Gun collection software

[LiveBlues]

Hi all,

Does anyone use any software to keep track of their collections? I've been thinking about writing my own program for my own personal use (not for sale) and I would like to see what others have thought of that I haven't already.

My initial thoughts are not only being able to track my collection, but also range trips, rounds fired, maintenance and cleaning, ammo on hand and perhaps reloading supplies and info if I ever get into that.

If anyone has any suggestions for great features, I am all ears.

Thanks in advance!

[Commander_Cob]

Sounds fantastic. I've been thinking about keeping a paper log, as I've been saving all of my empty ammo boxes, but that has already become overwhelming. I'm also not very adept at using Microsoft Access (a real piece of trash). I'm no programming genius, but I'd be happy to test!

[WaltherCC]

Here are the two programs I'm familiar with:

http://nmcollector.net/nmguncollector/

http://somanyroads.org/gunsafe/

Both are freeware, however an enhanced version of NM is available for purchase. I think most people prefer Gun Safe.

[KimberRB]

You can also us Access by Microsoft you can set it up to log just about anything you want.

[Scarecrow]

sounds like a good idea.. I keep track of how many rounds fired in each gun. if any fte's or ftf's occur. just do it in a word document for now. would be interesting if there was an actual program to keep track.

[Red Hat]

I downloaded Gunsafe. http://somanyroads.org/gunsafe/ Looks like a very good program and best of all it's free. Thanks for the link, WaltherCC!

[LiveBlues]

I looked at the Gunsafe package before. It looks nice, but is lacking some of the features that I am looking for, such as rounds fired, keeping track of the ammo I have "in stock", and so forth. I might put together a few screens this weekend and see if I like it before I start doing any coding.

As for the Access suggestion, as a multivalue database programmer, I wouldn't be caught dead using Access. :D I'll be using a database called OpenQM. It won't be a program in the traditional Windows sense, but it will have a GUI frontend that will look a little dated.

[tcotariu]

I am just using an Excel Spread Sheet. I have one worksheet for each weapon. At the top I have the Make, Model, Caliber and Serial Number. I then have columns for Date, Location, Ammunition, Rounds Fired and Notes. Then I added an index at the beginning of the workbook that has a link to each page and each page has a link back to the index. Not very fancy, but it does what need and tracks my weapons and range trips. If I have a modification done to the weapon I enter it as a line without any ammunition or round count.

The Gun Safe software looks nice, but I just didn’t see any need to add another piece of software to my computer when I could do what I wanted in Excel (it could also be easily done in Access) and I have no idea what system files the Gun Safe software would add to or modify in my system. If you already have a Spread Sheet or Data Base program that will do it I would recommend at least considering it before adding additional software that you are unfamiliar with.

I would be happy to send you a copy of what I have done in Excel, but like I said it is pretty simple and only has the information I was interested in tracking (of course, being an Excel spread sheet, you can add any information you want.).

Whichever way you go, good luck.
Tim

[Jay]

+1 on Excel. Here's a link to a sample spreadsheet I made up. It has a master page that lists all the firearms with the obvious column headings, and a column for value that re-totals itself with any entry changes. Tabs at the bottom of the page contain info and pics (if you wish) on individual firearms. I'm no expert on Excel, but my wife is, so if you have questions I can't answer, she probably can.........

http://personal.swayzee.com/jayb/Gunstuffsample.xls