I just tell my wife she never forgets anything ! Lol
If I'm working up something new I also use the composition notebook but I try not to experiment too much these days I find a load that works as needed and stick with it
I just tell my wife she never forgets anything ! Lol
If I'm working up something new I also use the composition notebook but I try not to experiment too much these days I find a load that works as needed and stick with it
If you find yourself in a fair fight, your tactics suck!
Microsoft Word, one document for each load with every batch recorded with all details, plus range results. Been doing it for 40 years. YMMV
God Bless America
US Army, NRA Patron, TSRA Life
SASS, Ruger & Marlin accumulator
Loose leaf 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 3 ring binder notebook - half size of letter size typing paper. Tabs for each caliber I shoot with pictures, and all information on all firearms I am currently shooting. I print our letter size targets, with lined space for all reloading info, and which revolver or rifle I was shooting. Then I scan in the target down to where it will fit on the page. That way I can go back and check the best loads, etc.
3 ring loose leaf binder
Cheap wallyworld 3 ring notebook.
Load data on index cards. One by caliber and one by powder. For example .223 has a card with loads using Varget and BL-C(2) and the Varget card has that same Varget load, the BL-C(2) card has that load.
Not sure why but I started that way so I try to keep it up. Can look at a powder card and see what loads I use it for, can look at a caliber card and see what powders I might use.
Cast go in baggies with piece of index card recording at least the caliber & weight. Mold too. Probably alloy. Date of casting. Sometimes even a bit of casting info such as the melt temp. I tend to cast more when a baggie gets low so the card with it provides a quick reference to what I want to do to make more of that specific cast bullet. The date covers age hardening which I don't really care that much about in most cases but it also tells me how long that batch lasted. Can help me decide how many to make next time, or give me an excuse to get a mold with more cavities.
You know the conversation with self at the bench. Hmmm I made 400 of these less than 3 months ago, maybe the 4 or 6 cavity mold would be a good investment to supplement the 2 cavity I have. Maybe I should order it right away before I make more! Yeah that would be smart. Surely the dear wife will see the wisdom of such a purchase....
Scrap.... because all the really pithy and emphatic four letter words were taken and we had to describe this source of casting material somehow so we added an "S" to what non casters and wives call what we collect.
Kind of hard to claim to love America while one is hating half the Americans that disagree with you. One nation indivisible requires work.
Feedback page http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...light=RogerDat
Years ago I made a spreadsheet that was similar to the MTM ammo log. I keep them in a large 3 ring binder. Its large enough that I can put targets in it if I want. I'll also staple chromo tapes to some of the targets.
I keep my results on an Excel file, working up loads, I store boolit, powder, charge distance and group size of the high charge, low charge and best load.
Old school scientist here (not too mad, most of the time) with a bound laboratory bench book. Think heavy-duty composite notebook. I put hard data on one side and leave the other side open for field notes. I use a numbered lot system that I mark on the ammo box/can etc. to keep it referenced to the book. I've gone through too many computers that crashed and burned to trust those evil things to keep my important data in.
Looking for USGI M1 and carbine rifle parts, please PM me.
For most loads, I use a note card, and stick it in the ammo box with the loaded ammo. For more serious work, or chronograph results, I use a Rite in the Rain notebook. They are not messing around, You can write on that notebook in a thunderstorm, I've done it.
Mostly load data on file cards put in a recipe card box, ammo gets ID'ed with a sharpie marker on the box or on masking tape.
Three ring loose leaf binders, full of targets. All pertinent information printed on target, including date, time and weather information. Some firearms have their own dedicated binder. Tabs separate bullet styles and different powders, tried.
Winelover.
Three ring binder with a tab for each caliber. I started with a composition notebook with loaded entered sequentially but found it hard to retrieve specific load date with that method so I switched.
God Bless, Whisler
This is what I do also. I have a column for velocity and a comment column. I comment on how the load worked, and what I liked or didn't like. It really saves me a lot of time when I am trying to figure out what I want to build next. Some calibers are now 3-4 pages full of different trials.
BNE
I'm a Happy Clinger.
I hate handwriting, so I keep all of mine as text or .rtf files on the computer. Each caliber has its own file. Once every few years I print the works and stick them in a 3 ring binder so I have a hard copy backup. I also have a backup on a flash drive, DVD, etc.
Notes get added after range sessions.
Hand written records in spiral bound note books. You can get them cheap a couple weeks after school starts. Leftovers!
I have a binder with little tabs for each caliber. Put the info I put in is my testing and my "final" load for a particular projectile / powder. I do this for each combo but that means I end up with a couple pages/caliber and I just reference it when I go to load something I haven't loaded in a while. For instance, I haven't loaded my Unique 44 Magnum load recently, so I flipped to the page, saw my testing and the load that I circled. Yep - 8.5 grain for the 240 grain 43-240A boolit.
Now I am ready for the pistol section of the match this weekend!
Funny enough, my PB boolits are all RED and my GC boolits are all BLUE... So, I need to load some mackers just because I really like shooting those... But if a casual observer were to pick up a box of boolits and sees the RED ones - they may think those are the bangers - and then the BLUE ones are the "nice" ones.... BUT NO! You can shoot the red ones in a comp, but the blue ones are gonna make everyone around you say "what the ***** was that?!?"
WWG1WGA
I have a 3 ring notebook/binder for each rifle and handgun that I own. I put targets that I have shot with all the information written on the target in the notebook. I also have a section with nothing but recommended handloads for reference. Works for me. james
Excel spreadsheets, including notes transferred from manual notes going back to early 70's. I keep safe backups, just in case. I include field notes, etc. I make note of every time I reload a cartridge, even if it's the 20th time I reloaded the exact same load. I also include "load development" notes. That way, I never have to re-invent that wheel. My development notes include custom calculations used from chronograph results (toss high or toss low, or average all, etc).
NRA Life Member
NRA Certified Metallic Cartridge Reloading Instructor
Author of a book on reloading
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BP | Bronze Point | IMR | Improved Military Rifle | PTD | Pointed |
BR | Bench Rest | M | Magnum | RN | Round Nose |
BT | Boat Tail | PL | Power-Lokt | SP | Soft Point |
C | Compressed Charge | PR | Primer | SPCL | Soft Point "Core-Lokt" |
HP | Hollow Point | PSPCL | Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" | C.O.L. | Cartridge Overall Length |
PSP | Pointed Soft Point | Spz | Spitzer Point | SBT | Spitzer Boat Tail |
LRN | Lead Round Nose | LWC | Lead Wad Cutter | LSWC | Lead Semi Wad Cutter |
GC | Gas Check |