Doppler Velocimeter

Do the Doppler velocimeters work well with AIrgun pellets? I got one of the optical ones, and I’m sure it will be fine for airguns, but it isn’t that useful for firearms because all of the ranges around here have covers over the shooting areas. I’m trying to decide whether to get a magnetospeed v3 for the firearms or spring for a Doppler and sell the optical chronograph. The magnetospeed wont work with lead pellets, so it really comes down to how Doppler performs for airguns. Thoughts?
 
My LabRadar (Doppler radar) works very well, in fact I love it. But it's an expensive (really expensive) way to simply measure muzzle velocity. If that's all you really want/need then you might want to stay with an optical system. My experience with those systems is pretty limited but I'd be surprised if a simple cover/roof over the bench area would have that much influence, again I say that without a lot of experience using them.

The unit is sophisticated and there are quite a few inputs. Took me a while to familiarize myself with the settings and controls but once I did it was pretty straightforward. The LabRadar can measure and store up to five down range user selected distances, Dx1 to Dx5, as well as muzzle velocity Dx0. If you want accurate multiple down range readings you do need to have a clear field of sight between the rifle and the target. If there are trees (for example) within a few feet of your pellet/slug's flight path the returns off the tree trunk (obstacle) can influence readings. For some reason its stuck in my mind the manufacturer recommended 15 feet on either side of the flight path but I cant find a reference to that spec in the manual. The LabRadar is trigged by the sound of the muzzle "blast". Because of the suppressor on my Crown (DonnyFl Tanto) I found that using the accessory mic made for more reliable and consistent triggering of the unit. Unsuppressed the unit would trigger just fine without the mic.

At ~$800 for the entire rig it's not for the faint of wallet but man is it ever a great ballistics data miner. 

George

LabRadar Manual
 
Labradars don’t work that well with low power .177. I have one that I never use for pellets anymore. They tried, unsuccessfully, to use one for tech inspection at the FT Nationals and other matches in Phoenix.

Mine works great for larger projectiles. Very poor for .177 FT rifles. I would not spend the money on one

i have a Competition Electronics Pro Chrono in my shop, and carry a Combro to matches. The combro can be calibrated to match other chronos. Mine reads within 1fps of my pro chrono every shot. When using it in the field...it’s important to understand that the body of the unit is plastic and expands and contracts a great deal with temperature. If the unit is sitting in the sun and is 100 degrees...your reading will be slower than it would at 70 since the sensors are further apart after expansion. Just something to keep in mind. I have not found that to be a problem.

I don’t find it necessary to chrono check all the time. I only do it to verify I am not over the fpe limit if I go to a new elevation. If I am hitting where I am supposed to be hitting at my zero and 55y...my velocity is good. Don’t get hung up on the actual numbers. Zero the gun at 30....check elevation at 55. If you are a little high at 55....lower the speed a little. Little low at 55y....raise speed a little. I only need to do this because I shoot at 6500’ at home , then travel to most matches much closer to sea level.

I have found that I can use my same numbers all across the country by just altering speed. I run about 765-770 at home, and 785-790 on the road to make my 55y elevation work in the heavier air. Since there is a 2% allowance in speed for FT...I am well below the max velocity that would disqualify me (815).

Hope this helps.

Mike 
 
https://www.amazon.com/AIR-CHRONY-chronograph-recommended-accessories/dp/B0756Z83FJ

Im going to get one of these. The Air Chrony MK 3 has proven itself reliable for FT, and I like the convenience of just strapping this MK 1 to the barrel and not worrying about shooting through an opening. I believe the MK3 was adopted as the chrono to use for World Championships.

The combro requires that you press a button to reset it each shot....this does not. Plus, it has a 250 shot memory.

One more option.

Mike 
 
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Labradars don’t work that well with low power .177. I have one that I never use for pellets anymore. They tried, unsuccessfully, to use one for tech inspection at the FT Nationals and other matches in Phoenix.

Hope this helps.

Mike

Mike! Useful information, I only shoot .22 so haven't had an issue but like I said good information to have on "file". Makes me wonder if the boys are trying to sort out a firmware upgrade that can handle the issue or if its simply a physical limitation of the Doppler they are licensed to employ. 



George
 
https://www.amazon.com/AIR-CHRONY-chronograph-recommended-accessories/dp/B0756Z83FJ

Im going to get one of these. The Air Chrony MK 3 has proven itself reliable for FT, and I like the convenience of just strapping this MK 1 to the barrel and not worrying about shooting through an opening. I believe the MK3 was adopted as the chrono to use for World Championships.

The combro requires that you press a button to reset it each shot....this does not. Plus, it has a 250 shot memory.

One more option.

Mike

I will give you today 1000 USD if their accuracy is true...