Marketing Advice: Choose 6 Calibers for Free

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  • Pinecone

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 4, 2013
    28,175
    Because I am not actually including the data. :)

    The application is an index of everything around the data.

    Select Sierra #9377 .224 77gr HPBT Match King as a bullet and it will show you what calibers you can load with that round and what powders are compatible with it for that bullet in a given caliber.

    Select H4895 as a powder and it will tell you all of the calibers you can load with it. Select a bullet and it will tell you if that bullet and caliber combo will work.

    And it will give you the manual reference and page number to find the manufacturer's load data for all compatible cases. I'm not using anyone's data but directing you to where it is.

    To my knowledge it isn't a violation of copyright to organize existing information in different ways when that organization isn't already published. Just like walking through the phone book and making one's own directory of existing businesses that meet certain criteria.

    No one is publishing a cross-reference of the top 7 reloading manuals and telling you where to find data across them. But to use my information you still need the manuals. I am simply telling you from the components you select what you can do with them and where to find the information to make it useful.

    And to the second question, the data is designed for ongoing updates and is internally versioned. I designed in support for future manuals and the data can be updated over the network. And since I am not displaying load data, I avoid the liability of having someone's gun blow up since I am not giving them the information to make the loads in the first place.

    It is really intended as a sales and purchase support tool. In a store looking at a given selection of powder or bullets and want to know if you can use it for your needs? Fire up the app and it will tell you what you can use them for. The great ammo shortage of 2013 inspired this idea.

    That's the rough outline of what I am doing. I'm a data junkie and I don't like flipping through manuals to cross-reference components to maximize my reloading dollar and efforts. I'd rather have a computer tell me that my inventory of IMR-4064 and my components can be turned into a given list of loads in order of most to least useful.

    I do plan to consult a copyright attorney to vet the idea before an app ever hits the App Store but from the research I've done, I'm not crossing any boundaries. Keep in mind Loadbooks sells photocopied pages of existing load manuals as gathered sets of data and they're still around. So its either fair use (doubtful) or they've got permission from the component producers to do it. And if that is the case, I am pretty certain I can cut a deal to make load data available for the right price even if it includes competitor's products (which Loadbooks already does).

    Matt

    Ok, cool.

    I was not clear on what you were actually doing.
     

    Suleiman

    Active Member
    Feb 11, 2011
    114
    Indian Head
    Regarding the basic concept -

    People will have the caliber as their starting point , not a specific bullet . Yes , among Hooligans , a stash of empty brass will lead to getting a gun . But I can't see " Ohhh , I found a box of Nosler 180gr Ballistic Tips . Quick , I need to go buy a .308 Norma Mag ! " What would be more likely is " I wonder which powders to try my new to me .308 Norma Mag ? " ( The answer is , the same usual suspects as .300 Win Mag , in case anyone besides Ted76 has one .)


    As far as most popular cals ( really most popular to reload ) , they've already been listed .

    I'd agree with this. When i head out to Cabellas for powder, I already know which calibers I want to load.
    I'd rather be able to plug in a caliber and then browse the shelf to see whats compatible rather than have to plug in every powder I see on the shelf and see if its an option for what calibers I'm looking to load.

    edit: Or even more so, I'd love to be able to cross reference based on caliber. I'd like to load .45 and 9mm. Punch both of those in and see Power Pistol on the list and then see if its on the shelf infront of me.
     

    RedTide

    The Water's Fine
    Jul 30, 2013
    177
    Frederick, MD
    edit: Or even more so, I'd love to be able to cross reference based on caliber. I'd like to load .45 and 9mm. Punch both of those in and see Power Pistol on the list and then see if its on the shelf infront of me.

    +1 That'd be a really nice feature.
     
    I'd agree with this. When i head out to Cabellas for powder, I already know which calibers I want to load.
    I'd rather be able to plug in a caliber and then browse the shelf to see whats compatible rather than have to plug in every powder I see on the shelf and see if its an option for what calibers I'm looking to load.

    edit: Or even more so, I'd love to be able to cross reference based on caliber. I'd like to load .45 and 9mm. Punch both of those in and see Power Pistol on the list and then see if its on the shelf infront of me.

    I would pay for that ability.
     

    shmuel2004

    Banned
    BANNED!!!
    Jun 1, 2016
    140
    Pikesville, MD
    I don't reload, but with ammo prices so cheap lately, I've heard from friends who reload that it only pays with expensive rounds like 300blk, 308, etc. So maybe it pays to focus on those and not 556 or 9mm which are pretty cheap now?
     

    SigMatt

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 17, 2007
    1,181
    Shores of the Bay, MD
    I'd agree with this. When i head out to Cabellas for powder, I already know which calibers I want to load.
    I'd rather be able to plug in a caliber and then browse the shelf to see whats compatible rather than have to plug in every powder I see on the shelf and see if its an option for what calibers I'm looking to load.

    edit: Or even more so, I'd love to be able to cross reference based on caliber. I'd like to load .45 and 9mm. Punch both of those in and see Power Pistol on the list and then see if its on the shelf infront of me.

    That is the one of the things the app was designed to do.

    Here's the cross-reference features:

    Find bullets for a caliber.
    Find bullets for a powder.
    Find calibers for a bullet.
    Find calibers for a powder.
    Find powders for a caliber.
    Find powders for a bullet.

    And then show you the corresponding other items to go with it. If you punch in a powder, it shows the calibers you can load with it. Select the caliber and it shows the bullets compatible with it for that powder/caliber combination.

    And you can drill into a caliber or bullet to get specific information on each like trim-to-length, primer lists, powder charge ranges across all published load data (no specific loads, just say 32.1-42.6 grains across all manuals), estimated number of rounds per pound of powder and so on. For bullets, COAL for each round, G1/G7 BCs, sectional density, minimum twist rate, calibers they are compatible with and so on.

    TL;DR: Yes, I designed the app with that need in mind.

    And if you're willing to pay for it, I'm willing to charge for it! :) Seriously, the free version is meant as enticement and market testing. The full version I was looking at a price of around $7.99 for the cross-reference of all this data for all published information from the following manuals:

    Sierra 5th Edition
    Hornady 10th Edition
    Berger 1st Edition
    Nosler Reloading Guide 8
    Speer Reloading Manual #14
    Barnes Reloading Manual #4
    Lyman 50th Reloading Manual

    So if you plug in "Power Pistol" as a powder, it will show you every caliber it can load, a list of every manufacturer's bullet compatible with that powder and the page number references for the load data in every manual to go look up specifics.

    Matt
     
    That is the one of the things the app was designed to do.

    Here's the cross-reference features:

    Find bullets for a caliber.
    Find bullets for a powder.
    Find calibers for a bullet.
    Find calibers for a powder.
    Find powders for a caliber.
    Find powders for a bullet.

    And then show you the corresponding other items to go with it. If you punch in a powder, it shows the calibers you can load with it. Select the caliber and it shows the bullets compatible with it for that powder/caliber combination.

    And you can drill into a caliber or bullet to get specific information on each like trim-to-length, primer lists, powder charge ranges across all published load data (no specific loads, just say 32.1-42.6 grains across all manuals), estimated number of rounds per pound of powder and so on. For bullets, COAL for each round, G1/G7 BCs, sectional density, minimum twist rate, calibers they are compatible with and so on.

    TL;DR: Yes, I designed the app with that need in mind.

    And if you're willing to pay for it, I'm willing to charge for it! :) Seriously, the free version is meant as enticement and market testing. The full version I was looking at a price of around $7.99 for the cross-reference of all this data for all published information from the following manuals:

    Sierra 5th Edition
    Hornady 10th Edition
    Berger 1st Edition
    Nosler Reloading Guide 8
    Speer Reloading Manual #14
    Barnes Reloading Manual #4
    Lyman 50th Reloading Manual

    So if you plug in "Power Pistol" as a powder, it will show you every caliber it can load, a list of every manufacturer's bullet compatible with that powder and the page number references for the load data in every manual to go look up specifics.

    Matt
    .
     

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    Melnic

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 27, 2012
    15,278
    HoCo
    3/3 Mix: (as OP posted)

    Rifle: 223 Remington, 308 Winchester, .30-06 Springfield
    Handgun: 9mm Luger, .45ACP, .357 Mag

    4/4 Mix: (mine are different)

    Rifle: 223 Remington, 308 Winchester, .30-06 Springfield, 300 BLK
    Handgun: 9mm Luger, .45ACP, .38 SPL, 45LC


    when ready. I'm in!
     

    Desert84eagle

    Member
    Nov 22, 2011
    68
    MontCo
    My choices
    3/3 Mix:

    Rifle: 223 Remington, 308 Winchester, .450 Bushmaster
    Handgun: 9mm Luger, .40 S&W, .357 Mag

    4/4 Mix:

    Rifle: 223 Remington, 308 Winchester, .450 Bushmaster,.30-06 Springfield
    Handgun: 9mm Luger, .40 S&W, .357 Mag, 5.8mm
     

    PowPow

    Where's the beef?
    Nov 22, 2012
    4,712
    Howard County
    3/3 Mix:

    Rifle: 223 Remington, 308 Winchester, 6.8 SPC
    Handgun: .45ACP, 9mm Luger, .45LC

    4/4 Mix:

    Rifle: 223 Remington, 308 Winchester, 6.8 SPC, .300 Blackout
    Handgun: .45ACP, 9mm Luger, .45LC, .38 Special

    I find the Western Powders 7.0 data (or their Edition 1 manual with what appears to be the same data) to be very useful, so adding that as an index reference would be a lure for my $$$.
     

    TGR

    Active Member
    May 20, 2009
    170
    Harford County
    Great idea. I think most of us have run into this...”I need xxx powder to reload xyz cartridge”. But when you get to the store, xxx powder isn’t there. So tell me what other powders I can use for xyz in a pinch. Saves me looking thru the loading manuals on the store shelves.

    My picks...

    300 BO, 223, 308

    9mm, 38 Special
     

    SigMatt

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 17, 2007
    1,181
    Shores of the Bay, MD
    All,

    Thank you for the information and the caliber votes!

    After tallying the votes, I've decided to do a 5/5 mix. Here the calibers that will be offered in the free edition.

    Rifle:

    .223 Remington
    .308 Winchester
    .300 AAC Blackout
    .30-06 (Garand and Springfield)
    6.5mm Creedmoor

    Handgun:

    9mm Luger
    45ACP
    .38 Special
    .357 Magnum
    .40S&W

    As to progress, I will post some screenshots here for your pleasure. A couple of folks have seen the latest prototypes and I have been showing it to some of my friends who reload. The main feature of this is it is FAST. Reworking my original concept code to use the newer Android APIs has basically been a ground-up rewrite but the main change is I've written automated tools to generate the data for import. A big part of that is a flat, high speed lookup data cross-reference (the heart of the app) that builds the triangle of calibers/bullets/powders and has all three relationships available for any search.

    When you look up "Calibers for Powder" and get a list of compatible calibers for a given powder, you can select any result to drill down to the bullets compatible with that caliber/powder pair along with load references, caliber data (trim to length, max case length, etc). Third leg is available in every combination.

    Load referencing is complete at this point. Now I am looking for some of the analytics and "My Components" features. One of the things this data gives you is the ability to see versatility. For example, I've been playing with queries to list in ranked order which powder can load the most calibers. Which bullet can load the most calibers. Add in a "My Components" list such as list the calibers you want to load, it can recommend the most versatile powder, bullet that covers the most ground in combination and so on. The possibilities for the data set are starting to open up.

    Because, well, no one has done this before.

    I waiting on an appointment with a IP attorney to run the concepts legally and show them the functioning app. Working code is easier to demonstrate than an idea.

    More to follow shortly.

    Thanks!

    Matt
     

    Oskerspap12

    Member
    May 3, 2013
    34
    Frederick Co.
    3/3 Rifles...........22LR,220 Swift,30/06
    Revolver/Pistol.......22LR,32H&R,41RemMag

    4/4 Rifles............22LR,220Swift,30/06,350 RemMag
    Revolver/Pistol.......22LR,32H&R,41 Rem Mag,45ACP
     

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