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 chronograph, measure groups from a photo in MOA or MIL, get AI group analysis, and see your cost per round. It works fully 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.

Yes, completely. 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.

iOS (iPhone) and Android.

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 three tabs at the bottom: Firearms, Quick Stats and Settings. The core loop lives under Firearms:

1. On the Firearms tab, tap Add Firearm.
2. Open the firearm and tap New Recipe to record the components you load.
3. Tap New Job to set up a test (charge ladder or seating depth).
4. Tap Start ladder session to log velocities, and Measure group to score your targets.

Each step is detailed in the sections below.

1. Tap the Firearms tab (bottom-left).
2. Tap Add Firearm (at the bottom of the list, or in the middle if the list is empty).
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 Save Firearm. 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 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 Add Barrel.

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 and tap New Recipe (bottom of the screen).
2. Enter a Recipe name (required, e.g. 140 ELD-M / H4350 node).
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 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.

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, choose a desired jump off the lands, and LoadNode shows the Loaded CBTO to set your die to. See seating depth and jump.

Open the firearm and tap 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, 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 — set Desired jump (thou off the lands), or tap a 5 / 10 / 15 / 20 / 25 preset. LoadNode shows the Loaded CBTO to set your die to.
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 Start ladder session (or Open session if it already has rows).
2. In the footer, type a charge into Add charge (gr) (e.g. 44.2) 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.

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 you can sync automatically instead (below).

SD (standard deviation) 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.

Open a load job and go to its Analysis tab (Pro): the Velocity node chart and a Node candidate card highlight where your velocity flattens out, alongside a Group vs charge chart. It surfaces what your data shows — it never tells you which charge to load. See finding a velocity node.

Any chronograph works for manual entry. Automatic Bluetooth sync currently supports the Garmin Xero C1, with C2 and more models coming to Pro. See getting velocity data off a Garmin Xero.

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 → tap Start ladder session (or 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 1 chronograph, tap your device (e.g. Xero C1 – 8099). 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.

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 (e.g. 44.2 gr) 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.

1. From a charge row tap Measure group (or open the job’s group screen).
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, Distance, Group size, Mean radius, Date). Drag the box on the photo to reposition 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.

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 ($5, $10, $25, $50) 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 uses only your group geometry and correlated velocity data (plus weather if you opt in) through an AI engine; it does not need personal information. See our privacy policy.

Go to Settings → Reloading costs and turn on Track costs (Pro). Set your Currency and a Default brass life (firings), then tap Open cost tracking to reach the costs 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.

Go to Settings → Backup & restore and tap Export all data (JSON) — this opens the share sheet so you can save the backup file or send it to yourself. To restore, tap Restore from backup, pick the file, then choose Merge (fold it in) or Replace all. JSON backup and restore is free for everyone. (Photos are not included in the JSON bundle.)

Go to Settings → Account, enter your email and tap Email me a sign-in link (or use a password). Cloud sync and photo backup are part of Pro; tap Sync now to push and pull. It is entirely optional — the app works fully offline without an account.

No. LoadNode has no ads, no tracking and no data selling — on both Free and Pro. We do not collect, store, sell, share or disclose your personal information. 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 permanently remove your account and everything stored in the cloud. 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 JSON backup. Pro unlocks unlimited rifles, multi-barrel and barrel-life / throat-erosion tracking, Garmin Xero C1 sync, automatic velocity-node detection and charts, the full target-cam (firing order, on-photo info box, annotated export and share cards, and groups auto-linked to the load), AI group analysis, cost & ROI, and cloud sync with photo backup.

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.

Yes — JSON backup and restore is free for everyone, so you always own and control your data, even on the free tier.

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. The C1 is supported for sync today; C2 and other models are coming. See the Garmin Xero guide.

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.

Email [email protected] or visit the support page.