Using a Data Book
Recording Data to Improve Your Shooting
Maintaining a detailed data book is an easy way to quickly improve your performance in service rifle matches. The data book can improve your shooting by:
Documenting your sight settings for a specific range
Documenting your sight settings for different ammunition loads
Documenting your sight settings for particular weather conditions
Helping you recognize, during a match, when your sights need adjustment
Service rifle data books contain pages for:
200 yard slow fire
200 yard rapid fire
300 yard rapid fire
600 yard slow fire
Recording a variety of rifle, match and ammunition data
The pages are formatted to match the courses of fire used in service rifle matches. Slow fire pages have one target to record shots. They also have an area to record your “call” on each shot. Rapid fire pages contain two targets, one for each string fired in rapid fire stages (not all courses of fire have 2 stages).
All the pages contain an area to record your sight settings (both the expected settings as well as the correct settings for that day). All pages have an area to record the conditions for that portion of the match.
I like to record some information before the match even starts. For example, most data books have an area for rifle information and match information (date, location, target, relay etc) on each page. Get that done as part of your pre-match preparation so you don’t forget to do it later.
Be sure to record the wind, sun and temperature conditions for each state, before you are called to the line. The act of recording this data forces one to think about the conditions and how they might affect the path of your bullet.
In all stages, we record our “no wind” zero in the appropriate place on our page. This area is often marked “rifle zero.” After sighters (if any are allowed), we record the settings we decided to use based on the results of the sighters and any adjustment made for the match conditions (wind, temperature, etc.). This is recorded in the area often labeled something like “DOPE used.”
In order to record the match conditions, specifically the wind, you first have to learn how to read the wind. That topic deserves an entire article on its own. Here are two articles to get you started:
After stage firing is complete, be sure to record the correct zero for that stage. Sometimes, we realize our sight settings could have been improved. Record this data to improve your sight settings used in future matches.
Using the Data Book for Slow Fire
While firing a slow fire stage, there are two important things to record in your data books: Your call for each shot and the actual position and score of each shot.
Calling each round fired accurately is critically important if you want to improve in service rifle. A “call” on a shot is observing the location of your sights relative to the target at the very moment the round discharges. It is expressed as a clock position and a scoring ring. After firing a round, you might make a call as “A 9 at 12 O’clock” for a high nine, or a “10 at 5 O’clock” for a low left ten. In order to do this accurately, you must have complete focus on your sights or scope reticle at the moment the round discharges.
Each of these calls should be recorded in your data book after firing the round. The shots are marked as a dot within a circle printed on the page. They are numbered to correspond with the shot number. If you are calling the shot as an X or a 10 close to the X ring, one would mark the dot in the middle of the circle. Otherwise, mark the circle in the position where you observed the round discharge. The area to mark your calls usually has a place to mark sight changes for both elevation and windage. You should record these changes in MOA and direction (U for up, L for left, etc).
After a round is scored in the pits, you can mark the target in your data book with the information. In slow fire, we write the shot number on the target picture in the position where it was scored. Sighters are marked with an “S.”
As you proceed through the match, you should pay attention to the group that is developing in your data book. It will tell you if you should be adjusting your sights. Most data books have an MOA grid printed over the target image. This makes calculating your adjustment very easy. All you have to do is estimate the center of the group, then count the MOA squares for both windage and elevation. Adjust your sights accordingly. As a reminder, most service rifle scopes and iron sights will move ¼ MOA for each click. Be sure you know how far your particular sights/scope move.
Using the Data Book for Rapid Fire
Naturally, rapid fire is recorded differently in one’s data book than slow fire, for obvious reasons.
After a string of rapid fire, the target is pulled down into the pit area and marked with golf tees. A chalk board is hung on the target indicating how many shots were in each scoring ring. When the target is raised out of the pit, the shooter has 90 seconds to plot the shots and record the score. The shots are plotted by putting dots or X’s on the printed target in the book in the same positions as the golf tees on the actual target. Most data books also have an area to record the number of shots in each scoring ring. Be sure to make a note of any pertinent information that might help you analyze your target later. For example, if you noticed the cause of an errant shot (position change, poor trigger pull), make a note of the cause in the “Remarks” area on the page.
Practical Tips for Your Data Book
There are a few tips you might use to facilitate your data book use.
I like to keep about 4 spring clips attached to my data book. Before the match, I set the clips so I can easily find the page I’m going to use for each stage of the match. The clips have the added benefit of preventing your pages from flipping in the wind, losing your page.
Write your name and contact information on the front of your book. They are easily misplaced. If you’ve invested a lot of time keeping a good data book, you don’t want to lose it.
Consider keeping your book in a gallon plastic bag when you’re not using it. This will protect your book if your cart ever gets caught in the rain. Also, you’ll always have a bag handy to protect your book when you get some rain in the middle of a match.
Finally, page through your book. Most data books have extra pages containing things like reference tables for wind adjustments, or hints for figuring wind speed. Take advantage of this information to improve your match scores.
Further Reading
The Importance of the Data Book
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