Creating A Spreadsheet of Handuns

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410/45 Colt revolvers
Taurus Judge
S&W Governor
Plastic revolvers
Ruger LCR
Taurus Polymer Protector
Taurus Public Defender Poly (410/45 Colt & Poly together)
 
Forgive me for not grasping the importance of having a spreadsheet. But the way I see it you have compiled a list of handguns cataloged by their specifications, as you state, by magazine capacity, barrel length, weight, and so on.

What you seemingly lack are the intangibles such as how the gun feels in the individual's hand; how it comes up out of the holster, how it handles recoil, etc. How much barrel whip does it display?

When I place my gun in my gunhand, my fingers just naturally find the trigger and my thumb just drifts to the hammer. The attributes of, as one described it, feeling "like the handshake of an old friend." These are the true measures of a friendly handgun, and how does one put that on cyber paper?

Bob Wright
 
@Aguila Blanca

I understand I need more sizes, but at the moment I just don't see the practicality behind adding another couple sizes for only a handful of guns.


@Cheapshooter

Thank you once again for the extremely helpful contribution Cheapshooter :)


@Bob Wright

I wholeheartedly agree with everything you just said. Its true, you have to hold the gun to figure out if you "agree" with it or not. This is more or less just for my enjoyment.
 
This might be getting too cumbersome but maybe you could put all the dimensions in separate columns. Length, width, height and barrel length in different columns then a guy could sort by any of those. Say I want something with a barrel length under 2 inches. Easy. Likewise if I'm looking for concealed carry I might sort on height or length or maybe by weight.
 
MainStream said:
I understand I need more sizes, but at the moment I just don't see the practicality behind adding another couple sizes for only a handful of guns.
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Then I have to say that you're not really as much of a man of numbers and logistics as you claimed in your opening post, nor are you as interested in making this list useful as you claimed. It doesn't matter how many or how few items fall into a particular category. If you have even one sample that DOESN'T fit the categories you have established, you then have to cram the odd examples into a category they don't fit in. Once you do that, your list is useless.

What's the point of compiling all this information if you know almost from the start that the basic organization of the data is flawed?
 
"What's the point of compiling all this information ..."

Yeah, what's the point?

I have a gun list with manufacturer, serial number, caliber, brief description & value that I used Excel for in case of tragedy or loss, but that's it.
 
@MainStream:

I wholeheartedly agree with everything you just said. Its true, you have to hold the gun to figure out if you "agree" with it or not. This is more or less just for my enjoyment.
Click to expand...


Ah! Now I understand! Go at it!

Bob Wright
 
I would add a size category for 1911 Commander size guns. Guns with full size grips and 4-4 1/2" barrels. "Full size carry" would work.

SAR Arms
B6PC
Compact
Frame: polymer
Slide: steel
Capacity: 13+1
Barrel length: 3.8 inches
OAL: 7.5 inches
Width: 2.5 inches
Height: 5.7 inches
Weight:1.6 lbs.
MSRP: $393.00
 
MainStream said:
I wholeheartedly agree with everything you just said. Its true, you have to hold the gun to figure out if you "agree" with it or not. This is more or less just for my enjoyment.
Click to expand...


That's not what you wrote in post #15:

MainStream said:
Also the end result is for me to release this to people to help them.
Click to expand...
 
This might be getting too cumbersome but maybe you could put all the dimensions in separate columns. Length, width, height and barrel length in different columns then a guy could sort by any of those. Say I want something with a barrel length under 2 inches. Easy. Likewise if I'm looking for concealed carry I might sort on height or length or maybe by weight.
Click to expand...

I'm doing that don't worry. :) Currently I have three spreadsheets one each for full size, compact, and sub-compact. However, I'm thinking about rearranging them by their barrel lengths or overall lengths. Each gun has a column for brand, model, caliber, capacity, weight, barrel length, length, width, height, frame material, slide material, and MSRP. Hopefully thats enough. I believe thats what you're referring to, if not please correct me.


Then I have to say that you're not really as much of a man of numbers and logistics as you claimed in your opening post, nor are you as interested in making this list useful as you claimed. It doesn't matter how many or how few items fall into a particular category. If you have even one sample that DOESN'T fit the categories you have established, you then have to cram the odd examples into a category they don't fit in. Once you do that, your list is useless.

What's the point of compiling all this information if you know almost from the start that the basic organization of the data is flawed?
Click to expand...

I've realized now that now every gun can fall into three defined categories. That was the error in my ways and now that I see that I'm thinking about making a sheet for each length (1", 2", 3" ,4", 5", 6", etc.) However, now I must propose a question: which one would be more useful, sorting it by overall length or just barrel length?


"What's the point of compiling all this information ..."

Yeah, what's the point?

I have a gun list with manufacturer, serial number, caliber, brief description & value that I used Excel for in case of tragedy or loss, but that's it.
Click to expand...

Originally it was just for my amusement, but now I'm thinking about posting it here if I feel confident enough with it. It might be able to help people looking for a new handgun. For instance, say someone wants one that is no longer than 7" and shoots .45 ACP. This list should help them find one. Well, at least that's how I see it as of right now.


I would add a size category for 1911 Commander size guns. Guns with full size grips and 4-4 1/2" barrels. "Full size carry" would work.

SAR Arms
B6PC
Compact
Frame: polymer
Slide: steel
Capacity: 13+1
Barrel length: 3.8 inches
OAL: 7.5 inches
Width: 2.5 inches
Height: 5.7 inches
Weight:1.6 lbs.
MSRP: $393.00
Click to expand...

Thank you for the addition and I'm definitely working on making more definitive groups. :)


That's not what you wrote in post #15:
Click to expand...

Originally it was just for my enjoyment, and that's what I planned for it to be. However, if I feel confident enough with it I might release it. It honestly, just depends.
 
MainStream said:
I've realized now that now every gun can fall into three defined categories. That was the error in my ways and now that I see that I'm thinking about making a sheet for each length (1", 2", 3" ,4", 5", 6", etc.) However, now I must propose a question: which one would be more useful, sorting it by overall length or just barrel length?
Click to expand...
For the data to be useful, I think both dimensions have to be included. For sorting purposes, I think people will be much more interested in barrel length rather than overall length.

Aside from which, I can show you at least three pistols from Para-Ordinance that are the exact same pistol, with the same barrel length, but the overall lengths are different based solely on the beavertail/grip safety configuration.
 
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MainStream.
The SAR that I added is listed as 2.5 inches wide in most places that I can find but it most certainly isn't that thick! I did find someone online that gave an actual measurement in their review and it was 1 1/4" which looking at mine appears to be correct. Damn I gotta replace my lost caliper!
 
For the data to be useful, I think both dimensions have to be included. For sorting purposes, I think people will be much more interested in barrel length rather than overall length.

Aside from which, I can show you at least three pistols from Para-Ordinance that are the exact same pistol, with the same barrel length, but the overall lengths are different based solely on the beavertail/grip safety configuration.
Click to expand...

All dimensions will be listed, that I am sure of. If people are more interested in barrel length then that is what I'm going with. I can already tell I'm going to have a busy night. Thank you so much for the suggestion!


MainStream.
The SAR that I added is listed as 2.5 inches wide in most places that I can find but it most certainly isn't that thick! I did find someone online that gave an actual measurement in their review and it was 1 1/4" which looking at mine appears to be correct. Damn I gotta replace my lost caliper!
Click to expand...

Yeah when I first saw that I kind of chuckled to my self. 2.5 inches wide is a bit much. :eek: However I'm glad you got the correct width. 1.25 inches sounds a lot more feasible. Thank you. Providing all of the specs definitely makes my job a lot easier. Also, I just realized that they also make a non-compact version and will be adding that into the spreadsheet as well.
 
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I have finished sorting, compiling, and gathering info on the handguns submitted. Due to the fact that I'm no longer able to edit this thread I'm going to make a new one. However, in this new one I will provide a link to view the spreadsheet. The spreadsheet has sub categories for each barrel length and you can sort the pistols in ascending or descending order by any of the specs (Caliber doesn't work due to obvious reasons [Spreadsheet thinks 9mm is larger than .50AE]). Does this sound like a good idea as I would really like to continue growing this.
 
You can put the spreadsheet on Google Docs and post a live link to it.

Why not add a hidden column with the actual bullet diameter and use that for sorting? That way, the fact that .38 Special, .357 Magnum, 9mm Parabellum and .380 ACP are all the same caliber will group them together.
 
You can put the spreadsheet on Google Docs and post a live link to it.

Why not add a hidden column with the actual bullet diameter and use that for sorting? That way, the fact that .38 Special, .357 Magnum, 9mm Parabellum and .380 ACP are all the same caliber will group them together.
Click to expand...

I am currently using Numbers on my PC (I know using an Apple product on a Windows machine) and it has a share feature that is extremely slick and useful. If that doesn't work however I will go to google docs. That's a great idea with the hidden columns. However, I'm still trying to figure out how to do that. WOuld it just be a regular column with the numbers hidden or?
 
I'd just pick up a Blue Book of Gun Values and envision the information presented there on a spreadsheet. That might be useful even without "current value". For collectors and enthusiasts, every caliber offered by the factory in a particular gun along with every variation is important. What you appear to be doing has been done many times in books, just not as something that is commonly available on line. But have fun.
 
I think I understand what you are doing but why a spreadsheet? If you do it in a database, like MS Access for example, you can do more complex fields, have macros run your predefined queries or reports, run sorts and filters a lot easier, and even set up relationships between tables and/or queries if you want to take it that far. All of my firearms lists and reloading data is in Access for just those reasons. YMMV
 
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