
I also cut a small plastic straw and glued it in the V notch like others in this post.
Placing the labradar 12” to the side of the rifle and about midpoint of scope also eliminates errors that can occur when your at the range next to big boomers on both sides of you.
The trigger will give an errors when you rack the bolt for another shot. If you don’t clear the error - you won’t get a reading on the next shot (cheat sheet again-lol).
I love my labradar but didn’t in the beginning and it really isn’t as user friendly as it could be. AKA I’m still using my cheat sheet for the above reasons.
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Post by yoderjac on Jul 8, 2022 21:26:34 GMT -5
Is aiming sensitive enough that pushing the buttons can move the unit enough to be problematic. Other than remote arming, I don't think I lost anything with the Lite unit. I can't imagine what else I'd need a phone app for since it has an SD card slot.
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Post by ballistic on Jul 8, 2022 22:50:50 GMT -5
Is aiming sensitive enough that pushing the buttons can move the unit enough to be problematic. Other than remote arming, I don't think I lost anything with the Lite unit. I can't imagine what else I'd need a phone app for since it has an SD card slot. No aiming isn’t a big issue. My eyes are getting older so the small straw epoxied in place helps me. The issues I’ve had were remedied by the remote trigger. Big boomers next to you have enough side and rearward pressure that it was triggering my unit and giving errors. Other shooters on the same channel were also triggering it with errors. Having to keep moving the unit for different types of guns was also frustrating. Placing the unit closer to me also helped the issues with others muzzleblast. And sandbags on the tripod helped a lot. If you place the unit to the right of your barrel (using the remote trigger) you can let the shooter to your right (borrow your remote trigger) and it will record his shot - so the aiming doesn’t have to be perfect. Clearing errors and pulling the data from previous shots and having the “armed” time out were also issues (set the armed time to its max - and don’t worry about shutting it off between shots - my recommendation. Sounds like you have a brick for power supply - it will last for many hours. Hope this info helps - I just about got rid of mine - was really frustrated ……. Now -it goes everywhere with me almost -lol |
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Post by buckeye68 on Jul 9, 2022 7:28:15 GMT -5
Before each shot make sure the orange light is on.
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Post by Richard on Jul 9, 2022 8:17:36 GMT -5
A lot of good tips in the above posts. As I read thru them I recalled my own encounters with them.
Besides checking for the orange light being on, occasionally a screen comes up "could not track bullet!". I said to myself WTF? I did not shoot yet? To remove that screen, just hit the Enter button and you will be back in business...of not, it will not record your shot.
Using the Trigger with the ML, I velcrowed the trigger to my lead sled. This way I did not have to deal with the wire.
Have fun, they are the best thing since sliced bread (once you learn the ins and outs)
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Post by dannoboone on Jul 9, 2022 10:44:56 GMT -5
Scheels' site now stating LabRadar out of stock, but just got an
email from Brownell's as having them for $559.95, for those
interested.
As for me, the MagnetoSpeed still serves my purposes very
well.
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Post by Richard on Jul 9, 2022 11:23:00 GMT -5
The magneto speed is better suited to center fire guns where multiple shots are fired without removing the rifle from the rest. With a muzzle loader, it becomes more of a PIA when firing "a lot" of shots. Loading with it attached can be tricky. Taking it off each time you load just looks like a pain! If you are only looking to get an approximate velocity for a given load and fire one or two shots, they are ok. When I go to the range and fire some 30 shots,.........? Does not look like fun! Like a lot of equipment, whatever suits your needs and/or pocketbook!
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Post by ballistic on Jul 9, 2022 12:06:44 GMT -5
The magneto speed is better suited to center fire guns where multiple shots are fired without removing the rifle from the rest. With a muzzle loader, it becomes more of a PIA when firing "a lot" of shots. Loading with it attached can be tricky. Taking it off each time you load just looks like a pain! If you are only looking to get an approximate velocity for a given load and fire one or two shots, they are ok. When I go to the range and fire some 30 shots,.........? Does not look like fun! Like a lot of equipment, whatever suits your needs and/or pocketbook! Agreed with your statement and also the previous. I think the magneto will work for 90% of shooters and the labradar is suited for the few looking for the “edge” Magneto -Pros are easy to set up and it works in any condition that you can think of. You could shoot a round into the dirt at 20 paces in the dark while it’s snowing and it will give a reading. Cons- are it will change point of impact (even on heavy bull barrels) when mounted vs non mounted and changes impacts again if not remounted in the exact spot every time. And it’s hard to keep the unit on a muzzleloader with us loading from the muzzle. Labradar -Pros are it’s not attached to the gun/barrel -impacts do not change the zero. When shooting at longer targets the data allows a shooter to know why the hit is high (fast speed) for example. Cons- takes longer to set it up -is bulkier than the magneto -you can’t have a wind flag come between you and your target or you’ll get an error -heavy wind can cause issues if you don’t firmly secure it. I prefer the labradar for my type of shooting. I mostly shoot prone and shoot steel across canyons at very long ranges. I use the unit and takes notes on hits/misses. Speeds change with heat/cold -hot barrels…….. when I miss low for example -I can verify if my speed on the shot was low - or i just blew the shot- or misread the conditions. This info has made me a better shooter. Do i still like the magneto and a good ole chrony - absolutely………… |
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Post by yoderjac on Jul 9, 2022 13:16:53 GMT -5
Scheels' site now stating LabRadar out of stock, but just got an email from Brownell's as having them for $559.95, for those interested. As for me, the MagnetoSpeed still serves my purposes very well. I'm glad i ordered it when I did! |
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Post by bruceinii on Jul 10, 2022 13:32:31 GMT -5
I have the original version and it works great. I wasn’t a fan of their base or the bags they sell with them. I bought a water proof hard case and cut foam to fit the lab radar with the same base as Bill described. The base is made by Arkco Machine. Very nice base. I also have a remote trigger for it but haven’t used it since I’ve changed to my new base setup. I now use the quad pod mount that Lab Radar sells. I bought 1 1/4” PVC from Lowes and cut them down for the legs and Lab Radar sets over top of the barrel. I taped a brass tube on of the unit for a aiming device. Since I started using the quad pod base, it haven’t missed reading a shot. View AttachmentDid you make the legs 24" long or did you find another length that worked better? I just ordered the quad pod mount. TIA , Bruce |
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Post by ballistic on Jul 10, 2022 16:50:30 GMT -5
I have the original version and it works great. I wasn’t a fan of their base or the bags they sell with them. I bought a water proof hard case and cut foam to fit the lab radar with the same base as Bill described. The base is made by Arkco Machine. Very nice base. I also have a remote trigger for it but haven’t used it since I’ve changed to my new base setup. I now use the quad pod mount that Lab Radar sells. I bought 1 1/4” PVC from Lowes and cut them down for the legs and Lab Radar sets over top of the barrel. I taped a brass tube on of the unit for a aiming device. Since I started using the quad pod base, it haven’t missed reading a shot. View AttachmentI really like your setup. Looks like it gets the entire unit out of the muzzle blast of others. I don’t have a quad base - but now I want one. Thanks for sharing |
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Post by shindig on Jul 11, 2022 7:55:16 GMT -5
I have the original version and it works great. I wasn’t a fan of their base or the bags they sell with them. I bought a water proof hard case and cut foam to fit the lab radar with the same base as Bill described. The base is made by Arkco Machine. Very nice base. I also have a remote trigger for it but haven’t used it since I’ve changed to my new base setup. I now use the quad pod mount that Lab Radar sells. I bought 1 1/4” PVC from Lowes and cut them down for the legs and Lab Radar sets over top of the barrel. I taped a brass tube on of the unit for a aiming device. Since I started using the quad pod base, it haven’t missed reading a shot. View Attachment |
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Post by buckeye68 on Jul 11, 2022 22:31:54 GMT -5
I bought two 5’ pieces of PVC pipe and cut them in half just to see how I like it being taller. I figured that I can always cut them shorter. After I tried it I realized I needed to change a couple of things to fit my setup. For starters, I cut the bottom angle of the pipe to set flat on the bench. I also bent the two front mounts to change the angle of the front legs to work with my rest. After I was happy with my mods, I bought 8 pipe caps that fit inside of the 1 1/4” pipe and glued one in each end. I filled each leg up with sand and capped the other end. This added weight to each leg to make it more stable in windy conditions. Supper happy with my new setup.
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Post by yoderjac on Jul 15, 2022 18:55:54 GMT -5
It arrived yesterday. I just plugged it in to my brick and did the initial settings. I'm redoing our rifle range right now, so it may be a bit before I can check it out. Seems pretty straight forward.
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