Shadow Book vs LoadOut Ballistics & Reloading
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.
LoadOut Ballistics & Reloading
This app is a comprehensive tool for shooters, offering ballistics solving, reloading management, and range day assistance. It caters to beginners and experienced users with guided lessons, load development tools, and data tracking. Features include group plotting, custom DOPE cards, and data import/export options.
- G1/G7 ballistics solver
- Reloading workspace with load development methods
- Range day group plotting and statistics
- Beginner Mode with guided lessons
- Data import (photo, CSV, Excel) and export
- Wearable device companion apps
- Optional AI features for data import and search
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LoadOut takes you from the bench to the target. It is a ballistics solver, a reloading workspace, and a range day companion in one app, built for three kinds of shooters: the one picking up a rifle for the first time, the reloader chasing single digit SDs, and the competitor who wants a better score next month than last. DIAL A SOLUTION YOU CAN TRUST A free G1/G7 ballistics solver on industry standard exterior ballistics math, with spin drift, aerodynamic jump, and Coriolis when you want them. Measured drag curves (CDM/DSF) ship free for hundreds of factory bullets and apply the moment you pick a factory load. Get your holds in MOA, mils, or clicks, build a DOPE card, and read your holdovers straight off your own reticle in the Scope View, with 55 reticles in the library. LEARN IT PROPERLY New to precision shooting, or to reloading? Beginner Mode hides the advanced fields and walks you through the process. Learn has step by step lessons, guided walk-throughs on the real screens, a searchable reloading glossary, and plain language guides to every tool in the app. Nobody is assumed to know what CBTO means on day one. WORK UP A LOAD LIKE A PRO Five load development methods, including OCW, ladder, and velocity node tests, with per charge statistics that tell you what your chronograph string actually means. Track velocity over time and see which load earned its place in your match ammo. (Pro) RANGE DAY AND MATCH DAY Plot your groups on the target, get group statistics, and keep every session tied to the rifle and the load. On match day, stage cards carry your holds per target, and the Apple Watch, Wear OS, and Garmin companions put them on your wrist. BRING YOUR DATA WITH YOU Import a notebook page by photo (the on device reader does the work, and no image leaves your phone), spreadsheets by CSV or Excel, chronograph sessions from a Garmin Xero, and share a load with a friend by QR code. Reference catalogs for cartridges, powders, bullets, primers, brass, and firearms ship in the app and update over the air. VOICE AND AI, ON YOUR TERMS Ask Siri for your next hold with the phone in your bag. iPhone and Apple Watch read your firing solution out loud, in a Standard voice you can download and that runs on your device. AI Smart Import cleans up a messy photo import and semantic search finds a load by what you mean, not the exact words (Pro). Every AI feature is off until you turn it on. In 15 languages. YOUR DATA STAYS YOURS Everything lives on your device. No LoadOut server ever sees your reloading data, we don't sell it, and we don't train on it. Sign in is optional. Cloud backup and sync (Pro) go to your own iCloud Drive, Google Drive, or OneDrive, encrypted on your device with a passphrase LoadOut never sees. SAFETY LoadOut's ballistics and pressure predictions are estimates, not load data. Always work up from a current published load manual and verify against your own rifle. No calculator — ours included — can tell you what is safe in your chamber. PRO Free covers the tracker and the whole base ballistics workflow: the solver, measured drag curves, the Scope View, cartridge dimension diagrams, Match Day, spoken firing solutions, and every import path. Pro adds live weather, hit probability and full analytics, Garmin chronograph import, the pressure and velocity predictor, structured load development, AI Smart Import, encrypted cloud backup and sync, photorealistic scope backdrops, connected weather meters and shot timers, and no limit on rifles and profiles. 14 day free trial, then a subscription or a one time lifetime purchase. The LoadOut team support@johnsondigitalsystems.com Terms of Use: https://loadout-precision-reloading.web.app/legal/terms.html Privacy Policy: https://loadout-precision-reloading.web.app/legal/privacy.html
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: LoadOut Ballistics & Reloading at 100% against Shadow Book's 33%. LoadOut Ballistics & Reloading also leads on price (Free vs $14.99) and rating (5.0 vs 3.3). Shadow Book's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4). On ratings volume, ads, 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
LoadOut Ballistics & Reloading is free to download; Shadow Book costs $14.99 up front. LoadOut Ballistics & Reloading sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Shadow Book asks for nothing beyond the download.
LoadOut Ballistics & Reloading holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 6 and 8 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 33% of Shadow Book's written reviews are positive against 100% of LoadOut Ballistics & Reloading's.
Shadow Book ships an update every 15 months, LoadOut Ballistics & Reloading every 2 days. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.
| Parameter | Shadow Book | LoadOut Ballistics & Reloading |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $14.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 3.3 (6 ratings) | 5.0 (8 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 33.3% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 6 | 8 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 15 months | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Freemium — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 — better | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 26 MB | 217 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Shadow Hog Tactical and Consulting | Johnson Digital Systems LLC |
Customer experience
Shadow Book
LoadOut Ballistics & Reloading
In-app purchases
Shadow Book
No in-app purchases
LoadOut Ballistics & Reloading
- LoadOut Pro – Monthly14 Days trial$4.991 Month
- LoadOut Pro – Yearly14 Days trial$34.991 Year
- LoadOut Pro – Lifetime Founder$89.99
- LoadOut Pro – Lifetime$119.99
Questions
Is Shadow Book free?
Is LoadOut Ballistics & Reloading free?
Which has better reviews, Shadow Book or LoadOut Ballistics & Reloading?
Do Shadow Book or LoadOut Ballistics & Reloading have ads?
Which is updated more often, Shadow Book or LoadOut Ballistics & Reloading?
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