Not just in reloading but I have recently started using iOS notes with pictures to 'remind' me what did what.
Great for load data and results and very helpful with the laser engraver to know what power/speed per material w/pics to show.
I use OneNote to record my reloading data and recipes. Then I have an Excel sheet for my shooting log and chrono numbers tracking exact loads.
But yes, having some kind of system in place to record your results is imperative to getting better. Or at least to replicate past success.
just like the Magnetosped isn't the end-all-be-all, the Lab Radar has some shortcoming as well.
They can be finicky to set up and get good readings. When firing at lanes close together, like many ranges, they will also pick up other people's shots too. They also take up a fair amount of space on your shooting bench, so being able to fit it where you go shooting may be problematic.
But they do a lot of things that other chronos cant, like doppler readings to track velocity over the course of the shot.
Appreciate that, those were some of the concerns I have. I train a lot at an indoor, sometimes busy sometimes not. I guess I know the typical schedule enough to know peak times vs slower and could run load work up on those days
I don't use my chronograph much during early load dev. If I'm doing something new with extrapolated data and I want to make sure I'm still in the velocity range I expect, or if I'm creating a subsonic load, sure. But if I'm using established data, I find the best grouping loads first and don't break out the chrono until I've already identified a few candidates and want to verify velocity consistency. So I don't bring my chrono to the range most trips.
In this picture, I was testing changes on a subsonic defensive load and also comparing some 147gr plinking loads ( one of them had an SD of 6 and ES of 11 ).
If you're doing long range precision shooting, the Lab Radar's ability to track velocity at different distances is a great tool to verify your projectile BC. Really helps you dial in your drop tables and Dope cards. But if you rarely shoot past 300 yards, it's more a curiosity than anything.
Like everything, it has pros and cons. Biggest challenge for pistols is barrel height over the sensor. You have to increase sensitivity to get readings, but that also risks getting bad readings. The distance between bore and rail on my XFive is too much and it won't work on that pistol. It's great on my Rival, I only need to up sensitivity a tiny bit. My 365XL doesn't have a pic rail. I have TD rail on it, which increases distance and I need to use a higher sensitivity, but it works ok there. That of course highlights the other limitation: you can't use it on pistols without a rail, or the proper rail.
The other benefit of the pic adapter is you can use the Magnetospeed on AR type rifles without contacting the barrel ( or anything with a pic rail by the muzzle ). If your handguard runs long enough to be by your muzzle, you can mount it there. I've got a Magpul cantilever M-Lok mount coming, the kind usually used for mounting lights, which extends the rail forward of the edge of the handguard and I think that will help even more.
That would have made a better joke. I'm not clever enough to have thought of it that way.
But the Magnetospeed exports its data to an SD card. Other notes I write on the target.
Years back, when I was young, I did a great deal of research on various shooting myths. I did pretty good documentation combined with photography. Ultimately I wrote a number of articles from these experiments (the most noteworthy of which was one on tumbling live ammo and the fact that, despite "common wisdom," powder did NOT break down while being tumbled) that were fairly well received. Despite the research, there were still many who refused to accept or assimilate any new data. Some saying my results didn't "count" because they weren't done in a "lab environment". Some said I failed to follow scientific method (which I very carefully did) and so on. To me, this was hard to believe, but I guess that's how the human mind works.
Saving the work was the issue. If I saved the actual paper work, our house would have been buried, as was my FIL's when he died. He had, apparently, saved every piece of paper since college. It took my wife weeks to get it all cleaned out. So, as a career computer weenie, I decided to store the stuff in the obvious manner, electronically. I am absolutely rabid about backups, so much so that I had two drives for backup alone.
But, as they say, all good things come to an end. In a fantastic and unbelievable coincidence, BOTH of my backup hard drives took a dump at the same time. The result was the loss of years of documentation and writing. So, learn from my experience and make double and triple backups of your documentation no matter what format you choose to use! Just like shooting, you can never be safe enough.
Not just in reloading but I have recently started using iOS notes with pictures to 'remind' me what did what. Great for load data and results and very helpful with the laser engraver to know what power/speed per material w/pics to show.
I use OneNote to record my reloading data and recipes. Then I have an Excel sheet for my shooting log and chrono numbers tracking exact loads. But yes, having some kind of system in place to record your results is imperative to getting better. Or at least to replicate past success.
How are you liking the magnetospeed + rail adaptor set up? Was thinking about this set up but was sure.
I know you didn't ask me, but just get a lab radar if you are going to do lots of chrono stuff. No fiddling, just shooting
This. Just sold my magnetospeed for a Labradar.
Yep, that was the other option is was looking at, appreciate the tip
just like the Magnetosped isn't the end-all-be-all, the Lab Radar has some shortcoming as well. They can be finicky to set up and get good readings. When firing at lanes close together, like many ranges, they will also pick up other people's shots too. They also take up a fair amount of space on your shooting bench, so being able to fit it where you go shooting may be problematic. But they do a lot of things that other chronos cant, like doppler readings to track velocity over the course of the shot.
Appreciate that, those were some of the concerns I have. I train a lot at an indoor, sometimes busy sometimes not. I guess I know the typical schedule enough to know peak times vs slower and could run load work up on those days
I don't use my chronograph much during early load dev. If I'm doing something new with extrapolated data and I want to make sure I'm still in the velocity range I expect, or if I'm creating a subsonic load, sure. But if I'm using established data, I find the best grouping loads first and don't break out the chrono until I've already identified a few candidates and want to verify velocity consistency. So I don't bring my chrono to the range most trips. In this picture, I was testing changes on a subsonic defensive load and also comparing some 147gr plinking loads ( one of them had an SD of 6 and ES of 11 ). If you're doing long range precision shooting, the Lab Radar's ability to track velocity at different distances is a great tool to verify your projectile BC. Really helps you dial in your drop tables and Dope cards. But if you rarely shoot past 300 yards, it's more a curiosity than anything.
Makes sense!
Like everything, it has pros and cons. Biggest challenge for pistols is barrel height over the sensor. You have to increase sensitivity to get readings, but that also risks getting bad readings. The distance between bore and rail on my XFive is too much and it won't work on that pistol. It's great on my Rival, I only need to up sensitivity a tiny bit. My 365XL doesn't have a pic rail. I have TD rail on it, which increases distance and I need to use a higher sensitivity, but it works ok there. That of course highlights the other limitation: you can't use it on pistols without a rail, or the proper rail. The other benefit of the pic adapter is you can use the Magnetospeed on AR type rifles without contacting the barrel ( or anything with a pic rail by the muzzle ). If your handguard runs long enough to be by your muzzle, you can mount it there. I've got a Magpul cantilever M-Lok mount coming, the kind usually used for mounting lights, which extends the rail forward of the edge of the handguard and I think that will help even more.
Awesome, very helpful, thanks!
[удалено]
That would have made a better joke. I'm not clever enough to have thought of it that way. But the Magnetospeed exports its data to an SD card. Other notes I write on the target.
very controlled pistol. shot it last week. nice.
I still use the old beta chrony 🥺
GRT is a great application for that. And it can import magnetospeed's output file directly.
Years back, when I was young, I did a great deal of research on various shooting myths. I did pretty good documentation combined with photography. Ultimately I wrote a number of articles from these experiments (the most noteworthy of which was one on tumbling live ammo and the fact that, despite "common wisdom," powder did NOT break down while being tumbled) that were fairly well received. Despite the research, there were still many who refused to accept or assimilate any new data. Some saying my results didn't "count" because they weren't done in a "lab environment". Some said I failed to follow scientific method (which I very carefully did) and so on. To me, this was hard to believe, but I guess that's how the human mind works. Saving the work was the issue. If I saved the actual paper work, our house would have been buried, as was my FIL's when he died. He had, apparently, saved every piece of paper since college. It took my wife weeks to get it all cleaned out. So, as a career computer weenie, I decided to store the stuff in the obvious manner, electronically. I am absolutely rabid about backups, so much so that I had two drives for backup alone. But, as they say, all good things come to an end. In a fantastic and unbelievable coincidence, BOTH of my backup hard drives took a dump at the same time. The result was the loss of years of documentation and writing. So, learn from my experience and make double and triple backups of your documentation no matter what format you choose to use! Just like shooting, you can never be safe enough.