LabRadar Ballistic Velocity Doppler Radar Chronograph

[Rick]

Does it work in the dark?
Do you have a concrete pad poured for a permanent stand?
What load will be the first tested? I am thinkng a 180 gr or so bullet from an FA 357?
Can it keep up with Old Double Action?

Probably would work in the dark, radar isn't effected by light conditions.

Conrete pad? Um no, it has a base plate and sits on the shooting bench or on a tripod next to the shooter for off hand shooting.

I have some 308 for my TCR 83 loaded, 3 different loads for Ruger Bishawk 45 Colt and maybe the FA. Dunno what John is gonna shoot today.

BTW Brad, did you know that John is also the proud owner of a LabRadar?

 

[Brad]

You can test them against one another. See how well the numbers match.

I mentioned the device to my wife and she didn't hit me. Might be a future purchase? I did say that nothing would be downrange. That helps because of the first shot ever over the chrony she bought me for Christmas years ago. We went to the range to test it. She watched me hit one of the upright for the screens with the very first shot. Down goes the chrony to her yelling "you shot it". Luckily it wasn't a fatal blow. Still working today after my daughter took out another upright. Oh, that first shot, it was a Contender in Khornet.

 

[Winelover]

Dunno what John is gonna shoot today.

BTW Brad, did you know that John is also the proud owner of a LabRadar?

Will be shooting the AR-10 for the ultimate test.......if it reads the velocities.....over the horrendous muzzle blast....it's money well spent.

One half owner.

 

[Rick]

Will be shooting the AR-10 for the ultimate test.......if it reads the velocities.....over the horrendous muzzle blast....it's money well spent.

Not so fast there lover of wine. You need to read the owners manual as was suggested to you before dragging out that AR.

Horrendous muzzle blast is an under statement. Last year I was sitting about 4 feet to john's left and a bit behind him when he fired that thing from the bench and the muzzle blast nearly took my hat off. The owners manual clearly states to protect the unit from severe muzzle blast by putting a blast shield between the flash suppressor and the unit/

 

[Brad]

Can you post a few photos? And maybe some of the data it records besides velocities?

 

[Brad]

Not so fast there lover of wine. You need to read the owners manual as was suggested to you before dragging out that AR.

Horrendous muzzle blast is an under statement. Last year I was sitting about 4 feet to john's left and a bit behind him when he fired that thing from the bench and the muzzle blast nearly took my hat off. The owners manual clearly states to protect the unit from severe muzzle blast by putting a blast shield between the flash suppressor and the unit/

John, I think Rick would work quite well as a blast shield!

 

[Winelover]

Not so fast there lover of wine. You need to read the owners manual as was suggested to you before dragging out that AR.

Horrendous muzzle blast is an under statement. Last year I was sitting about 4 feet to john's left and a bit behind him when he fired that thing from the bench and the muzzle blast nearly took my hat off. The owners manual clearly states to protect the unit from severe muzzle blast by putting a blast shield between the flash suppressor and the unit/

Not much good for me if it doesn't work for the AR. If I want to deal with a blast shield....I could use my Shooting Crony. But you know what a PITA, that is. Might have to set it up farther down from the muzzle......it's suppose to be capable to read anywhere between target and bench....or so I was told.

 

[Rick]

No, your confusing shooting "through" a blast shield with protecting the unit from muzzle blast. I'll show you when I get over there. We'll just need to find something to use or make for this before shooting the AR. This blast shield goes between the side of the barrel and the unit, not in front of the muzzle.

 

[Brad]

The blast from the brake goes to the rear at an angle. Keep the unit behind that angle and it should be fine. Right behind the muzzle and close to the barrel should be fine. A couple feet to the side could be an issue.
I see a blast shield as easier to set up with this unit than a regular chrono. A simple hunk of 3/4 in plywood on edge could be clamped to the bench between muzzle and radar unit. Far less fiddly to set up than a regular chrono.

 

[Winelover]

The blast from the brake goes to the rear at an angle. Keep the unit behind that angle and it should be fine. Right behind the muzzle and close to the barrel should be fine. A couple feet to the side could be an issue.
I see a blast shield as easier to set up with this unit than a regular chrono. A simple hunk of 3/4 in plywood on edge could be clamped to the bench between muzzle and radar unit. Far less fiddly to set up than a regular chrono.

Rick cobbled together just that sort of shield. Worked just fine with the AR-10. Shot a total of 30 rounds and it captured all of them.

 

[Brad]

Excellent news.

 

[Rick]

Quite a fascinating thing it is. It captured and recorded every shot fired from 5 different guns where sky screens would have choked & failed with the light conditions. It has a lot of functions that take a bit of a learning curve but by the time we finished we had it all figured out pretty well. Ran a 10 shot test of my revolver match ammo and the results matched the Oehler 35 to a T. As a plus instead of reading muzzle velocity at 10 feet at the start screen this gives muzzle velocity at the muzzle. It also gives down range velocities. While we didn't play with that function a lot today we did learn that the 130 gr cast that John was shooting from his AR lost on average 130 fps at 100 yards.

Set up was every bit as easy as they claim. Set it on the bench next to the muzzle, turn it on, shoot. There are a few functions that need to be programed so it knows what you want to do but that's only a few buttons & a few seconds. For the AR with all that muzzle blast the only extra step that is needed is to set the blast shield between the side of the barrel & muzzle and the unit and your good to go.

One of my concerns was battery life and while I wouldn't call it good they did last our entire session (about 3 hours) and were about at 50% when we finished. I am going to order the rechargeable battery pack that should last a good bit longer and then simply re-charge it.

So in the mode of online retailers . . . . Would you recommend this product to a friend? Yep, you bet. This is the coolest thing since ice cream.

 

[Winelover]

Here's some pictures for Brad.



Ricks 45 Colt BisHawk set up on bench.



Velocity reading of Bishawk, can't recall load but bullet is Miha's 270 grain SAA solid and N-110 powder.

Edited by Rick: This was the MP 270 SAA @ 281 gr with 17.3 gr N-110.



Upper left target of Rick's Bishawk, 50 yard group, using red dot sight.




Velocity reading of Rick's FA 357 match revolver.

 

[Brad]

Looks like 17.3 gr of N110.
Who has the 45 Colt Marlin?

Looks like it works pretty well. Beats having to set up screens and such.

 

[Winelover]

Looks like 17.3 gr of N110.
Who has the 45 Colt Marlin?

Looks like it works pretty well. Beats having to set up screens and such.

My bad.....corrected it in previous post.

Rick owns the 45 Colt Marlin.

 

[Brad]

Ok Rick, what kinda loads go thru your Marlin? Mine shoots well with almost anything.

The more I look at that chronograph the more I like it. Nothing downrange has a certain appeal.

 

[Rick]

Nothing down range has a huge, tremendous, gigantic appeal and not only that it's really nice. You little whipper snappers have to get with the program and join the 21st century.

My Marlin 45 Colt doesn't shoot anything worth a hoot, it has a horrible bore. I bought it off Gunbroker with a bore that looked like it was hacked out with a hammer and chisel, Mr. borescope never tells lies. I sent it to Marlin to have a new barrel put on it on my dime. Got it back with a brand new barrel that had a worse bore than the one I sent them. And now you know why the Bishawk was eating the ammo loaded for the Marlin.

That 50 yard Bishawk group looks likes it was shot by a blind old guy using his weak eye with a red dot that covered the whole bullseye.

 

[Brad]

Blind and deaf? Not good.
My Marlin 45 Colt has a nice bore and a huge chamber. The chamber on it makes Ruger chambers seem tight. I do get some pretty extreme case splits, like 2/3 to the head. As long as I get 10 loads or more per case I live with it and get better than that.

 

[Rick]

Pretty unlikely it will ever get shot, can even trust John to use it with minimal risk.

 

[Brad]

Does it cycle fast enough for old double action?

I'm interested to see what other data it gives. I also see it has Bluetooth capability. Did you sync it with your smart phone or tablet?