I recently acquired one of Storm Tactical's data books through a trade here on the Hide. Mike from Storm Tactical went above and beyond and provided one of their Cordura outer covers as well. I told Mike I would provide a review after I had some time to look it over and test its functionality. I couldn't think of a better opportunity to shoot my "like new" GAP Crusader .308 and utilize the data book while spending a day at Thunder Valley Precision.
Here's what I liked:
Quality was evident throughout their product. From the stitching of the American made outer cover to the 90lb. heavy paper. The outer cover was fitted with a YKK zipper that I attempted to pull apart...no dice with the zipper/stitching combo of this unit. I personally like the option of the zipper enclosure due to carrying mine in the field quite often and under less than enjoyable weather conditions. The enclosure allows me to "stuff, zip, and go" without worrying about losing my data sheets or a paper target that needs to be saved. I find this feature, although simplistic, is a huge advantage over a traditional 3-ring binder (which is what our department provides us with currently).
The paper was tough! I took a piece of the data paper and simply put it through the handle of my 50lb. kettle bell and lifted from the ends, it held solid....impressive. Next, because it was "advertised" as 90lb. paper, I began to swing the kettle bell while holding on to just the ends of paper to create more force, once again, no breaks and I was impressed as hell. I can't think of a time I would need to use 90lb. paper to save my ass (maybe wipe it), but cool none the less.
The layout of the data sheets was well thought out. If I could "tweak" one thing it would be the "space" provided for each entry. For example, I feel the boxes for temp, density altitude, humidity, and baro. pressure could be made smaller thereby adding more space for the "location" box. I really liked the "rate of fire" and "sling/support" boxes because that is something that I usually forget or overlook. I really like the variety of pre-printed target data sheets. With Storm providing a CD (and now FREE via this site) with over 500 printable to-scale MOA and MIL targets to coincide with their data sheets....it's a "no brainer". "Blank" sheets, which still contain all weather, ammunition, shot, and remarks boxes, are available for those who wish to draw-in their own targets. In this day and age of PDA high speed, ueber accurate, teflon coated ballistic programs, it's still nice to have a "generic" elevation and windage table for the 168 and 175 SMK's. Storm Tactical provides these, along with other "gravy" pages for the new and experienced shooter alike. I like a company that goes above the "norm".
Here's what I would like "better":
I couldn't say, "Here's what I didn't like" because I couldn't legitimately find a sustainable defect in the system. As mentioned above, I feel the information boxes for some could be smaller while others larger....insignificant to most I know. Next, is what I describe as "same-style" double-sided data pages. Once again this would be insignificant to most and an inconvenience to others but deserves a look none the less. Pre-drawn target images, like the head silhouette, below are printed on both sides.
The page is formatted for a 10-shot (or less) string per page. For those that like to categorize their books by date or temperature it can become confusing because we might use one side of the card for 10 or less shots for that particular target profile then move onto a different course of fire that requires a different target profile. What then begins to happen is the other side of the sheet goes unused or doesn't get used until a later date, thereby disrupting the shooter's documentation style. Perhaps an idea that might help would be to print one side with a commonly used target profile and the other side with a "blank" target entry, allowing the shooter to draw their own target profile, like the one below:
This system would have allowed me to document both shooting sessions on the same page rather than two separate ones. I realize this type of printing process would probably be profit inhibiting but felt it was worth mentioning. Overall, the quality, options and ease in use far outweigh the inconvenience of the double-sided pages. I would highly suggest its use for both personal and military/LEO applications. Just my .02 worth and hope this was helpful for those looking for a data book.
Here's what I liked:
Quality was evident throughout their product. From the stitching of the American made outer cover to the 90lb. heavy paper. The outer cover was fitted with a YKK zipper that I attempted to pull apart...no dice with the zipper/stitching combo of this unit. I personally like the option of the zipper enclosure due to carrying mine in the field quite often and under less than enjoyable weather conditions. The enclosure allows me to "stuff, zip, and go" without worrying about losing my data sheets or a paper target that needs to be saved. I find this feature, although simplistic, is a huge advantage over a traditional 3-ring binder (which is what our department provides us with currently).
The paper was tough! I took a piece of the data paper and simply put it through the handle of my 50lb. kettle bell and lifted from the ends, it held solid....impressive. Next, because it was "advertised" as 90lb. paper, I began to swing the kettle bell while holding on to just the ends of paper to create more force, once again, no breaks and I was impressed as hell. I can't think of a time I would need to use 90lb. paper to save my ass (maybe wipe it), but cool none the less.
The layout of the data sheets was well thought out. If I could "tweak" one thing it would be the "space" provided for each entry. For example, I feel the boxes for temp, density altitude, humidity, and baro. pressure could be made smaller thereby adding more space for the "location" box. I really liked the "rate of fire" and "sling/support" boxes because that is something that I usually forget or overlook. I really like the variety of pre-printed target data sheets. With Storm providing a CD (and now FREE via this site) with over 500 printable to-scale MOA and MIL targets to coincide with their data sheets....it's a "no brainer". "Blank" sheets, which still contain all weather, ammunition, shot, and remarks boxes, are available for those who wish to draw-in their own targets. In this day and age of PDA high speed, ueber accurate, teflon coated ballistic programs, it's still nice to have a "generic" elevation and windage table for the 168 and 175 SMK's. Storm Tactical provides these, along with other "gravy" pages for the new and experienced shooter alike. I like a company that goes above the "norm".
Here's what I would like "better":
I couldn't say, "Here's what I didn't like" because I couldn't legitimately find a sustainable defect in the system. As mentioned above, I feel the information boxes for some could be smaller while others larger....insignificant to most I know. Next, is what I describe as "same-style" double-sided data pages. Once again this would be insignificant to most and an inconvenience to others but deserves a look none the less. Pre-drawn target images, like the head silhouette, below are printed on both sides.
The page is formatted for a 10-shot (or less) string per page. For those that like to categorize their books by date or temperature it can become confusing because we might use one side of the card for 10 or less shots for that particular target profile then move onto a different course of fire that requires a different target profile. What then begins to happen is the other side of the sheet goes unused or doesn't get used until a later date, thereby disrupting the shooter's documentation style. Perhaps an idea that might help would be to print one side with a commonly used target profile and the other side with a "blank" target entry, allowing the shooter to draw their own target profile, like the one below:
This system would have allowed me to document both shooting sessions on the same page rather than two separate ones. I realize this type of printing process would probably be profit inhibiting but felt it was worth mentioning. Overall, the quality, options and ease in use far outweigh the inconvenience of the double-sided pages. I would highly suggest its use for both personal and military/LEO applications. Just my .02 worth and hope this was helpful for those looking for a data book.
