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Perhaps this has been visited previously. I do not consider myself to have found the best method, and ask here for your methods/suggestions.
I will begin by stating my hard contention that documentation of what one has done with a load/gun/components/correlation with targets/game shot is the very most important part of handloading. I fully understand that reloaders (apart from handloaders) may not always adhere to a strict practice of documentation, but some good ones do.
My (perhaps inadequate) documentation has served me well over the years: it has allowed me to reference back to a gun I have not shot for awhile, or a gun that belonged to someone else that I developed loads for. I can look back at what has been done with a certain caliber and/or gun, and give me a direction to proceed with further experiments in that direction.
My failure is in that all this began before the computer age, and all my documentation is in "steno books", handwritten, with date as the header for each entry. I continue this practice. My records are chronological primarily, and this does not hamper me much when I search for previous data. The caliber and the gun are stated immediately following the date. I have nearly twenty of these steno books now, and one will average about a year of shooting (or, in some cases, two years, prominently marked on the cover as to time span).
I note on a seperate page, each event of handloading. Chronograph results are entered as they occur chronologically (sometimes they may overlap if I shoot a gun different from the last handloading entry).
I note all components used, velocities as stated from a reloading manual, as well as chrono velocities actually obatained, with the particular rifle/handgun entered with barrel-length, and any other particulars such as sights.
Targets actually shot are kept in a seperate series of loose-leaf books, arranged to bore diameter (specific calibers within each bore diameter section), and reverse-chronologically, most recent toward the front.
I can find any load I've ever done, and any target I thought valuable for any gun/caliber in about 10 minutes of looking, and correlate each to each based on dates.
I am curious as to others who place this much value on data, and how they have dealt with storing it over the years.
My targets are homemade, but consistent, utilizing 1" squares for most rifle work, with that base target enlarged/reduced according to optics/sighting equipment employed. (For the fat-barreled guns with high-power scopes, I reduce the square-size, and for pistols, the square is big).
I consider documentation to be the very most important part of handloading. I encourage any newcomer (and some old-timers if they are amenable) to realize the value I have found. Youngsters seem to enjoy documentation of their efforts, and can come and see (copy) my books (and targets) to show their families and peers. I go back and supplement these data with entries of game shot with a particular load/gun.
I will begin by stating my hard contention that documentation of what one has done with a load/gun/components/correlation with targets/game shot is the very most important part of handloading. I fully understand that reloaders (apart from handloaders) may not always adhere to a strict practice of documentation, but some good ones do.
My (perhaps inadequate) documentation has served me well over the years: it has allowed me to reference back to a gun I have not shot for awhile, or a gun that belonged to someone else that I developed loads for. I can look back at what has been done with a certain caliber and/or gun, and give me a direction to proceed with further experiments in that direction.
My failure is in that all this began before the computer age, and all my documentation is in "steno books", handwritten, with date as the header for each entry. I continue this practice. My records are chronological primarily, and this does not hamper me much when I search for previous data. The caliber and the gun are stated immediately following the date. I have nearly twenty of these steno books now, and one will average about a year of shooting (or, in some cases, two years, prominently marked on the cover as to time span).
I note on a seperate page, each event of handloading. Chronograph results are entered as they occur chronologically (sometimes they may overlap if I shoot a gun different from the last handloading entry).
I note all components used, velocities as stated from a reloading manual, as well as chrono velocities actually obatained, with the particular rifle/handgun entered with barrel-length, and any other particulars such as sights.
Targets actually shot are kept in a seperate series of loose-leaf books, arranged to bore diameter (specific calibers within each bore diameter section), and reverse-chronologically, most recent toward the front.
I can find any load I've ever done, and any target I thought valuable for any gun/caliber in about 10 minutes of looking, and correlate each to each based on dates.
I am curious as to others who place this much value on data, and how they have dealt with storing it over the years.
My targets are homemade, but consistent, utilizing 1" squares for most rifle work, with that base target enlarged/reduced according to optics/sighting equipment employed. (For the fat-barreled guns with high-power scopes, I reduce the square-size, and for pistols, the square is big).
I consider documentation to be the very most important part of handloading. I encourage any newcomer (and some old-timers if they are amenable) to realize the value I have found. Youngsters seem to enjoy documentation of their efforts, and can come and see (copy) my books (and targets) to show their families and peers. I go back and supplement these data with entries of game shot with a particular load/gun.
once I get all the components I can store on my acreage 
