Shoot two to four boxes of factory ammunition the same way, on the same day or over several, and Qual8 tells you which one your rifle shoots best.
MarksmanSharpshooterHandloader
At home
Before you start
Every box, added to the rifle
The setup screen only offers ammunition already saved on that rifle. Add each box first: Add your ammunition.
The rifle's goals, set
The comparison judges each box against the rifle's accuracy goal, and its velocity goal if you use a chronograph. Both are read when you start. Set them on the rifle first, under Intended Use.
Enough rounds
6 to 10 scored rounds from each box, depending on the plan you pick (12 if you also shoot for LQ100), plus a few to foul the bore before the first group and after each change of box.
Targets
Sigma8 targets or your own paper target. Steel is not used for a comparison.
Set up, shoot, read
Six steps to a winner
The photo and the marking screen work the way they do in a Range Session. If you have not shot one yet, do Your first Range Session first.
1
Set up the comparison
Press SHOOT, then COMPARE AMMO, then + Start Comparison. With a comparison already open, the button reads START NEW.
Chronograph: Yes or No.
Ammo to compare: press each box, in the order you will shoot them. Two at least, four at most.
Before this session: say if the barrel was cleaned, and count the rounds fired before Group 1.
The order you press the boxes is the order Qual8 expects you to shoot them. Each box gets its groups in that order. It cannot be changed once the comparison has started.
Why the chronograph answer matters here
In the screen's words: "Without a chronograph Qual8 compares your boxes by group size alone. A chronograph adds how steady each box's speed is."
You do not have to finish in one day. The screen says: "You don’t have to shoot them all today — come back another day and finish." If you stop between boxes, keep the targets you shot: the camera opens once the next box's fouling rounds are recorded, so you photograph them all when you come back.
Two boxes picked for the comparison.
2
Choose how much to shoot
Still on the setup screen. Pick one plan; every box gets the same one.
2 groups of 3 shots: 6 rounds from each box.
3 groups of 3 shots: 9 rounds from each box.
2 groups of 4 shots: 8 rounds from each box.
2 groups of 5 shots: 10 rounds from each box. The screen marks this one "Recommended".
Pick the Distance (100 or 200 yards) and the Target.
Press Start comparison.
The next screen, MEASURE THE AMMUNITION, is for calipers and a bullet comparator. Take the measurements and press START SHOOTING, or press Skip it and start shooting.
Want LQ100 from the same range trip? Tick Shoot this so it can also earn LQ100. It sets the comparison to 100 yards, Sigma8 3X targets and three groups of four shots from every box, and the winning box also earns LQ100.
Qual8 lays out which groups belong to which box.
3
Foul the bore, then shoot the first box
If Qual8 shows a Before group 1 card, fire your fouling rounds. They are not scored. Choose how many you fired and press Record fouling and unlock scored groups.
No card? The rifle already has rounds on it since cleaning, and Group 1 is open.
Before each group, answer Was the barrel cooled before this group?
Shoot every group from the first box. Put your groups on the sheet's bulls in number order; the picture in step 5 shows how a sheet is numbered. With a chronograph, type each shot's speed.
Why fouling comes first
The screen says it: "A clean bore does not shoot like a fouled one." On a clean bore, groups stay locked until the fouling rounds are recorded, so no box is judged on a clean-bore group. A clean bore means you ticked "Barrel cleaned?" or the rifle shows 0 shots since cleaning, as a newly added rifle does.
The fouling step before Group 1.
4
Switch boxes
Between the first box's last group and the next box's first, the screen shows a Switch to card naming the next box.
Fire the fouling rounds for the new ammunition. If you cleaned the bore first, also tick I cleaned the bore before switching ammo; Qual8 then asks for at least one fouling round.
Record them, then shoot every group from that box.
Why one box at a time
Qual8's plan reads: "Shoot all of box A, then fire your fouling rounds, then all of box B." Each box is then judged on a bore fouled with its own ammunition. With "3 groups of 3 shots" the plan is different: two groups from each box first, then a third from each only if the comparison still needs it.
5
Photograph and mark the targets
Press Photograph Target. While a fouling step or a shot's speed is still waiting, the button reads I am done shooting — photograph the target.
After each photo, Qual8 shows the sheet's bulls, all ticked. Untick any bull you left empty, then press Mark This Target.
Check the holes and press All shot locations are correct, the same as in a Range Session.
Photograph the targets in the order you shot them.
What this screen can and cannot change. You can untick a bull you did not shoot. You cannot move a group to a different bull, and you cannot change which ammunition a group carries: your groups go onto the ticked bulls in number order, in the order you shot them.
Shot the boxes in a different order than you pressed them at setup? Press SHOOT, then COMPARE AMMO, and press Discard on the open comparison. Start a new one, pressing the boxes in the order you shot.
