LoadNode FAQ & Help

LoadNode is a precision reloading app for iOS and Android: a logbook and analysis tool for handloaders. Record your loads, track velocity with live SD and ES, sync a Garmin Xero C1 or C2 chronograph (pull a session or capture live), measure groups from a photo in MOA or MIL, get AI group analysis, and see your cost per round. Everything except AI analysis and cloud sync works offline.

No. LoadNode is local-first: start using it immediately with no account and no internet. An optional free sign-in adds cloud sync and photo backup (part of Pro) if you want your data on more than one device.

Almost entirely. Firearms, recipes, load jobs, charge ladders, SD/ES and group measurement all work with no connection, and the bundled catalog of 80+ cartridges, bullets, powders and primers lives on the device. Only AI group analysis and cloud sync need a connection.

iOS (iPhone) and Android. LoadNode is in pre-release beta right now, so it is not on the App Store or Google Play yet: join the launch list on the homepage and you’ll get it the moment it ships.

No, and it never will. LoadNode is a logbook and analysis tool, not a load manual. It does not provide or recommend charge weights, powders, or recipes. Always develop loads from current data published by the component and powder manufacturers, start low, and work up carefully.

There is a free tier that works as a full logbook for up to two rifles, plus a one-time Pro upgrade ($29.99 at launch, $39.99 regular, no subscription). See Free vs Pro below.

LoadNode has four tabs: Firearms, Quick Stats, Costs, Settings, with the round LoadNode button in the centre. That button always carries the current screen’s actions (Add, Save, New Recipe…): one action runs straight away, several open a small menu. The core loop:

1. On Firearms, tap the centre button → Add Firearm.
2. Open the firearm, tap the centre button → New Recipe to record your components.
3. Centre button → New Job to set up a test (charge ladder or seating depth).
4. On the job, the centre button starts the ladder session; from a charge row, Measure group scores your target.

Each step is detailed in the sections below.

1. Tap the Firearms tab (bottom-left).
2. Tap the round centre LoadNode button and choose Add Firearm (a brand-new install also shows an Add Firearm button in the middle of the screen).
3. Fill in the form: Name is required (e.g. Tikka T3x 6.5 CM). For Caliber, tap Choose a cartridge and search the 80+ list. The rest are optional: Manufacturer, Model, Action (Bolt / Semi / Lever / Revolver / Pump / Other), Barrel length (in), Twist rate (e.g. 1:8), and Rounds fired so far.
4. Tap the centre LoadNode button: it’s the Save Firearm action on this screen. If you filled in the barrel fields, LoadNode creates the first barrel automatically.

The free tier tracks up to two firearms; Pro is unlimited.

1. Firearms tab → tap the firearm.
2. Tap the Barrels card.
3. Tap the centre LoadNode button → Add Barrel.
4. Fill in what you want: Name (e.g. Proof Research 24″), Caliber (leave blank to use the firearm’s, or set it for a swap barrel in another chambering), Length (in), Twist rate, Manufacturer, Contour, Material, Rounds fired so far, Accuracy life (rds) (used for the wear %), an install date, and Notes. Turn on Set as active barrel to make new jobs and round counts attribute to it.
5. Tap the centre LoadNode button (Add Barrel) to save.

Multi-barrel profiles are a Pro feature.

Firearms tab → tap the firearm → tap the Barrels card → on the barrel you want, tap Set active. The current barrel shows an Active badge, and new jobs and round counts are attributed to it.

On the Barrels screen each barrel shows ROUNDS, and if you set Accuracy life (rds) it shows LIFE USED as a percentage (it turns orange at 80% and red at 100%), plus BEST GROUP and BEST SD. On the firearm’s main screen, a Throat erosion chart appears once you have logged two or more jam (CBTO) measurements (Pro). See throat erosion and barrel life.

Deleting a firearm (the trash icon on its screen, or swipe left in the list) warns: “This removes the firearm and its recipes and jobs. This cannot be undone.” Deleting a barrel (the trash icon on the barrel card) lets you choose Delete barrel, keep history (keeps the jobs and recipes shot on it) or Delete barrel & all its data.

1. Open the firearm, tap the round centre LoadNode button and choose New Recipe.
2. Enter a Recipe name (required, e.g. 140 ELD-M match load).
3. Under Components, tap Bullet, then Powder, Primer and Brass in turn. Each opens a searchable list filtered to your caliber, split into Catalog (bundled) and My… (your saved entries).
4. Optional: under Lots & brass prep record bullet/powder/primer/brass lots, tick Brass annealed, and set expected brass life; under Starting Load enter a reference Charge (gr), COAL (in) and CBTO (in).
5. Tap the centre LoadNode button (Save Recipe).

Yes. In any component picker (bullet, powder, primer, brass), tap Add Custom Bullet / Powder / Primer / Brass at the bottom of the list, fill in the fields (for a bullet: manufacturer, name, diameter, weight, optional BC), and tap Save & Use…. It is selected on your recipe immediately and saved under My… for next time.

They nest: Firearm → Recipe → Load Job → Charge → Shots. A recipe is the component set (what you load). A load job is a specific range session or test of that recipe. A charge is one rung of the ladder (one powder weight or seating depth) with its own velocities and SD/ES. Shots are the individual readings.

On a recipe, tap the centre LoadNode button → Duplicate & tweak (Pro). It clones the spec as a v2 pointing at its parent and resets the proven numbers (confirmed MV/SD/best group belong to the parent’s testing). The editor then shows Version of … with diff chips for exactly what changed: charge, CBTO, primer, lots, annealing, so the lineage shows which tweak went with which numbers.

Yes. A recipe records the brass, its lot number, and whether it is annealed, so when your SD shifts you can see whether a brass or lot change was involved. Pair it with consistent brass prep.

Yes: in the load-job wizard you enter your CBTO at jam and the jump you chose, and LoadNode computes the resulting Loaded CBTO from your own measurements. See seating depth and jump.

Yes (Pro). On a recipe, under Lots & brass prep, record neck tension the way your tooling measures it: choose Bushing size, Mandrel size, Interference (thou), or Seating force, then enter the value. It shows up in your reports, the range card, the group-photo info box, and the recipe lineage diff, so when your SD shifts you can see whether tension changed. It’s descriptive only: LoadNode records what you used and never recommends a value.

Yes (Pro). On a recipe, under Lots & brass prep, enter Shoulder bump: how far you set the case shoulder back when full-length sizing, in thousandths. It appears in reports, the range card, the group-photo overlay and the lineage diff. It is descriptive only: LoadNode never suggests a value, and the right bump for your chamber is your own headspace-comparator call.

Open the firearm, tap the centre LoadNode button and choose New Job. The New Load Job wizard has four steps:

1. What are you testing?: enter a Job name, pick a Testing type (Charge weight, Seating depth, Neck tension, or Mixed), and optionally base it on a recipe and add a goal.
2. Measure jam point (optional): type your CBTO at jam and tap Add (add several readings to average them); record the Method.
3. Seating depth: enter the Desired jump (thou off the lands) you have chosen. LoadNode computes the resulting Loaded CBTO from your own jam measurement and jump.
4. Session details: range name, brass firings (New / 1× … 5×+), distance, date, optional weather (tap Use current weather), and notes.

Tap Create Job.

1. Open the load job and tap the centre LoadNode button: Start ladder session (or Open session once it has rows).
2. In the footer, type the charge weight you loaded into Add charge (gr) and submit, the shot pad opens for that rung.
3. Tap velocities on the keypad and tap Add shot for each. The live Shots / Avg / SD / ES bar updates as you go (SD shows green at 10 fps or below, amber above).
4. Tap a shot chip to exclude a flyer, or long-press it to edit, mark a called flyer, or delete. Close the pad and repeat for the next charge.

SD (population standard deviation, the chronograph convention) measures how consistent your velocities are; ES (extreme spread) is the highest minus the lowest. LoadNode shows both live per charge and lets you exclude an obvious flyer from the stats. More on what a good SD is.

Not in the way most apps claim to, and that is deliberate. Open a load job, go to Analysis (Pro) and then Compare charges: LoadNode pools every group you have shot at each charge weight and reports dispersion as a range rather than a single number, because a 3 or 5 shot group carries far more uncertainty than a ladder test usually admits. Where two charges overlap inside that uncertainty it says so instead of crowning a winner, and it tells you roughly how many more rounds at each charge it would take to tell them apart. It never marks a charge as best and never calls one a node. See finding a velocity node for why flat spots in a short ladder are usually noise.

A dedicated job type (Pro). When you create a load job, pick Neck tension as the testing type and choose how you’re varying it (bushing size, mandrel size, interference, or seating force). Each ladder rung is a different tension instead of a different charge; log velocities and measure groups as usual. The job’s Analysis tab then charts SD vs tension and group size vs tension with the same honest uncertainty as the charge comparison, so you can see what your data says without the app prescribing a value.

Any chronograph works for manual entry. For automatic Bluetooth sync, LoadNode fully supports the Garmin Xero C1 and C2 (a Pro feature). Either model can pull a saved session onto your ladder; the C2 also does live capture: velocities land on the ladder as you fire. More chronograph support is on the roadmap.

On the shot pad, type the velocity on the keypad and tap Add shot: repeat for each shot. This works with any chronograph. If you have a Garmin Xero C1 or C2 you can sync a saved session automatically instead, and a C2 can capture shots live (below).

Two ways to get velocities off a Garmin Xero, both landing on the same charge ladder:

• Sync (pull): shoot your string, press End Session on the Xero, then pull the saved session into LoadNode. Works with the C1 and C2.
• Live capture (C2 only): tap Go Live and each shot lands on the ladder the instant you fire, with SD and ES updating shot by shot. Nothing to sync afterwards.

Use Sync if you already shot the group or you have a C1; use Live on a C2 to watch the numbers build as you work the ladder.

Sync is a Pro feature. First, turn the Xero on and make sure your phone’s Bluetooth is on.

1. Open the Firearms tab → your firearm → the load job → centre LoadNode button (Start ladder session / Open session) to reach the Charge Ladder.
2. Tap the Chrono button at the top-right of the Charge Ladder. The Chronograph screen opens.
3. Tap Scan for chronograph. On Android, allow the Bluetooth permission when prompted. It shows “Looking for your Xero…”.
4. Under Found chronographs, tap your device (e.g. Xero C1 – 8099 or Xero C2 – 3342). It shows Connecting… then Connected.
5. Go back to the ladder, the button now reads Chrono ✓ (green). The connection stays live as you move around the app.

Yes, if you want it to. In Settings → Chronograph, turn on Automatically connect on app start (a Pro option). LoadNode remembers your last-paired Xero and reconnects it when you open the app, no scanning. A green Chrono connected badge shows when it’s ready; a red one means it couldn’t reach the device (open the Chrono screen to retry). Leave the toggle off to connect manually as usual.

Live capture is a Pro feature and needs a connected Garmin Xero C2.

1. On the Charge Ladder, tap the charge you’re testing to open the shot pad.
2. Tap Go Live. Pick the projectile, enter bullet weight, choose the velocity range, then tap Start session.
3. Fire. Each shot lands on the ladder as the bullet crosses the radar, with Avg / SD / ES updating on every shot. A one-tap Undo drops a stray (a sighter, or a neighbour’s shot).
4. Move to the next charge by opening its row, the session keeps running and new shots follow the open charge.
5. Tap End Session (or just close the log) to finish and save it on the device.

When you tap Go Live, LoadNode asks for the same three things the Garmin app does, because they drive measurement quality:

• Projectile: rifle, pistol, shotgun, air rifle, arrow or other.
• Bullet weight: pre-filled from your recipe’s bullet; feeds the device’s energy / power-factor math.
• Velocity range: for firearms, 600–1,700 fps or 1,700–5,000 fps. This sets the radar’s measurement window; pick the band your muzzle velocity falls in. Air rifle and arrow use the slow band automatically.

Your last setup is remembered, so the next trip to the same rifle is two taps: Go Live → Start.

This is the pull workflow: it works the same for the Garmin Xero C1 and C2. (On a C2 you can also capture live: see above.)

1. Shoot your group, then press End Session on the Xero itself.
2. In LoadNode, on the Charge Ladder tap the charge row you fired to open the shot pad: you’ll see a green Chrono live badge.
3. Tap Sync shots from chrono. The Pick a session sheet lists your saved sessions newest-first (the top one is marked Latest), each showing time, shot count and average.
4. Tap the session you just shot. LoadNode pulls it and shows a review with Avg / SD / ES; if the row already has shots, choose Append or Replace with chrono shots.
5. Tap Add N shots: they drop straight into the ladder with live stats.

If it says there are no sessions, make sure you pressed End Session on the Xero; if the link dropped, power-cycle the Xero and reconnect from the Chrono screen.

No. Every live shot is tagged with the device’s own session and shot identity, so if you later Sync the same saved session from the Xero, LoadNode recognises what it already captured live and skips it, the review simply shows nothing new to add. Capture live and still pull the saved file for peace of mind, without doubling your data.

The Xero’s radar sleeps after a spell of inactivity to save power; while asleep it records shots on the device but doesn’t push them to the app. If the live view stops updating, tap Turn on radar when it appears (LoadNode shows it after a radar timeout) and keep shooting. Anything missed while the radar slept is still on the device: Sync the saved session afterwards to backfill.

Make sure the Xero is powered on and nearby, your phone’s Bluetooth is on, and that you have Pro (sync is a Pro feature). On the Chronograph screen tap Scan for chronograph; on Android, allow the Bluetooth permission prompt. If a session won’t pull, press End Session on the Xero first; if the link dropped, power-cycle the Xero and reconnect from the Chrono screen. Both the C1 and C2 are supported for sync today; support for more chronographs is on the roadmap.

1. From a charge row tap Measure group (once a charge has a saved group the link reads View group and opens it read-only; editing is behind Edit markup + a confirm).
2. Tap Take photo or Choose from library: shoot the target square-on.
3. Calibrate the scale: line up a known reference under the crosshair and tap Set scale point ①, then the second point and Set scale point ②.
4. Enter the distance between those two points, pick in or cm (quick buttons 0.5″ / 1″ / 2″), and tap Set scale.
5. Set point of aim: pan your aim point under the crosshair and tap Set aim point.
6. Mark impacts in firing order: pan each hole under the crosshair and tap Add hole (or tap the photo). Pinch to zoom for accuracy; tap a marker then Delete or Done to adjust it.
7. The results bar shows Group (in and MOA/MIL), Mean R and Shots. Tap Save.

Basic group measurement is free.

Angular units (MOA / MIL) and group-size units (inches / centimetres) are set once in Settings → Units and apply everywhere. On the measure screen, tap the sliders icon (top-right) to set the shot Range (yd / m), Bullet Ø, and Scope clicks. The in/cm toggle on the calibrate step only affects the distance value you type there.

Group size (center-to-center / extreme spread) is driven by the two widest shots; mean radius is the average distance of all shots from center and is a more stable accuracy measure. LoadNode shows both. See mean radius vs group size.

Yes. On the measure screen tap the sliders icon and set Scope clicks to ¼ MOA or 0.1 MRAD. LoadNode then gives the click correction to move your point of impact to your point of aim. Available on the free tier.

Yes (Pro). On the measure screen tap the sliders icon and turn on Info box on photo, then pick which fields to show (Bullet, Powder + charge, Brass, Primer, CBTO, Jam, Seating Depth, Neck tension, Shoulder bump, Distance, Group size, Mean radius, Date). Drag the box to place it: it’s pinned to the photo, so it stays put over your chosen spot (it won’t drift onto your shots) when you export. Drag its corner handle to resize it, and the text scales with it. Export or share burns it into the image.

Yes (Pro). On the measure screen, tap the share icon and pick a format: Annotated target (with data), or a Result card in Square (1:1), Portrait (4:5) or Story (9:16). The download icon saves the annotated image straight to your photo gallery.

Yes (Pro). After you save a group, tap Match holes to shots, then assign each numbered hole to one of your chronograph shots (shown as #N · velocity) and tap Save matches. This shot-by-shot link is what powers the AI group analysis.

Yes (Pro): saved groups auto-link to the exact charge and recipe, so your photo, measurements and load data stay together.

Charge: swipe the charge row left: in the ladder session or on the job screen, and confirm; this also removes the shots logged under it. Group: swipe it left in the job’s Groups list and confirm, or open the group and use Delete group (which also removes its impacts). Every delete asks first, so a stray swipe can’t lose data.

1. Measure and Save a group first.
2. On the group screen tap Analyze with AI.
3. If the session has weather logged, choose With weather or Without weather; if some holes aren’t matched to shots yet, you can still Analyze anyway.
4. The result shows a pattern badge, your monthly usage, a plain-language summary, and OBSERVATIONS and SUGGESTIONS sections. Tap Re-analyze to run it again.

AI group analysis is a Pro feature.

No. Like the rest of LoadNode, the AI never provides charge weights or recipes and never tells you what to load: it only helps you understand the data you collected, and always reminds you to cross-check published load data.

Pro includes 10 AI group analyses every month. If you need more during a heavy load-development season, top up with credit packs.

One credit = one AI group analysis. Credit packs ($4.99, $9.99, $24.99, $49.99) add analyses beyond your monthly 10, and they never expire. Larger packs lower the per-analysis price, and no pack ever undercuts a larger one.

No. Credits never expire: buy once, use whenever.

The analysis receives numbers and text only: your group geometry and impact positions, the per-shot velocities matched to them, the load context you entered for that charge (charge weight and component names), plus weather if you opt in. Your target photo is never sent; it stays on your device. See our privacy policy.

Cost tracking lives on its own Costs tab. Enable it under Settings → Reloading costs → Track costs (Pro), set your Currency and a Default brass life (firings), then open the Costs tab for the hub.

In the costs hub: Component prices → Add a price for each bullet/powder/primer/brass; Inventory → Add stock to track on-hand counts and rounds you can still load; Equipment → Add equipment for one-time gear (used for break-even); and Factory prices → Add factory price (box price ÷ rounds) to compare against off-the-shelf ammo.

The Costs & ROI dashboard shows rounds loaded, total spent loading, savings vs factory, your break-even point against gear, cost-per-round by load, and a cost-vs-consistency view. It costs and compares your own data: it never suggests what to load.

The Quick Stats tab shows your best group and best SD: overall and per rifle: computed live from your logbook. Groups need 3+ shots and SDs need 3+ velocities to qualify, so a lucky pair can’t set a record. Tap a record to open the group or session behind it. Records are visible on the free tier; sharing a record card is Pro.

Milestones are bronze/silver/gold medals for real accomplishment, computed from your data (Pro): On the Books (first recipe), Ladder Climber (first 3-charge ladder), Sub-MOA Club and Half-Minute (measured groups under 1 / 0.5 MOA with 3+ shots), Single Digits and Match Grade (SD under 10 / 5 fps with 3+ shots), plus volume tiers up to 5,000 rounds. Tap a medal to see when you earned it. Nothing is stored: delete the data, lose the medal.

A full-screen season recap (Pro), opened from the card on Quick Stats: rounds logged and sessions, best group and best SD, your consistency trend (median SD, first half vs second half of the year), most-shot rifle, powder of the year, busiest month, and the medals you earned this season. All computed on your device from your own logbook.

Maintenance-minded warnings on Quick Stats (Pro): a barrel at 80%+ of its accuracy life (red past 100%), and hard-worked brass when a recipe’s sessions are tagged at 5×-fired or more. Each alert routes to where you act on it. Descriptive only: never load advice.

Android (Pro): long-press an empty spot on your home screen → Widgets → find LoadNode → drag it on. Open the app’s Quick Stats tab once so the widget has data: it shows rounds logged, best group and best SD, plus a barrel-life warning when one is due, and refreshes when you open Quick Stats. iOS widget is coming.

Go to Settings → Backup & restore, set a password, and tap Encrypt & back up. The backup includes all your data and your app settings, and you can optionally include your target photos. It saves through the share sheet, so you can keep it in Files, iCloud Drive or Google Drive, or move it to a new phone. To restore, tap Restore from backup, pick the file, enter its password, then choose Merge (fold it in) or Replace all. Backup and restore is free for everyone.

Yes: every backup is encrypted with your password (AES-256), so the file is unreadable to anyone without it. Your password is never stored and cannot be recovered, so keep it somewhere safe: a lost password means the backup can’t be restored. Backups include your data and app settings, with target photos optional, and it’s free for everyone.

Go to Settings → Account, enter your email and we’ll send you a 6-digit sign-in code to enter in the app (you can also use a password). Cloud sync keeps your data and settings in step across devices, plus photo backup, all part of Pro; tap Sync now to push and pull. It is entirely optional, the app works offline without an account.

No. LoadNode has no ads, no analytics profile, no cross-app tracking and no data selling: on both Free and Pro. We never sell your data; the only sharing is with the service providers that make a feature work, each one named in our privacy policy. The one diagnostic exception: crash reports (via Sentry) may be collected to fix bugs, scrubbed of your identity and your reloading data, and used for nothing else. See our privacy policy.

Photo metadata such as GPS / EXIF is stripped before any upload, so your photos do not carry location or device details to the cloud.

Go to Settings → Account → Delete account to remove your account and everything stored in the cloud (rows and files erased promptly; residual backup copies purged within 30 days). Data already on your device stays until you remove the app. No account is required to start, and nothing locks you in.

Free is a full logbook for up to two rifles: recipes, load jobs, charge ladders with live SD/ES, basic group measurement with scope-click correction, and encrypted backup. Pro unlocks unlimited rifles, multi-barrel and barrel-life / throat-erosion tracking, Garmin Xero C1 & C2 sync (with C2 live capture), charge comparison with confidence intervals and group-vs-charge charts, the full target-cam (firing order, on-photo info box, annotated export and share cards, and groups auto-linked to the load), neck-tension and shoulder-bump tracking plus the neck-tension test, AI group analysis, cost & ROI, cloud sync with photo backup, milestone medals with the season recap and home-screen widget, recipe versions, and the Load Book / report / range-card PDFs. (A few comfort/accessibility settings like haptic feedback and color-blind mode are free for everyone.)

No. Pro is a single one-time purchase: $29.99 at launch, $39.99 regular, and it is yours for life. The only optional extra is AI credit packs, which never expire.

$29.99 at launch, $39.99 regular. One payment, no subscription.

Both: encrypted backup and restore is free for everyone, so you always own and control your data, even on the free tier. Every backup is protected with a password you choose (AES-256).

It almost always comes down to the scale: re-check the two calibration points and the distance you typed, and that your aim point and impacts are placed accurately (pinch to zoom helps). See measuring in MOA.

Go to Settings → Units: Group angle (MOA / MIL), Group size (Inches / Centimetres), Calibration default, and Range / distance (Yards / Metres). Changes apply across the app.

The app follows your device’s light or dark appearance automatically, so it matches the rest of your phone: there is no separate in-app switch. (This website has its own light/dark toggle in the corner.)

Yes: Settings → Accessibility → Color-blind friendly swaps the ‘good’ green for blue across the stats, the SD and group grading, and the target markup, so the colour cues stay distinct.

Yes: Settings → Accessibility → Haptic feedback adds a light tap tick on every button, key and control across the whole app. It’s off by default (when off the app behaves exactly as before), and it’s free for everyone, not a Pro feature.

Email [email protected] or visit the support page.