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I'm hoping some of you more experienced shooters on here can help me figure out how to use, or why to use certain parts of a data book.
So a few years ago when I first started shooting precision rifle, I watched alot of videos, and read alot of forums (never had any real training on precision rifle yet though...) and I feel I have a pretty "basic" understanding of PRS. Of course one of the tools suggested by many was a good data book. I did some research and ended up getting an Impact book. It's one of their basic books with room to grow. I filled it with a calculator, pens, pencils, sharpies, even a MILDot Master.
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I studied and used as many pages as I could, and found it very useful. Some of my favorite, and I feel very useful pages, are the WEAPON INFO pages, the COME UP SHEETS, the BALLISTIC CHARTS, RANGE ESTIMATION pages, BASIC SIZES sheets, CONVERSIONS, FORMULAS, WIND OBSERVATIONS, and of course the ROUND COUNT pages. All of them are easy to use, and very helpful even for a noob like me.
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Then there are the target pages.
These were fun! I started using their basic target shapes like the squares, circles and torsos that came with the book, then I realized It'd be cool if I could use some of my own personal targets that I shoot a lot like dot drills, and other target shapes. I have a CNC plasma cutting table, and I use a program called Corel Draw to draw up the cutpaths, but that program would be super easy to create my own pages with my own targets on them, using card stock, so that's what I did. (BTW, these targets don't necessarily correspond to those pages, I just grabbed some pages and some old targets for this picture. I keep every target I shoot)
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I still use those pages too, my custom ones as well as their basic shapes pages. I record all the environmentals, positions, location and loads. I call my shots and record where they hit. I actually enjoy being very methodical with the whole process, and my book comes out with me everytime I shoot.
But here's the thing...
I don't see alot of benefit to the target pages.
I understand that I could maybe use them to go back and see what ammo shot so good on that one day in March, or I could use it to possibly diagnose a problem where I could look back to the last time I shot, and see in the notes that my rings came loose but I forgot to tighten them, or I could use it to log velocities, or come ups for certain temps or altitudes, or for cold bore shots, or to work up loads maybe...
But explain to me why I would want to record all of my called or not called shots on target.
Like I line up behind the scope, take my shot, no flinching or anything. It was a great shot and I call it good. It hits 1/4" left of POI. I call it a good shot on the left side of the page, but I make note of it as hitting just a little left on the right side of the page.
Now I take my next shot, I also call it good, but now it hits a hair low this time. maybe the next shot is dead center, the next is left again, the next is right.... but on the next one I flinch... I call it a bad shot to the left, it goes way left, and I record it as such.
Maybe it's a .5 MOA group, except for that flier, but what benefit is that getting me? I know it's a .5 MOA group, and I know if I flinch, it's gonna be bad, so I'll try not to flinch!
I can see if I'm getting a random pattern on one specific outing, and I could say "Something's wrong here...?" Then check my ring screws or whatever and find a problem, but I would do that if I had a data book or not. When am I ever going to back to those pages and say "Yep, I called all those shots good except for that flier, I'm glad I had a record of it."
Am I missing something here? Am I using it wrong? Or are those pages just for the theory of "DOCUMENT EVERYTHING - IT'S NOT REALLY NEEDED BUT COULD BE HELPFUL" as in the case I noted above about your rings went loose and you forgot. I want to learn how to use this book more effectively if possible.
Today is teach a noob day... help me out.
So a few years ago when I first started shooting precision rifle, I watched alot of videos, and read alot of forums (never had any real training on precision rifle yet though...) and I feel I have a pretty "basic" understanding of PRS. Of course one of the tools suggested by many was a good data book. I did some research and ended up getting an Impact book. It's one of their basic books with room to grow. I filled it with a calculator, pens, pencils, sharpies, even a MILDot Master.
I studied and used as many pages as I could, and found it very useful. Some of my favorite, and I feel very useful pages, are the WEAPON INFO pages, the COME UP SHEETS, the BALLISTIC CHARTS, RANGE ESTIMATION pages, BASIC SIZES sheets, CONVERSIONS, FORMULAS, WIND OBSERVATIONS, and of course the ROUND COUNT pages. All of them are easy to use, and very helpful even for a noob like me.
Then there are the target pages.
These were fun! I started using their basic target shapes like the squares, circles and torsos that came with the book, then I realized It'd be cool if I could use some of my own personal targets that I shoot a lot like dot drills, and other target shapes. I have a CNC plasma cutting table, and I use a program called Corel Draw to draw up the cutpaths, but that program would be super easy to create my own pages with my own targets on them, using card stock, so that's what I did. (BTW, these targets don't necessarily correspond to those pages, I just grabbed some pages and some old targets for this picture. I keep every target I shoot)
I still use those pages too, my custom ones as well as their basic shapes pages. I record all the environmentals, positions, location and loads. I call my shots and record where they hit. I actually enjoy being very methodical with the whole process, and my book comes out with me everytime I shoot.
But here's the thing...
I don't see alot of benefit to the target pages.
I understand that I could maybe use them to go back and see what ammo shot so good on that one day in March, or I could use it to possibly diagnose a problem where I could look back to the last time I shot, and see in the notes that my rings came loose but I forgot to tighten them, or I could use it to log velocities, or come ups for certain temps or altitudes, or for cold bore shots, or to work up loads maybe...
But explain to me why I would want to record all of my called or not called shots on target.
Like I line up behind the scope, take my shot, no flinching or anything. It was a great shot and I call it good. It hits 1/4" left of POI. I call it a good shot on the left side of the page, but I make note of it as hitting just a little left on the right side of the page.
Now I take my next shot, I also call it good, but now it hits a hair low this time. maybe the next shot is dead center, the next is left again, the next is right.... but on the next one I flinch... I call it a bad shot to the left, it goes way left, and I record it as such.
Maybe it's a .5 MOA group, except for that flier, but what benefit is that getting me? I know it's a .5 MOA group, and I know if I flinch, it's gonna be bad, so I'll try not to flinch!
I can see if I'm getting a random pattern on one specific outing, and I could say "Something's wrong here...?" Then check my ring screws or whatever and find a problem, but I would do that if I had a data book or not. When am I ever going to back to those pages and say "Yep, I called all those shots good except for that flier, I'm glad I had a record of it."
Am I missing something here? Am I using it wrong? Or are those pages just for the theory of "DOCUMENT EVERYTHING - IT'S NOT REALLY NEEDED BUT COULD BE HELPFUL" as in the case I noted above about your rings went loose and you forgot. I want to learn how to use this book more effectively if possible.
Today is teach a noob day... help me out.
