Notebook and Notes........Read Them Now and Then

[oldracer]

In an earlier post I mentioned my problem hitting things and a large part of the issue was that I was just trying too hard. Yesterday I went and did a second bit of testing and was feeling pretty good and managed to stay relaxed very well. The shots were still hitting low mostly and then it dawned on me...... I got some notes on the Hawken rifles I got from Doug Knoell last year and decided maybe I should read the notes again. Well what did I find, the powder was Goex FFG (same) and load was 85 grains (I was using 70!) and ball/patch/lube were all the same? Why I went to 70 grains, I have no idea, but upon going back up in powder load, what did I find.......the balls did not drop hardly at all! How about that I said to myself and in the future I plan to look at my note book and notes each time I go to the range, just to be sure!

[RP3543]

Good Advice...
I keep a notebook in my range box for that purpose too. It comes in handy (as long as refer to it from time to time).

[451 Pete]

Oldracer it is a good habit to get into taking notes on your rifle. As RP says above keep a notebook in your range box. ( A small spiral bound note card book can be had at WalMart inexpensively. I keep several, one for each rifle. ) On the cards I mark the date , loading data, sight settings ( on several rifles that have vernier sights ) and range conditions. This gives a good reference to go back to when things just don't seem quite right. I have found that as I get older and with shooting several rifles that doing it this way backs up a sometimes faulty memory. BTW you also do need to remember to take the notebook to the range. ( Yup ... done that too. )

Pete

[oldracer]

What yanked my chain is the fact I keep pretty copious notes and have since my first 45-70 BPCR Rolling Block. I found with black powder guns there are so many variables that it is nearly impossible to keep track of what works and what does not. I keep the note book and all loose pages in the top of my large range box which is one of those Fat Max cantilever rolling jobs that let me keep most things in one box.

[rfd]

for paper shooting, i take a digital image of every target face after range practice and then digitally edit it with all the pertinent tech data and then my comments about the range conditions and how i shot that day. i shoot at least once but mostly twice a week and the target images and data has definitely helped with working up loads and coping with the elements. when i do a simulated match practice round, after every shot i mark on a drawn image of the target face the exact location of the hit and its sequence number. that helps a heap, too.

[fouronesix]

I keep a very complete load log book for everything I shoot- a habit derived from loading smokeless high power. It also has a muzzleloader section for all those guns and loads.

I wouldn't even think about touching my reloading setup for smokeless without opening up and referring to the log book. While small mistakes with BP loads in a muzzleloader won't mean any kind of catastrophe, I refer to it before shooting any of my BP muzzleloaders. Just an old habit.

[doc1876]

I have cut and pasted a lot of notes from this sight, and when I am planning a "project" on my days off, I read the notes during the work week as a refresher. This really helps me to avoid making the same mistake more than say 5 or 6 times.

[Rio]

I keep a shot log book, even keep notes on things I don't yet understand like bariatric pressure, humidity and conditions. It hasn't help me fix my recent problem but when I was shooting great I diddnt put anything in the log. Now good shooting or bad I weigh, and record each shot.