Log book

[dminn1]

The electronic data gathering is handy for data analysis up to a point. For me that point is until the current barrel wears out or my current lot of components changes, both of which don't take long with the amount of shooting I do. In my experience you better have a paper primary copy or paper back up of any data you care about keeping long term. The cloud may not always be there.

 

[MikeMcCasland]

You guys must be winning every competition you attend with all this info stored.
I read books on my Kindle!!

I certainly won't claim that it results in better match scores; it does nothing to improve your actual shooting skill.

That said, you can identify trends and get very interesting views that are just impossible with pen/paper.

If you've got any experience with excel and are relatively IT savvy, it makes a lot of sense to record it this way.

I can't believe I'm saying this because it's the bane of my existence at work, but it would be really neat to see a Tableau style report on the equipment lists/load data used in state/national level matches.

 

[grovey]

I admire the use of tech to store the data, and can see how useful it could be if one knew how to use it. Someone mentioned an app or maybe it was a program that scans a target and measures groups, and I really like the idea of that. But... I have to admit that's all new territory for me, as I'm just not that tech savvy. Heck... I'm not even sure the office/excel stuff is even on my pc. It's aged, and small with only 7 windows...

For the time being it'll still be pen and paper for me. I like the fact that I can take/store hard copy's right to my bench, but I may look into learning more about using the stuff mentioned.

 

[SS427]

I used an Excel spreadsheet for quite a while, but it became way too much work to scan all the targets and enter all the data for the three or four rifles I would take to the range.

Now I use targets with check boxes on them and places to fill in the variable data. I save those in a three ring binder, sorted by tabs. Much easier, but I do miss the Excel spreadsheet to some degree. Graphs and pivot tables are a cool way to look a the data. If I had someone to clean my guns I could dedicate myself to data entry.

 

[Mulligan]

I agree. Excel, or some other spreadsheet beats a tattered notebook all to Hell. I scan and process all my test targets using On Target Software. It lets me measure the bullet holes very accurately and quickly calculates all sorts of valuable data including Mean Radius which is a real PITA to do by hand, but is done automatically with On Target. Some people, including me, think it is more meaningful than MOA when it comes to measuring the performance of typical test groups.

I assign every loading session a number specific to a particular caliber and gun. You can see it as the 4 digit number in the image below in the Ammunition column. That particular recipe is detailed in a M.S. Word document which contains every important detail like neck tension, seating depth, charge weight, etc. etc. It also has a narrative about the loading session including comments about seating force, how I sorted bullets, and so-on. After I get back from the test range or match, I add a narrative about the results, add in scores or group size, weather conditions, etc. and I print a hard copy. After I scan my targets, I export the On Target data to an Excel worksheet and then add supplementary information like chronograph data, charge weight, powder type, etc. I also calculate a corrected MOA and a corrected ATC (average-to-center, same as Mean Radius) biased for range other than 100 yards and number of shots other than five.

Here is an example. It shows the first 15 lines of my 6.5mm Creedmoor worksheet.

View attachment 1070070

I can sort this data eight ways from Sunday. For example, if you ask me to compare the average MOA of the best ten 5 shot groups made by my .223 using Berger 80gr VLDs with Varget against the best ten 5 shot groups using Sierra MK 80grain bullets with Vihtavouri N-130 at 100 yards and again at 600 yards, it would take me only a few minutes using Excel. Using a typical notebook, that job would be so difficult that no sane person would try it.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Making charts in Excel is quick and easy, so when I do a seating test I always make a chart like this one. It's a snap to pick out the best seating depth from visual data like this..
View attachment 1070072

I have the option of saving my original targets or simply the scanned version saved in digital format on my hard drive. Later I can study the extracted data, the charted performance results, or I can dig up the scanned image and see the actual bullet holes if I want.

So when I get ready for a match, I can consult my Excel worksheet to decide on a suitable recipe and then dig out the M.S. Word document giving details on how I made that particular ammo. Then I can use Quick Load to tweak that recipe, if necessary, based on the forecast weather for the upcoming match.

This routine doesn't really take much more time than using a notebook, but it's so much more versatile that there is no comparison as far as I'm concerned. It doesn't take a serious shooter very long to accumulate a HUGE amount of data. If you want to study your past performance with the idea of predicting what will work best for an upcoming match, then you need to study and sort that data. I'm convinced that a spread sheet is the best way to do that. You may see me taking notes by hand during a test session, but you won't catch me storing any hand written data, that's for sure.

I looked at and downloaded ON Target based on this post.
I will shoot some targets today and see if I can make it sing and dance.
Shooting is beginning to look a lot like work..........
Something about “The desire to prepare to Win”..........
CW

 

[vegas]

Excel is outstanding for this kind of activity; it's all structured data, so it should absolutely be in a spreadsheet. If you're good at excel, you can do amazing things with the data.

One of those wish I had thought of it ideas. Very simple but really nice with the conditional data.

 

[JimSC]

I scribble notes at the range and onto the target itself then when I get home everything goes to my hard drive with a backup on thumb drive. Targets imported into the Ontarget program, videos from target cam, notes and chrono results in excell etc. Of course being retired gives me a lot of time to fill