New iOS App: Range Book

[McGavin]

I recently released an iOS app called Range Book to the App Store and I’m looking for some honest feedback.

A bit of back story… a few months ago, in order to get a better idea on how my shooting was improving (or not), I decided to start tracking more detailed information about my visits to the local range. I took a look in the App Store and downloaded the highest reviewed range logging app I could find.

A couple days later I took a trip to the range and when I started entering data into the app I immediately became frustrated. The app was incredibly confusing and complicated, and had a bunch of required fields that I didn’t care about or remember the values of (it basically forced me to enter in a bunch false data). Basically, this turned something I enjoy into tedious work, so I decided to just try a different app.

Over the next few weeks, I downloaded all of the range logging apps I could find and, one by one, I was continually disappointed with the quality, ease of use, and unnecessary complexity of every app out there.

This is when I decided that maybe I could do better and I begin developing Range Book.

Range Book is a simple log for keeping track of visits to the shooting range. Currently, you can save target images with data about your range visit and record data about your guns and ammo. Also, if your phone has a passcode, your data is fully encrypted.

See the iTunes page for more info and screenshots: ‎Range Book


I’m looking for some honest feedback about the current state of Range Book. Basically, I’m unsure where to spend my time improving the app and I wanted to gather some feedback to make a more informed decision.

Here are a couple questions that would be incredibly helpful to hear your thoughts on:

Are you interested in downloading Range Book?

If you are interested in downloading Range Book, what would you like to see that would make you want to leave a 5 star review?

If you’re not interested in downloading Range Book, what would you like to see that would make you to download it?

Any other thoughts or feedback?

Thank you for your time!

 

[Blimey]

I would be interested in downloading it.

You need a free option. $2.99 is fine if the app is good, but I just always need to try before buy. There must be a way to give an abbreviated version for free with a $2.99 unlock?

Otherwise an app that lets me record target images plus specific loads and the gun used and some notes like number of bullets shot, number of FTF, etc. would be really helpful and certainly worth a few bucks.

 

[MikeyCNY]

Looks sleek and easy to use.. how do I know this isn't an ATF ploy to get my serial numbers?

 

[dsdmmat]

@Blimey check out submoa (IOS name) /range buddy (Android name). It lets you take a picture then it will give you group sizes in MOA and inches.

@McGavin Blimey is right unless you provide a partially usable free option you are not going to get much traction with your ap. I use range buddy so unless your ap does more than that ap I won’t be buying it.


This is what it looks like for the android.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.reloaderscloud.rangebuddy&hl=en_US

For the IOS the free version is called SUBMOA the pay version is SUBMOA PRO and is 4.99.

 

[Crwbr]

First update I’d make is to streamline the ammo section. Maybe add a menu for rifle, handgun, etc. scrolling through 1000 different calibers is frustrating.

 

[S&W Fan]

Looks sleek and easy to use.. how do I know this isn't an ATF ploy to get my serial numbers?

Nothing wrong with a healthy dose of skepticism but, why the heck would you enter the serial number of your gun?

 

[SomeSoldier]

Is the data stored locally or in the cloud? If it stores the data on some server, I would never use it.

 

[Camaro45th]

I think it would be cool if you could invite friend(s) and compare your shoots with each other. Almost like a competition where you can see an image of their target they upload and then they can see yours. Or if you can categorize based on type of firearm, caliber, yards (etc) you can find a “range buddy” and see how you guys progress together, or if your doing badly grab a beer together lol

 

[McGavin]

@SomeSoldier all your data is stored locally on your device.

@MikeyCNY @S&W Fan Serial numbers are entirely optional. I like it there for my own records but you can leave it blank. Also, I have gotten feedback that some people like to have it in order to distinguish between guns of the same model.

 

[McGavin]

First update I’d make is to streamline the ammo section. Maybe add a menu for rifle, handgun, etc. scrolling through 1000 different calibers is frustrating.

Yeah I'm not happy with that interface either. I mostly use only a few types of ammo, so it doesn't bother me too much because I entered them once, and now I never go back there. Do other people use more than a few types of ammo?

 

[McGavin]

Looks sleek and easy to use.. how do I know this isn't an ATF ploy to get my serial numbers?

There's no way for me to prove it's not sending serial numbers to the ATF, but I care about privacy too, so I'm using iOS data protection features to keep everything encrypted as long as your device is locked. The app doesn't send your data anywhere.

 

[McGavin]

I would be interested in downloading it.

You need a free option. $2.99 is fine if the app is good, but I just always need to try before buy. There must be a way to give an abbreviated version for free with a $2.99 unlock?

Otherwise an app that lets me record target images plus specific loads and the gun used and some notes like number of bullets shot, number of FTF, etc. would be really helpful and certainly worth a few bucks.

Would a free version that only lets you enter a certain number of range logs seem reasonable? With an in-app purchase to unlock unlimited logs?

Do you want something like a report on FTF, or would a notes field cover that? Is there specific load data you'd like to see broken out? I don't do any hand loading (yet), so I'm not really familiar with how you'd want to track that.

 

[McGavin]

I think it would be cool if you could invite friend(s) and compare your shoots with each other. Almost like a competition where you can see an image of their target they upload and then they can see yours. Or if you can categorize based on type of firearm, caliber, yards (etc) you can find a “range buddy” and see how you guys progress together, or if your doing badly grab a beer together lol

I like that idea. I'll add it to the list.

 

[Blimey]

Would a free version that only lets you enter a certain number of range logs seem reasonable? With an in-app purchase to unlock unlimited logs?

Do you want something like a report on FTF, or would a notes field cover that? Is there specific load data you'd like to see broken out? I don't do any hand loading (yet), so I'm not really familiar with how you'd want to track that.

I haven't seen the app so I'm not sure what would be reasonable exactly, but limited range logs or similar seems like a smart idea, or even just unlock it entirely for 30 days and then it freezes out (if that is possible with iOS)?

 

[Camaro45th]

I haven't seen the app so I'm not sure what would be reasonable exactly, but limited range logs or similar seems like a smart idea, or even just unlock it entirely for 30 days and then it freezes out (if that is possible with iOS)?

Yes you need to make a free or trial version so that people can try the app before they buy it.

If I may, not many people can get to the range multiple times in a 30 day period. Why not leave the app unlocked for a total of say 5-10 entries? Then if they don’t pay up, they can’t add any new info, but still allow them to access the data on their device.

You may want to look into iCloud data storage. Let it be up to the end user to decide how they use the app. It may be helpful for some people to be able to access their info on their iPad. Just my 2¢

 

[Blimey]

Yes you need to make a free or trial version so that people can try the app before they buy it.

If I may, not many people can get to the range multiple times in a 30 day period. Why not leave the app unlocked for a total of say 5-10 entries? Then if they don’t pay up, they can’t add any new info, but still allow them to access the data on their device.

You may want to look into iCloud data storage. Let it be up to the end user to decide how they use the app. It may be helpful for some people to be able to access their info on their iPad. Just my 2¢

Yeah first few log events free or something.

Or heck even just make a nice youtube video walking through exactly how it works

 

[McGavin]

Yes you need to make a free or trial version so that people can try the app before they buy it.

If I may, not many people can get to the range multiple times in a 30 day period. Why not leave the app unlocked for a total of say 5-10 entries? Then if they don’t pay up, they can’t add any new info, but still allow them to access the data on their device.

You may want to look into iCloud data storage. Let it be up to the end user to decide how they use the app. It may be helpful for some people to be able to access their info on their iPad. Just my 2¢

I do want to add iCloud storage at some point as an optional feature, so that people can decide whether or not data leaves their device.

 

[Crwbr]

Thought of any recommendation... would like to see a report function. To think of some examples, if I input an ammo type and put notes about failures, it’d be nice to run a report where I could see that a certain ammo produced X number of failures compared to another.

A second example would be to see the total number of rounds per gun so you can determine when to clean or when to start replacing parts if you use round count to keep track of that.




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