Labradar competitors

[jbell]

I am going to update my chronograph in the next month or two but was waiting to see if anyone came out with a radar based system to compete with the Labradar at Shot Show. I have not seen any chatter about anything new, but before I pull the trigger on a Labradar I thought I would ask if y’all have seen or heard of anything?

I’m not interested in a Magnetospeed and have bashed my head against the optical sensor style units way too long.

 

[Stag556]

I haven’t seen any competitors to the labradar. I owned one for about a year and finally got fed up enough that I went back to a Magneto. Too finicky and got to the point I was wasting rounds without getting the data I wanted because it would not pick up a shot. I saw this especially on 223.
Grabbed a Magneto V3 and the Wiser Precision Mount and haven’t looked back.

 

[tRidiot]

That is disappointing. I have a friend who has one of these he said I could borrow, as I was looking into my options.

 

[sharpdoug]

Got the MPA spigot mount and does awesome with the Magnetospeed. Have had numerous problems with the Labradar including leaking AA battery damage, lots of missed shots as stated above. Always grab the MS and the Lab just sits.

 

[tansinator]

Magnetto speed works great, even for 22lr

 

[jbell]

Hey thanks guys! Maybe I should rethink the Magnetospeed.

 

[yakstone]

My labradar has been flawless even on suppressed .223.

 

[chutinlead]

I use a LabRadar and after an old chronograph it’s so slick. The data you get from it can’t be achieved from magnetospeed. That being said, if all you need is simple muzzle velocity and don’t mind you POI maybe shifting a bit, get a magnetospeed.

 

[Runnineh]

Labradar all the way. No attachment to your gun. Can be used for rifles, handguns, and bows. Easy to use. Its worth the extra money.

 

[Steel head]

That is disappointing. I have a friend who has one of these he said I could borrow, as I was looking into my options.

My local range has one I can use.
In busy conditions without the new accessory triggers it can be frustrating and sometimes you need to fiddle with the settings to capture small bullets.

That said when It’s working(trigger, slow range and after setting it up per the many sources of information available) It’s a fantastic piece of equipment.

I‘m currently using a magnetospeed sporter and they’re both within a couple FPS consistently.

If I had the extra coin I’d buy one right now.
In many situations I find the Labradar more convenient.

 

[Batemanb12]

I have been using a labradar for a year now and would recommend it to anyone. It has been one of the best pieces of gear that I have purchased. I use it for 6,6.5,308,.338 and .22 and it has performed very well...
It does take some time to get the settings dialed in for small or suppressed rounds, but once you get it figured out it you will be golden from there on...

 

[jbell]

Thanks guys, I mostly shoot by myself so maybe it's still a good option.

 

[JB.IC]

I haven’t seen any competitors to the labradar. I owned one for about a year and finally got fed up enough that I went back to a Magneto. Too finicky and got to the point I was wasting rounds without getting the data I wanted because it would not pick up a shot. I saw this especially on 223.
Grabbed a Magneto V3 and the Wiser Precision Mount and haven’t looked back.

My labradar misses shots and I have the Piet recoil trigger. I don’t get why this thing is so sketchy

 

[LA260]

With MS you can shoot at any Target you want and still collect data. With LR you have to point the LR at the Target you are shooting at. Enough reason to get MS for me

 

[JB.IC]

MK Machining for the win with the magnetospeed mount. this doesn’t affect your POI. Annoying to setup with multiple rifles. Which is why I got the LR on the holiday sale. Looks like I’ll have to run BOTH because trust issues.

 

[Steel head]

I use the Wiser mount for my Sporter.

 

[Painterbolt]

I was having alot of issues getting readings. Bought one of the sights that attach on the top of the unit to help align it and cant recall ever having an issue.

 

[chutinlead]

I was having alot of issues getting readings. Bought one of the sights that attach on the top of the unit to help align it and cant recall ever having an issue.

We got glued a short chunk of drinking straw to ours. Lots easier to get it lined up.

 

[DMP]

My Labradars has a hard time on a range with overhead baffles. But it is 100% on a open range. I love it.

 

[viking78]

I have had few different chrony meters.
But now that i have microphone on my Labradar, that is the most easiest and best system i have ever used.
Super easy, even fun to use.
It will read subsonic and even a arrow from a bow.
Minus is the price, but it is the best.

 

[Alabusa]

I have had zero issues with my LabRadar. From 22 cal to 33 cal, it picks up every shot, every time. Can not imagine a range trip without it. Pic is a typical range setup.

 

[jbell]

Man thanks guys, y'all are knocking it out of the park with your experiences. I kinda figured this thread would not really give me much feedback, but that's not the case.

 

[Defender3]

I had a Magnetospeed V3 and it worked well but I got tired of the spacers and messing around with suppressed / unsuppressed. I bought a Labradar and haven't looked back. I've used it at 100y covered outdoor ranges and on the line at Quantico. It does drop a shot once and a while, but I've pretty much learned its nuances, which includes sighting it, setting the bullet weight so you get good downrange data, and adjusting the trigger level when shooting suppressed or when there may be people shooting next to me.

I also tested the M/S against the Labradar using several differing factory 260 loads and each was within 5fps of the other.

 

[bwoodie]

I use a Labradar with everything from suppressed .22 LR to big bores. I use the external microphone as the “trigger”- just lay the mic under the barrel or clip it to the bipod. Works great. I have used it on my Ravin crossbow with the microphone clipped underneath and it worked great as well. I have not used a new Magnetospeed so I can’t compare to it. I had one of the 1st generation Magnetospeeds and my Labradar is far superior.

 

[tlsmith22]

I sold a perfectly good Magnetospeed for a Labradar and its been terrible for me personally. It won‘t read a bare barrel, braked barrel or suppressed barrel. It is consistent though in not working at all. I have changed every setting and put it in every position beside, behind and in front of the barrel And in various distances from the barrel. It’s abt to be headed back to Labradar I guess.

 

[DMP]

I sold a perfectly good Magnetospeed for a Labradar and its been terrible for me personally. It won‘t read a bare barrel, braked barrel or suppressed barrel. It is consistent though in not working at all. I have changed every setting and put it in every position beside, behind and in front of the barrel And in various distances from the barrel. It’s abt to be headed back to Labradar I guess.

I hope you get it all fixed up. Have you been able to see another LR in action? It might help to see what is working for others.

 

[DownhillFromHere]

Labradar has a learning curve. Once you learn its nuances, missed shots are very, very rare. A few things I've learned:

• The external microphone should be standard equipment. I use it All The Time, because it's far easier to move that microphone for optimal trigger positioning than to move the whole unit when I'm shooting everything from an 18" .22 to a 28" braked 6.5CM.
• An unbraked 24" .223 requires almost the same mic positioning as a .22 rimfire.
• A braked 16" .223 uses the same mic setting as a braked 28" 6.5CM.
• USE THE LOW POWER SETTING on indoor or cluttered ranges. Nobody talks about this much. It should be talked about more. And it doesn't take much clutter to get bad readings due to rf scatter from the standard power setting.
• A crowded range is indeed a pita when I'm trying to chrono a light caliber and there are people around me shooting braked .243-.30 cal stuff.
• I don't even put AA batteries in mine anymore because they are really that useless. Just get a rechargeable battery pack and forget internal batteries.
• For .22s, I find the microphone needs to be about half-inch to the side of the muzzle. Use the "handgun" setting, not rifle.
• EDIT: Add a sight of some sort. I just use the barrel of a ballpoint pin or a long thin rod. I never seem to get around to buying a "good" sight.

I've only called LR tech support one time - couldn't get my unit to chrono .22 rimfire. Took the guy about 90 second to set things right (more accurately, make the settings on my unit right) in real time on the range.

Anyone who simply can't get their unit to read should call LR support. Any electronic device can be DOA or go bad early on. I recently started using a very expensive gadget that simply wouldn't work right out of the box; long story short, the thing was indeed dead and the manufacturer had another one on my doorstep in short order.

 

[kthomas]

I use a magnetospeed and have minimal to no complaints with the system. The POI shift doesn't bother me as it doesn't effect what I do much, and my barrels are all a similar profile so going from one barrel to another doesn't have me changing out the spacers. The MS has also been incredibly reliable, rarely does it ever not pick up a shot, but it can occasionally happen. One though I do notice with the MS is that the strap can walk loose a bit which can be annoying. This seems to happen on barrels with a taper. I've found that butting it up right next to the brake helps with this - however a better solution would be to get one of the mounting brackets, which I may end up getting one day.

The labradar seems nice, but not nice enough for me to swap over from an MS.

 

[StrayDog]

JBell, I got a V3 Magnetospeed if you wanna mess with it, and I'm on the wait list for MKM's arca/pic rail mount, maybe another month or two... BTW, 2/8 at SFGA for NRL.22, you get another rimfire yet?

 

[tlsmith22]

Labradar has a learning curve. Once you learn its nuances, missed shots are very, very rare. A few things I've learned:

• The external microphone should be standard equipment. I use it All The Time, because it's far easier to move that microphone for optimal trigger positioning than to move the whole unit when I'm shooting everything from an 18" .22 to a 28" braked 6.5CM.
• An unbraked 24" .223 requires almost the same mic positioning as a .22 rimfire.
• A braked 16" .223 uses the same mic setting as a braked 28" 6.5CM.
• USE THE LOW POWER SETTING on indoor or cluttered ranges. Nobody talks about this much. It should be talked about more. And it doesn't take much clutter to get bad readings due to rf scatter from the standard power setting.
• A crowded range is indeed a pita when I'm trying to chrono a light caliber and there are people around me shooting braked .243-.30 cal stuff.
• I don't even put AA batteries in mine anymore because they are really that useless. Just get a rechargeable battery pack and forget internal batteries.
• For .22s, I find the microphone needs to be about half-inch to the side of the muzzle. Use the "handgun" setting, not rifle.

I've only called LR tech support one time - couldn't get my unit to chrono .22 rimfire. Took the guy about 90 second to set things right (more accurately, make the settings on my unit right) in real time on the range.

Anyone who simply can't get their unit to read should call LR support. Any electronic device can be DOA or go bad early on. I recently started using a very expensive gadget that simply wouldn't work right out of the box; long story short, the thing was indeed dead and the manufacturer had another one on my doorstep in short order.

I have took it to the range 3 times and set it up exactly like my gunsmiths Labradar and his works and mine don’t.

 

[jinxx4ever]

setting mine up tomorrow, hopefully by all the discussion on here, i can make mine work

 

[jzerfoss]

I have zero complaints about my labradar.... Haven't used my magnetospeed since I got it.

 

[Sendit6.5]

I’ve been thinking about a LabRadar because I thought it also gives you some down range info. Like, ‘here’s your muzzle velocity and here’s your velocity at 100, 200, etc?’ No?? I have a MS V3 that I’m happy with but I’d like a LabRadar for chrono on arrows as well. Not looking to replace one with another - considering a LabRadar to add to my MS.

 

[JB.IC]

I’ve been thinking about a LabRadar because I thought it also gives you some down range info. Like, ‘here’s your muzzle velocity and here’s your velocity at 100, 200, etc?’ No?? I have a MS V3 that I’m happy with but I’d like a LabRadar for chrono on arrows as well. Not looking to replace one with another - considering a LabRadar to add to my MS.

with my huge 375cal bullets, I can’t get mine to read out to 100yds. Sometimes it will. Most of the time it won’t. That’s if it even reads a shot.

 

[just browsing]

Most issues with LabRadars are user/setup errors. They can definitely be finicky, but I’ve helped more than a few folks at the range with their’s and it goes from “this thing sucks” to “oh that’s how you do it!”

As stated above, the microphone, a sight, and rechargeable battery pack should be standard equipment. Don’t bother buying one if you’re not going to get that stuff too. Beyond that, positioning and settings are still important to get right but to a lesser degree.

I’ve owned both LR and MS, and I’ve come to the conclusion that each is optimized for different situations. The Magneto in very busy environments, the LR for about everything else.

 

[acudaowner]

just to ask do any of them allow you to give a label to stored shots groups like time date or anything it's the one of the things I can think of I wish the magneto speed does not do I wish it did that and erase all would be nice .

 

[Boatninja]

I guess I'm one of the people that has had nothing but trouble with Labradar, it has been sent back once and yesterday after a few shots missed and read it said something like Internal fatal something, contact manufacturer. I've wasted countless OCW loads trying to make it work. Most of my shooting is on the weekend when no customer service is available, I have even tried to find someone to pay to help me with it. it has been very frustrating.... I have magneto speed also, need to look into the mounts you guys are talking about to get the weight off barrel.

 

[JB.IC]

What happens when you have all that shit and it still sucks? Do we keep pretending you need a physics degree to use it? Or that it’s just a spotty unit at best and the ones that have a fully working unit are lucky and we can stop pretending everyone else sucks.

 

[CavReconScout]

just to ask do any of them allow you to give a label to stored shots groups like time date or anything it's the one of the things I can think of I wish the magneto speed does not do I wish it did that and erase all would be nice .

Like this? It is the XFR attachment/app. It also has a button to delete the string.

 

[Boatninja]

Can someone post details and photos on alternative mount options for Magneto speed?

 

[JB.IC]

Can someone post details and photos on alternative mount options for Magneto speed?

MK Machining Gen III Magnetospeed Mount (With 12" Rod)

Mounts via picatinny rail or arca rail. Works with V3, V2, and Sporter models. Various rod length options are available from 12 to 48 inches

mkmachining.com

I posted a photo earlier of it on my Cadex Shadow

 

[Stag556]

Can someone post details and photos on alternative mount options for Magneto speed?

I’m using the Wiser Precision Mount for my magneto. It works great. Uses arca or pic rail and is fully adjustable to any gun, barrel length, contour etc. After many headaches with my Labradar, I went back to the MS. Zero POI shift with this Mount and not a single missed shot.

 

[CavReconScout]

Original Chrono Mount

This product has been replaced by the Chrono Mount PRO The Wiser Precision Chrono Mount is the most advanced system for mounting your MagnetoSpeed v3 and Sporter chronographs. The Chrono Mount isolates the chronograph from the muzzle of your firearm and supplies ample adjustability to work...

www.wiserprecision.com

MPA RAT Magnetospeed Adaptor - MasterPiece Arms, Inc.

The RAT Magnetospeed Adaptor is used on our RAT System (Rapid Adjustment Technology). It is designed to provide an attachment method of a Magnetospeed Ver. 2 & 3 to the RAT Dovetail Plate (Spigot Mount) on the MPA BA Chassis. This will include the RAT Base, Magnetospeed Adaptor Block, and...

masterpiecearms.com

 

[jbell]

JBell, I got a V3 Magnetospeed if you wanna mess with it, and I'm on the wait list for MKM's arca/pic rail mount, maybe another month or two... BTW, 2/8 at SFGA for NRL.22, you get another rimfire yet?

Hey man, I am just seeing this. Thank you for the offer! I just picked up a Labradar so after I get it sorted out we should do some side by side comparison.

 

[StrayDog]

Sounds good--i am curious about the labradar, looking forward to it!

 

[patriotnation]

My Labradars has a hard time on a range with overhead baffles. But it is 100% on a open range. I love it.

Thanks for mentioning this. Maybe that is another reason I have trouble at my range in prone position, yet it seems to work well off the bench with the unit on my tripod. It is very fickle. I think I will get one of those Piet triggers to see if that eliminates any missed data.

 

[Tyler Kemp]

I can assure you my Magneto Mount is at a different level than the competition, at a similar price. No 3d printed parts here, and a wide variety of adjustment, along with Pic and Arca compatibility. They're constantly sold out, but I have another batch finishing in just a few weeks! They are a lot more complex and costly to manufacture than the competitors, as a small business I can only afford to do 100 units per batch.

All milled and hardcoated 6061 for the mounting parts, and all lathe turned stainless for the adjustment rods. A wide amount of adjustability, mount your bayonet below, above, on the side, etc.

MK Machining Gen III Magnetospeed Mount

MK Machining Gen III Magnetospeed Mount We’ve made substantial improvements to our very popular Magnetospeed Mount for better performance.

mkmachining.com