Everyday Carry
By Robb Manning
Useful Carry-Related Apps
Yes, even for gun owners who have made the choice to carry, “There’s an app for that.” Whether you like slinging birds at pigs or shooting zombies, there’s a lot of wasted hours you can spend on your mobile device. You can, however, use it as a force for good. Here are some iOS apps I use:
CCW - Concealed Carry 50 State Guide ($.99, Workman Consulting) -- this is one of the most important and useful carry apps I own. Go into “My Permits” menu and enter all the carry permits you own, then hit “submit.” A map pops up showing which states honor all of your permits, with a text listing below. Press “State Map” menu and a map shows you the Type of Issue each state has: Shall Issue/Constitutional Carry, May Issue, or No Issue. Press “State List” menu and get a list of every state -- press on a state and get detailed information on the states carry laws, and links to the state’s website. Press “Location” menu and where ever you are physically located, it gives you access to find shooting ranges, gun stores, training, etc. This is an indispensable app.
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Marine Pistol Marksmanship ($1.99, Double Dog Studios) -- This is a great app for new shooters, or a refresher for long-time shooters. It’s set up like a book, and has chapters on Weapons Handling, Marksmanship Fundamentals, Firing Postions & Grip, Cover & Concealment, Presentation, Engagement Techniques, One-Handed Techniques, Advanced Techniques, and Low-light & Darkness Techniques. Plenty of pictures show the various points that are covered. A must read. I have it on my iPhone, but prefer to read it on my iPad.
Gun Log ($2.99, Skunkworks Software) -- Another app that’s great on both the iPhone and iPad. It allows you to keep track of almost all aspects of your shooting: your guns, ammo, shooting sessions, and accessories. It also allows you to mail yourself reports. For example in guns, you enter all the pertinent info on your firearm, then take a picture. It’s great for insurance coverage. You can also keep track of configurations of the firearm, and keep maintenance records. I like the ammo section if I’m making an impromptu stop at the gun store and am not sure what I have on hand for ammo, I just pull up the app, click on ammo, and everything I have is listed. It takes a little work to input the data, but once you do, your gun life will be much simpler.
Hand-Load ($.99, Thomas Holsten) -- This app is for calculating the price of hand-loading your own loads. Enter the cost you paid for each component, and the powder charge for the load, then hit calculate. The first page tells you how much powder you will use for X number of rounds, (i.e. 500 loads uses .357 lbs of powder). The next page tells you how the cost of component by piece (i.e. for one round, the Bullet costs $.088, Powder costs $.016, etc. See accompanying photo). Then it lists the cost for complete cartridges, by quantity loaded. (i.e. 1 round costs $.17, 50 rounds costs $8.65, etc). Each subsequent page lists the cost with each subsequent time you re-use the brass, up to 10 times.
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Group Therapy (Free ($1.99 for Pro version), Gun For Hire) -- A basic but effective app. Tap on the target where your rounds are hitting and a pop-up comes up telling you what you’re doing wrong. Upgrade to the Pro version and it tells you how to fix it.
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NRA (Free, National Rifle Association) - Gives you access to NRA news, alerts, blogs, and videos. Also tells you where gun related businesses are in your vicinity (ranges, stores, etc). Press on the “Actions” Menu and it gives you information on voting and contacting representatives. A must have for every gun owner.
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