keeping track?

[Axis II]

how do you guys keep track of what your load, OAL, how many times fired, etc?
I have 500pc LC brass that I tried keeping track of a certain 50rd batch of being fired so many times but someone decided they wanted to dump them with the other 450. I had pictures on my phone of the loads that shot the best but they all got accidently deleted.

I was just trying to play around with a spread kind of like below. just wondering what else you guys record? I did this for the 3 powders I have on hand. I'm also loading 9mm and 44mag. I cant keep track of whats what and I'm afraid I'm going to screw something up.
h335-FMJ-bt-charge-OAL.
h355-vmax-charge-OAL
h355-sp-charge-OAL.

When you get a load to shoot well do you load up some and stash them or just wait until its time to shoot again? I'm asking because I got 55gr FMJ-BT 23-23.3gr of benchmark to shoot 3 holes touching because I only had a few bullets on hand so couldn't do 5 shots. I duplicated that load and couldn't get them to do it again. what's the odds this was a fluke? I'm racking my brain on that one.

I'm noticing with me being so busy that ill do my load workup and when I find something that shoots well ill write it down and load 5 of that load again and shoot it again seeing how the range is 10min away its pretty easy. sometimes it will reproduce the 5 shots touching and sometimes its not so great. what would cause this?

 

[readyeddy]

I load when I need ammo. As far as I can tell, there's no difference between batches.

From what I've read here, you take your largest group and that's what your gun shoots. Not much to brag about, but I'll come out and say that me and my deer gun are a 2 MOA combination. Sometimes the holes touch, and sometimes not.

 

[cfullgraf]

Every batch of cartridges that I reload, I record the following.

Lot number
Date
Number of rounds in the lot
Case
Bullet (manufacturer, weight, style, etc)
Powder and charge weight.
Primer
OAL
Powder measure and setting on the micrometer stem
Other remarks that I deem important at the time.

I also record group sizes when I shoot for groups and velocity information when I shoot for velocity.

This is by no means the only info that needs/could be recorded. It is what I like to keep up with. Whatever the reloader deems important can be recorded. Some folks keep primer/powder/bullet lot numbers, case use could be recorded, case length and # of trims, and a hole bunch of other useful information

I use a loose leaf binder with one tab per cartridge. I also store a note section and other information in the tab. This could easily be done on some kind of computer spreadsheet if that rings your bell.

Finally, when I hit on a good load, I have a "Favorite Load" page that I keep all the pertinent information on a favorite load so that I can find it and duplicate it in the future. This page gets updated as needed when i find a better or additional favorite load.

As is frequently said, "No job is done until the paper work is done."

 

[Blue68f100]

I keep a note book with all the info recorded. Date, Powder & Lot, Bullet & Lot, Primers & Lot, OAL, Brass Mfg, Brass length, FL/NS, Annealed (Y/N). Then I add Velocity data with current weather conditions. Put the target in my file. I add this data into a spread sheet for easy reference.

I've had what happen to you many times. Normally it can be traced down to a change in conditions and/or component change, and even number of firings on brass. This happens more time that not when using mixed brass, not sorted. Using good quality brass like Lapua pretty much eliminate this variable. It kinds of comes back to case volume variations, and OAL. I've had some loads where 0.005" makes a huge difference. When I'm shooting mixed brass and I notice some good/bad a lot of times I will start numbering the brass to check later on. What I find normally is one that was a flier had a different case volume.

 

[farmerboy78]

I don't really keep up with how many loadings a case has. I inspect each case, after resizing, for any issues that catch my eye. Also, when I prime my cases, if it doesn't feel like a suitable primer pocket, for another reload, I mark the case head with a sharpie and toss it after its fired. I use a rcbs handwriting tool, that's why I say how suitable it feels as compared to other cases primed in the past.

 

[kingmt]

Odd looking primers keeps brass I'm working with apart from brass I've never did anything with. My brass gets mixed all the time. I have a wife & kids that just don't care. I only load one load for a caliber at a time. If it has to be changed for some reason I shoot up all the old stock & then start over again.

I had a load for all my ARs until my youngest bought his first gun & those rounds wouldn't function his AR so we shot them up & I made a new load for all the rounds. One thing I've learned is a good load is usually a good load in all my rifles. I have stopped trying to put them all in the same hole tho. 1 MOA is good enough for me.

 

[otisrush]

For any batch I load I create a batch number - based on the date they're loaded - such as 20161222-01. I used to do just the date - but then one day I loaded two batches. So I needed another number. On the box of loaded ammo I put the batch number, bullet, powder and charge. In a spreadsheet I capture all of that information, plus lot number off the powder bottle, primer, COL, # of rounds loaded, and any other misc info that might be interesting. I also have a "Comments" column - but I only go back and add things there if something noticeable happens at the range when I shoot them - either particularly bad or particularly good performance. (This batch number scheme has worked well and, heaven forbid, I ever loaded a powder that is recalled it would be quite easy based on this method to know which batches have the bad powder in them.)

I don't track number of reloads per case - I just give them a very thorough inspection. If I get a particularly loose primer pocket when priming I'll put a line across the case head with a Sharpie to know to toss it after firing.

BTW - all of the above is for my relatively high volume stuff: .223, 9mm and .38 Spcl. I'm just now getting into loading .243 and .270 for my bolt guns. I definitely see the volume being way lower - so I may track # of loads per case on those cases.

OR

 

[mstreddy]

OP, every single batch of ammo I load gets a label on the container with the following:
Cartridge, bullet weight, brand, style
Powder, charge weight, primer
date, OAL
So a label would look like this:
9MM 124 RMR HCRN
Promo 4.1 gr Tula SP
12/22/16 1.135"

For most of my handgun loads I reuse ammo boxes that I pick up at the range. So, each box gets a label on it. I use peel and stick address labels that are 1x2 5/8", or 1x4". For some loads I put the batch in a zip lock bag, the bag gets a label. I also have various makes of plastic ammo boxes, MTM, etc., each gets a label.
For 223, which I load in bulk, the ammo can gets a label.
And, once I've finished loading, boxing, labeling, I record the data in an Excel spreadsheet.
When I'm doing load testing/development I segregate the loads in bags or by rows in an ammo box. mark the labels with the info, and make notes on a post-it when I shoot them. The notes get copied to the spreadsheet as well, so I can store the results.

Once I find the load I want to use, then it's batch loading to build up my stock. For 9MM, that may be 1000-1500 rounds, 45 ACP 400-600r rounds, 223 500-1000 rounds, all others are somewhere lower. When I run low, then I crank out another batch.

As to brass data, in handgun calibers, I don't bother, it's shoot, pick up, tumble, store in containers until it's time to load. I do sort revolver brass by headstamp, but I don't sort autoloader brass.
For rifle, I do sort by headstamp, and I am trying to keep some of the calibers separated by times fired. For the low volume items it's not too hard. In some other calibers, 223, 308, it's a lost cause to try and segregate by times fired. So, everything gets picked up and goes through the cycle again.

 

[JohnMc]

I use a spreadsheet for each caliber and record most of the usual data except for lot #'s, including the # of firings on the brass. Each caliber has batch numbers in a simple 1 to N format; for example, 9 mm Luger batch 25. The containers have simple labels with that info, from a Brother label printer.
I separate brass by the number of firings in bags, coffee cans, etc, with a slip of paper that tells me how many times fired. I "sort" them at the range by shooting and collecting in batches. I pick up everyone else's brass first, not that there has been much in the last few years.