I was not aware this existed until I came across it in a post by member @021411. He referenced a recoil-activated trigger for the LR that I was unaware existed. Through PMs, he informed me that another member, @wildmanpiet, is making these at home and making them available. I immediately thought this could be a great idea to address some issues that can be intrinsic to using the LR with a suppressor, or near other shooters.
One issue with the LR and suppressors is getting it to trigger. LR recommends putting the unit in front of the suppressor out of the line of fire, but then the unit is out of reach to operate the controls while behind the rifle. It also means using a tripod if you're on a bench, which means more gear and more chance to knock it over, etc. Another option (that I've been using) is the air gun trigger that LR sells. But, wind will cause false triggers, and I'm certain that nearby shooters would as well but I haven't experienced that because I'm always alone on my own range. Also, even without using the air gun trigger, I've heard reports of nearby shooters causing false triggers (and even readings) when using the unit's internal trigger even without the air gun mic. A recoil-activated trigger (heretofore referred to as RAT, no slur intended) would seem to solve these issues.
I contacted wildmanpiet and arranged payment through PayPal (50.00 total). He must have sent it immediately because it arrived all the way from across the country in 2 days I believe. I did a quick bench test to confirm it was working, and then took it to the range yesterday. The RAT sensor itself is about the size of a matchbox, slightly thinner, with about 2-1/2 ft, of cable attached and a 1/8" TRS phono plug to fit the LR's input jack. A few velcro dots were provided to attach it to the rifle wherever you want, but I just looped the cable over the top of the scope and tucked the unit back underneath the scope tube, sitting on the rail beneath the scope. I fired 10 rounds suppressed, and it triggered the LR every time, and I got reliable readings with each shot. He has a series of very short videos demoing the unit, and one of them explains that you can get a false trigger if you run the bolt hard. It's no big deal because if you just wait for a second for the Armed orange light to come back on you can proceed without even having to clear the Error message and the unit will still trigger and track the shot without adding the false trigger to your shot string. I found that with my placement, I could get false triggers even running the bolt normally, but it really doesn't affect anything. (If I was somewhat gentle with the bolt, it didn't false-trigger). He said you can avoid false-triggers by adjusting the placement of the RAT farther away from the action, and I'm sure that would work but I haven't tried it yet. The velcro he provides would allow you to put it up on the forend, or back on the butt stock away from the action, and also probably provides some vibration dampening as well without affecting the unit to sense true recoil. My placement was probably worst-case - right above the action directly on the metal.
I will be using/testing the RAT more in the coming weeks to see if any issues pop up, but after yesterday's run I took the air gun trigger out of my bag and intend to use the RAT exclusively. Having used the LR since right after they came out, I was surprised to find out that the RAT exists without me ever having heard of it. Again, my experience is very limited so far, but I thought that if I didn't know about it, there are probably a lot of others here who don't either, and might be interested. Before posting, I asked @wildmanpiet if it was okay to post an unsolicited review and he didn't object (I didn't know if he wanted to get into making a bunch of them if there is interest here). He did mention that he had an issue early on with some cable defects, but thinks he has gotten everyone taken care of who had a problem, and feels he has that issue resolved going forward. Right now, I'm very excited about how it functioned, and addressed the last of the minor issues I've experienced with the LR. It's such a quick and effortless setup, too. As I said, this is an unsolicited review, I just felt he deserved an Attaboy, and that other folks here might want to know about this option. Shoot him a PM if you want to try one.
Edit: @021411 did a similar write up in December, but I missed it at the time, so this is just another heads-up.
Link to videos:
m.youtube.com
One issue with the LR and suppressors is getting it to trigger. LR recommends putting the unit in front of the suppressor out of the line of fire, but then the unit is out of reach to operate the controls while behind the rifle. It also means using a tripod if you're on a bench, which means more gear and more chance to knock it over, etc. Another option (that I've been using) is the air gun trigger that LR sells. But, wind will cause false triggers, and I'm certain that nearby shooters would as well but I haven't experienced that because I'm always alone on my own range. Also, even without using the air gun trigger, I've heard reports of nearby shooters causing false triggers (and even readings) when using the unit's internal trigger even without the air gun mic. A recoil-activated trigger (heretofore referred to as RAT, no slur intended) would seem to solve these issues.
I contacted wildmanpiet and arranged payment through PayPal (50.00 total). He must have sent it immediately because it arrived all the way from across the country in 2 days I believe. I did a quick bench test to confirm it was working, and then took it to the range yesterday. The RAT sensor itself is about the size of a matchbox, slightly thinner, with about 2-1/2 ft, of cable attached and a 1/8" TRS phono plug to fit the LR's input jack. A few velcro dots were provided to attach it to the rifle wherever you want, but I just looped the cable over the top of the scope and tucked the unit back underneath the scope tube, sitting on the rail beneath the scope. I fired 10 rounds suppressed, and it triggered the LR every time, and I got reliable readings with each shot. He has a series of very short videos demoing the unit, and one of them explains that you can get a false trigger if you run the bolt hard. It's no big deal because if you just wait for a second for the Armed orange light to come back on you can proceed without even having to clear the Error message and the unit will still trigger and track the shot without adding the false trigger to your shot string. I found that with my placement, I could get false triggers even running the bolt normally, but it really doesn't affect anything. (If I was somewhat gentle with the bolt, it didn't false-trigger). He said you can avoid false-triggers by adjusting the placement of the RAT farther away from the action, and I'm sure that would work but I haven't tried it yet. The velcro he provides would allow you to put it up on the forend, or back on the butt stock away from the action, and also probably provides some vibration dampening as well without affecting the unit to sense true recoil. My placement was probably worst-case - right above the action directly on the metal.
I will be using/testing the RAT more in the coming weeks to see if any issues pop up, but after yesterday's run I took the air gun trigger out of my bag and intend to use the RAT exclusively. Having used the LR since right after they came out, I was surprised to find out that the RAT exists without me ever having heard of it. Again, my experience is very limited so far, but I thought that if I didn't know about it, there are probably a lot of others here who don't either, and might be interested. Before posting, I asked @wildmanpiet if it was okay to post an unsolicited review and he didn't object (I didn't know if he wanted to get into making a bunch of them if there is interest here). He did mention that he had an issue early on with some cable defects, but thinks he has gotten everyone taken care of who had a problem, and feels he has that issue resolved going forward. Right now, I'm very excited about how it functioned, and addressed the last of the minor issues I've experienced with the LR. It's such a quick and effortless setup, too. As I said, this is an unsolicited review, I just felt he deserved an Attaboy, and that other folks here might want to know about this option. Shoot him a PM if you want to try one.
Edit: @021411 did a similar write up in December, but I missed it at the time, so this is just another heads-up.
Link to videos:
LabRadar Recoil Trigger Videos www.pietrecoiltrigger.com
Collection of Videos on the Piet Labradar Recoil Trigger ThisisTheWookieeWay.com
m.youtube.com
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