Record Keeping

[airedale]

I am a big believer in keeping records of my firearms pertaining to accuracy, velocity and trajectory of ammunition both factory and handloads. My problem was a half-assed system, notes scribbled on pieces of paper here and there, notations in loading manuals and notebooks and it showed how bad it was when trying to remember how a certain load performed and then trying to find the actual data which seemed to take forever. So I have come up with a more organized system that when information is needed on a handload and how it performed out of a particular firearm it can be looked up and found easily.

I picked up a card file system where every firearm will have a card or cards showing exactly how it performed with anything I put through it. It is going to be a fun summer wringing out handloads recording data with my new Garmin Xero Chronograph.

Al

Edited February 18 by airedale

[Steve D]

Great Idea. I kept good records of all my reloads by calibers before our fire. Unfortunately, most were lost, and I will have to start all over pretty much from scratch including reloading equipment, supplies, etc.

Thats if the insurance company ever pays what they owe us. 

[Doc]

Okay, so now take the next step and put all that into an Excel spreadsheet. That is where all historical and scientific data belongs. Millions of ways to sort, find, and massage and analyze the data that you accumulate. That is the system that I use to record all the hunting data that I have accumulated over the past 40 years or so. It should work well with gun performance and reload-recipe data too.

Just imagine:

Bullet manufacturers, weights, styles

Powder brands, weights, etc.

Case manufacturers

comments about case sizing and techniques

Primer I.D.

Any notes about pressure signs or potential malfunctions

Overall bullet length

Trajectory

Chronograph notes

Group size remarks

You might even want to include cost data for bullets and components

And of course that all important "Comments" column

What have I forgotten? there must be something. Oh this might also be a good place to record your inventory of reloading equipment: Powder scales, tricklers, presses, etc., etc. Anytime that I have data to record, Excel is my tool for that. Keeping a good back-up procedure guarantees safe keeping of data. For best records safety, back-ups need to be stored someplace other than where the computer is located.

What do you think? Good idea or pain in the neck?

 

[airedale]

This system I think will help me a lot with my various rimfire firearms, I shoot all types of ammo, Bulk, Subsonic, High velocity, Hyper velocity, Match Target, Standard velocity etc, it all shoots different group wise and trajectory wise. I will be able to keep better track of what type of ammo they were  sighted in with and how they were sighted.

Al

[Larry]

I have a load data book I keep all my reload info. in and what book I got loads from. I shoot everything over a chronograph or ballistic radar. I write down everything.

[Doc]

3 hours ago, Larry said:

I have a load data book I keep all my reload info. in and what book I got loads from. I shoot everything over a chronograph or ballistic radar. I write down everything.

There you go. If you go to all the trouble of testing, write it down (or type it into record somewhere. Knowledge gained quickly becomes knowledge lost if it is not recorded in some orderly fashion.

[Moho81]

Great idea, I just started in the reloading world so I can document everything pretty easily. Right now everything is scratched out on paper but I like @Doc idea of an excel spread sheet. 

[Doc]

6 hours ago, Moho81 said:

Great idea, I just started in the reloading world so I can document everything pretty easily. Right now everything is scratched out on paper but I like @Doc idea of an excel spread sheet. 

Spreadsheets were made for this kind of application. The sorting abilities and the ease of storage and back-up make the data easy to keep track of. It's also easy to transfer existing pencil and paper data into the more formal electronic database.

[Moho81]

17 hours ago, Doc said:

Spreadsheets were made for this kind of application. The sorting abilities and the ease of storage and back-up make the data easy to keep track of. It's also easy to transfer existing pencil and paper data into the more formal electronic database.

And I use google docs so all my info is readily accessible no matter where I am.

[airedale]

Any system that will work for you is worth putting the effort in to keep good records I think.

Al

[fasteddie]

I quit keeping my hunting records many years ago . I am 82 and those stone tablets were heavy and took up too much room .

 

[Enigma]

At a minimum that info should be in the digital domain. Probably take you less than 30 minutes to take phone photos of each of those cards. Put it in a folder and upload it somewhere. Done. Safe and secure.

Agree with @Doc.  Digital is your friend. Scratch your notes down while shooting and then input them into your file. Add pics as well. Great for shotgun patterning too. 

 

 

[Enigma]

And to @Steve D' s point.

Everything you own of value should be documented digitally. Preferably with redundant digital and hard storage of those files offsite and kept personal.