Shadow Book vs Range Buddy
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Shadow Book
This digital data book helps responsible shooters track and maintain valuable information for various firearm types. It's designed for both professionals and sportsmen, offering essential features and more for managing round counts, maintenance, and range sessions.
- Track round count
- Log maintenance history
- Record range sessions
- Supports rifles, shotguns, pistols, bows
- Digital data book for shooters
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Welcome to Shadow Book. Shadow Book is a digital Data Book for the responsible shooting community. This app was built and designed for professionals and the sportsman alike. As you navigate Shadow Book you will find that it offers all the basic necessities along with a few surprises all at your fingertips. No matter the system from rifles, shotguns, pistols, bows etc. you'll be able to track and maintain valuable data such as round count, maintenance, and each range session. Note that this app has big update plans as it grows with the community and provides the best usage possible. So please enjoy and stay tuned for more.
Range Buddy
This app provides a vast library of shooting drills for firearms enthusiasts. Track your progress with a scorekeeper and leaderboard, and log your training sessions to identify areas for improvement. Connect with instructors and discover new drills tailored to your skill level.
- 160+ shooting drills
- Drill filtering by skills
- Scorekeeper and leaderboards
- Integrated training log
- Instructor marketplace
- Random drill picker
- Dry fire tool
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Range Buddy is the all-in-one firearms training app for shooters who want better drills, on-video shot scoring, video coaching, a smarter training tracker, and real competition. Connect a shot timer, record and score your shooting on video, break a run down frame by frame, build training regimens, follow standards, and compete in head-to-head duels or group challenges. Browse a drill library sorted by target type, category, and skill focus so you can train with purpose and measure progress over time. Record, Score, and Share Your Shooting Hit record and Range Buddy captures your run, then overlays your shot times, splits, and scored hits onto the clip—save to your camera roll and share in seconds. Score against 12 targets including B-8, IPSC, USPSA, IDPA, steel, the FBI QIT and Rangemaster Q quals, and Dot Torture—or free-shoot with no target at all. Film Studio—Review, Sync, and Compare Turn range footage into training video. Review a single run, sync multiple camera angles, or compare up to four runs side by side with frame-by-frame stepping. Waveform editing lines up the beep and every shot, captions generate automatically, and exports come out landscape, square, or vertical. Breakdown—Coach the Video Markup and annotate on the video. Drop callouts on exact frames, tag steps of the draw, set slow-motion sections, and overlay a skeletal wireframe to show body position through the run. Record a voiceover/picture-in-picture, then export a Coach's Cut—the clean run first, then your analysis with markups, slow motion, and narration baked in. Performance Lab—Analyze Your Draw Record or upload a draw and every rep is measured, graded, and replayed with a skeleton overlay. You get one specific thing to fix, plus phase trends over time. Shot Timer—Bluetooth or Your Phone Pair a Bluetooth shot timer—AMG Commander, Special Pie, RangeTech, Shooters Global, or Kestrel KST1000—to pull live shot data into your drills and videos. With the Kestrel KST1000, Range Buddy also starts and stops the timer and sets par times from your phone. No timer? Range Buddy detects shots from your phone's mic for live or dry fire, with adjustable sensitivity for quiet trigger presses and shots on screen in real time. Train From Your Wrist Pair an Apple Watch or Wear OS smartwatch to start drills, advance steps, and see shots hands-free. Instructor Marketplace: Post custom training requests and invite reputable instructors to apply directly. First and Only Virtual Instructor - randomize your training, keep it fun and upbeat. Features: -Works with AMG Commander, Special Pie, RangeTech, Shooters Global, and Kestrel KST1000 shot timers—or just your phone's mic. -Multi-angle sync and four-run compare with frame-by-frame stepping and auto captions. -Telestration—draw, callouts, slow motion, voiceover, and picture-in-picture coaching. -Coach's Cut export that pairs the clean run with your coached analysis. -Pose analysis that grades every draw rep and names the one thing to fix. -160+ shooting drills for handgun, rifle, and shotgun, searchable and sorted by required target. -Skill filters including draw to first shot, reloads, movement, and more. -Step-by-step drill breakdowns with requirements and stage setup. -Training tracker with target-specific scoring to measure improvement over time. -Training regimens for repeatable practice plans, and standards to benchmark progress. -Head-to-head duels and group challenges that make practice competitive and social. -Drill leaderboards, a shot calling tool, and a random drill picker. -Training log with session notes, time, date, and location. -Favorites, community drills, and a Dry Fire Tool and Tracker. Dry fire, live fire, standards, or match prep—train with structure and keep improving. Standard Apple Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Range Buddy at 100% against Shadow Book's 33%. Range Buddy also leads on price (Free vs $14.99) and rating (4.8 vs 3.3). Shadow Book's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and ads (none vs shown). On device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Range Buddy is free to download; Shadow Book costs $14.99 up front. Range Buddy sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Shadow Book asks for nothing beyond the download.
Range Buddy holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 6 and 19 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 33% of Shadow Book's written reviews are positive against 100% of Range Buddy's.
Shadow Book ships an update every 15 months, Range Buddy weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Shadow Book | Range Buddy |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $14.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 3.3 (6 ratings) | 4.8 (19 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 33.3% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 6 | 19 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 15 months | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Best chart rank | #45 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 — better | 15.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 26 MB | 199 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Shadow Hog Tactical and Consulting | Practical Defense Training, LLC |
Customer experience
Shadow Book
Range Buddy
In-app purchases
Shadow Book
No in-app purchases
Range Buddy
- MonthlyTwo$2.991 Month
- Range Buddy Pro Monthly14 Days trial$7.991 Month
- Range Buddy 12mo Subscription14 Days trial$49.991 Year
Questions
Is Shadow Book free?
Is Range Buddy free?
Which has better reviews, Shadow Book or Range Buddy?
Do Shadow Book or Range Buddy have ads?
Which is updated more often, Shadow Book or Range Buddy?
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