I used to maintain a spreadsheet, one copy per individual firearm, with round counts and a column for failures, notes on the nature of the failure, and how the weapon was fired (two hands, left, right, loose grip, etc.). The 'sheet would of course maintain a running value for the failure rate as a % of rounds fired.
The round count values would also be useful for maintenance purposes.
However over time I found that the process was arduous and sucked the enjoyment out of shooting. It also got complicated when a given firearm would be passed around between several shooters accompanying me, trying to keep track of everything like a lunatic accountant bordered on ridiculous.
For now I’ve dropped the system and am judging rough failure rates by memory (i.e., “well, I have only had 2 stoppages with this Glock, but I know I’ve had a whole bunch with the Taurus… and I seem to remember 1 with this other Glock about 2 years ago but that was with Brand X of ammo…”). This is not ideal from an accuracy standpoint, but then again, as the round counts get higher each individual stoppage becomes less statistically significant.
Are there any recommended methods of managing this?
I would like to be able to keep track of data so I might be able to match up failures with certain mags or ammo types, etc., and simultaneously be able to manage maintenance schedules… but with less of the pain-in-the-ass factor.
Is the only way to get useful data to suck it up and keep careful notes? What do you all do?
keep as accurate notes as possible without straining myself. you think passing guns out to friends makes it hard to keep track of round counts? start swapping upper receivers… then start changing out barrels and bcgs and otherwise tearing down and rebuilding different weapons… “mental running tabs” arent just unavoidable, they’re necessary.
my method is to keep a range book that’s got a section for each weapon i currently have. it would be easier to have a separate mini-notebook for each gun, but i’m the kind of guy that’ll lose them… easier to keep track of 1 than 10. don’t get too complicated with it… if you have a malf, scribble out a brief description and approximate round count. there’s no point being incredibly technical- you don’t NEED to have every last little detail, you’re just trying to keep track of a given weapon’s life and patterns in general.
I went out and got a couple write in the rain mini note books. I keep a running tally of rounds fired and malfunctions and dates. If I mod the weapon I make a notation in the book. I also write down make/type of ammo. I write the make, model, and serial number in marker on the front cover of the book and store the book in the weapons case.
Keep track of magazines. I never load mags at the range, with the exception of my .22, so I just see how much I have left. Works well enough for me. For handguns, I use empty boxes to count if I shoot beyond my loaded mags.
When I’m planning to hit the range, I’ll find a way to segregate ammo supply for the firearms I’m planning to take. In other words, if I’m taking more than one firearm that uses the same caliber, I’ll maybe take two different brands of ammo (brand X for gun 1, brand Y for gun 2), or simply use two different ammo containers (container 1 for gun 1, container 2 for gun 2), or anything like that. I make note of how many rounds I leave with for the day. If I experience a malf while out I’ll jot down a note. When I get back I do the math on how much ammo is left in each supply to figure out how much I shot.
This allows me just enjoy the range while I’m there: I don’t have to obsess over rounds, so long as I stick to the ammo allotment. If I need to borrow across firearms (I.E. if I decide to shoot 500 rounds in one carbine instead of the 300 I alloted for each), I’ll just make a quick note of that at the range. Depending on how many things I’m doing for the day, that could be a mental note or a written note.
I keep track of the ammo that I bring, usually in boxes and what I take home. I am fairly accurate but I don’t stress over it if I miss a mag or two.
However, for maintenance and historical purposes I do find that keeping a spreadsheet is benifical.
For instance, this morning at the range I was shooting strong/weak hand drills and I had a failure to feed. I didn’t think too much of it because I’m not very good at strong/weak hand and it’s quite possible I limp-wristed it or the mags I use for range duty are old, beat up, dirty and still have the original followers & springs.
It wasn’t until I got home and went to enter my rounds in the spreadsheet that I realized I had the exact same problem with the same magazine in the past. In fact this particular mag has had problems on several occasions in the past.
Because of my job, travel, and family commitments I don’t get to shoot that much and therefore can’t remember what happened at my last range trip (or 2-3 trips ago) the spreadsheet helps me track trends and issues that I can’t remember on my own. At least now I know that I should dispose of this magazine.
Of course, according to some because I feel that a particular handgun fits my needs the best I’m not only ignoring the facts by buying into some marketing machine but I’m also not qualified to share my opinion so take this with a grain of salt
As a general rule, I only shoot one gun per caliber when at the range. So it’s fairly easy to count how many boxes I’ve gone through, multiply by 50, and get a good number. Taking notes helps handle outliers. For example, since I almost always fire the round of JHP in my gun rather than recycle it, my note for a given day on my carry gun might read “1 HST + 900 AmEag 124 TMJ” or something like that.
The notes, including not just round counts but performance, stoppages, observations about what I think I need to work on next, etc., go into my range notebook.
Then each night I enter the information off my notes into a database.
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One gun per weapon type (i.e. one pistol, one rifle) per range trip, fixed amount of ammo per range trip, small round count for each training session, Excel spreadsheet, and not fretting about missing 3-5 rounds makes round count quite easy. The same spreadsheet is used for maintenance log and observation notes.
I’ve started tearing the ends off shot ammo boxes and throwing them in a ziploc baggie. One baggie per gun.
I’m a software developer and I’ve sometimes wondered if a round count/maintenance tracking app would be a useful thing to develop.
And by “useful” I mean “profitable”.
Does anyone think police departments, training organizations, or security companies might an interest in something like that? What about individuals who just want to keep pretty detailed records?
For my rifle I load all my mags with 28 rounds and bring plenty of mags to the range. I then keep all the figures such as round count, date, location, and some general notes in on an Excel spread sheet for the rifle/pistol.
I also have a spreadsheet on the mags. I don’t track round count but stuff like when I got them, what follower and spring is in them, whether or not they have been test fired or not.
I count empty magazines when I get back home. For pistols I count boxes of ammo I take with me.
For AR mags I use a paint pen with an abbreviation code for what type of ammo is loaded into them. For instance Federal/LC XM193 is simply F193. Prvi M193 is P193. Blackhills 75GR OTM is BH75.
If I have an issue with a magazine I seperate it, and then put a 1 with the paint pen on the back rib. Two times failing on me, and it gets junked.
I usually shoot multiple AR’s when I go so simply counting mags is 100% accurate but I just keep a mental note. I shoot to enjoy the experience so I find sitting there keeping records in between magazines takes much of the fun out of it, and Im not doing any scientific type testing. A couple guns I dont really even keep track of at all.
I keep a big notebook with a “chapter” devoted to each weapon. I keep track of the date, rounds fired and anything noteworthy including malfunctions or the loading I used, sight adjustments or changes, etc. Over the years you just can’t keep track of all that in your head especially with multiple weapons.
I don’t go crazy with it, but i like to keep a basic tally and performance record for maintenance reasons.
I prepared a simple Excel Spreadsheet to track rounds fired by each firearm.
It tracks as header type info:
Gun (listed as make and type)
Serial no
then lists as table elements:
Date
Type ammo
Number of rounds fired
Comments
It automatically calculates total rounds at the bottom. I use a separate “tab” for each weapon and color the tabs for similar guns, such as my AR’s are all colored blue.
If you’re interested, send me and email and I will forward it to you. Looks like the data below except with cells for easy movement from place to place.
I’ve been at this a while. About 30+ years ago I started keeping chronological typewritten notes in manila folders with acco fasteners on my guns–sort of a carryover from work as I handled files like that all the time. I still use that basic paper system for routine recordkeeping. I also have a computer program as well which is nice but I don’t trust it as much–although I keep a flash drive backup for it in a fireproof gun safe.
With a fair sized gun collection–and I do most of my own gunsmithing–there is no way I can remember all the work done over the years. I maintain a round count on every centerfire, work performed, and parts replacement, whether just PM or a malfunction or breakage. It’s not that big a deal once you have a system in place. I have done the same on vehicles for years, and I finally started keeping book on my own health!
I was responsible for keeping track of around 100 plus weapons in my job, but my agency didn’t care much about actual recordkeeping as long as all the guns could be found. Some still have trouble just doing that…
I do think that, for those that have them, an iPhone app for this might be nice.
At classes and such I know what I took with me and in what containers (mags, ammo can, original boxes) and keep track that way.
Keeping track of individual guns is frankly a relatively new thing for me. I never really had any issues worth tracking and was way more interested in total rounds I fired in a given year from a training perspective. some recent issues with Wolf 75 grain and the pain-in-the-ass M&P15-22 I’ve been dealing with I figured it was worth starting to keep track.
I’ve found the simplest method works best and is maintainable. I’m sure if I used a spreadsheet from the get go I’d have abandoned it. I’ve started from round 1 in my first handgun and have accurate counts on every handgun and long gun to date.
One large lined post it note (4 X 6) per firearm (with several pages).
Each range trip, log:
date / rounds fired that day / total rounds to date / ammo used and notes
Notes include maintenance (spring changes), malfunctions, rounds through threaded bbls, etc. Log sheets stay home and I log when I get back from the range. I have a log sheet for rounds through suppressors also.
