# ICP Profile: New to Precision Shooting

**Cold Bore Ballistics™ LLC — ScopeDOPE™**
**Classification:** Highly Confidential (04_-_Highly_Confidential/)
**Status:** Active

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## Table of Contents

1. [Profile Summary](#1-profile-summary)
2. [Demographics](#2-demographics)
3. [Equipment Profile](#3-equipment-profile)
4. [Psychographics](#4-psychographics)
5. [Current Ballistic Workflow](#5-current-ballistic-workflow)
6. [Pain Points](#6-pain-points)
7. [Buying Triggers](#7-buying-triggers)
8. [Objections and Counters](#8-objections-and-counters)
9. [Discovery Channels](#9-discovery-channels)
10. [The Right Message for This Profile](#10-the-right-message-for-this-profile)
11. [Competitive Landscape Awareness](#11-competitive-landscape-awareness)
12. [Kestrel Displacement Tier](#12-kestrel-displacement-tier)
13. [Strategic Importance](#13-strategic-importance)
14. [References](#14-references)

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## 1. Profile Summary

The New to Precision Shooting profile represents a shooter who has recently entered — or is actively entering — the discipline of precision long-range rifle shooting. They may have purchased their first precision rifle within the last 6–18 months. They have heard the terms DOPE, MRAD, and ballistic coefficient but may not yet have a clear picture of how they relate. They have fired at distance but have not yet developed a systematic data workflow.

This profile differs from the other three ICPs in one critical way: **they do not know what they do not know yet.** The pain points that make ScopeDOPE's value obvious to a veteran NRL22 competitor are not yet felt. The buying trigger is different — it is about finding the right first system, not replacing a broken one.

This ICP is not a high-probability first-month conversion. They are a high-value acquisition because of what they become: a shooter whose DOPE data lives in ScopeDOPE from day one is more resistant to switching later, and more likely to become an advocate as their skills develop and their community presence grows.

**The strategic imperative for this ICP is not conversion — it is capture.** Get there first. Become the app their data already lives in.

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## 2. Demographics

| Attribute | Detail |
|---|---|
| **Age range** | 22–45 primary; Young Guns division (under 17) is a parallel segment with distinct dynamics — purchasing decisions made by parents, not the shooter |
| **Gender** | Broader than established segments; female new entrants increasing, especially via NRL22 Ladies and Young Guns pathways |
| **Entry pathway** | NRL22 is the dominant, explicitly designed entry point to organized precision shooting; many in this ICP are in their first NRL22 season or actively considering joining their local club |
| **Geographic distribution** | Follows NRL22 club distribution — all 50 states, concentrated in Texas, Southeast, Mountain West, Midwest |
| **Income** | Wider range than established competitors. Entry-level precision shooting is accessible below $1,500. The Base division price cap exists precisely to serve this segment. $44.99 is a real decision at this income tier. |
| **Occupation** | No strong occupational skew; any technically curious adult with range access and discretionary income |

---

## 3. Equipment Profile

**Rifle:**

| Setup | Notes |
|---|---|
| Ruger Precision Rimfire | Most common NRL22 entry; ~$500 MSRP; Base division eligible; widely available secondhand |
| CZ 457 series | Popular alternative; strong accuracy reputation at price point; active aftermarket |
| Tikka T1x | Well-regarded entry; compatible with aftermarket chassis; common upgrade path |
| Bergara B-14R | Mid-tier entry; custom action feel at production pricing; often purchased after first season |

Many in this profile are shooting a borrowed or secondhand rifle for their first season before committing to their own build. The first personal rifle purchase is often a major psychological and financial commitment for this ICP.

**Optics:** Entry-level — Athlon Talos BTR, Bushnell Banner, Vortex Crossfire II, Primary Arms SLX 4-14x, or similar. First-season optic spend often at or under $300. The optic is typically the first upgrade after the first match.

**Ammunition:** SK Standard Plus or CCI Standard as common starting points. Many have not yet tested multiple lots. Most do not yet know that lot-to-lot variation is a measurable, actionable factor — this is knowledge they acquire during their first season.

**Existing ballistic tools:** Most commonly none, or a free web calculator used once and largely forgotten. Hornady 4DOF is the most common starting point because it is free and returns first in Google. The generated table was approximately right at 100 yards and increasingly wrong beyond that, which the new shooter noticed but did not yet know how to address.

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## 4. Psychographics

**Curious and absorptive.** The new precision shooter is actively building their knowledge base. They are watching YouTube, reading Sniper's Hide threads, lurking in Facebook groups, and asking questions wherever they are welcome to ask them. They have not yet been burned by a marketing claim — they are more open to product introductions than any other ICP, but also less filtered. The product's value must be explained to them before they can recognize why they need it.

**Susceptible to the upgrade cycle.** The precision shooting upgrade cycle is well-documented: each upgrade reveals the next limiting factor. A new shooter who shoots their first club match quickly discovers that their cheap optic is the limiting factor, then their ammo selection, then their ballistic data workflow. ScopeDOPE's goal is to be in their pocket before the "my DOPE management isn't good enough" realization fully arrives — not waiting for the moment they are searching for a solution.

**Intimidated by vocabulary density.** DOPE, MRAD, BC, spin drift, Coriolis, MOA — the vocabulary of precision shooting is dense and can be alienating for someone who encountered all of it in the last six months. ScopeDOPE's messaging for this ICP must not presuppose fluency. The value must be explainable in plain terms without condescension — it is a demonstration of respect for the new shooter, not a dumbing-down of the product.

**Price-sensitive, but not permanently.** The new shooter has already spent money on a rifle and optic and is likely still evaluating whether precision shooting will be a lasting commitment. $44.99 for an app is not trivial relative to their current mental model. This is the most price-sensitive of the four ICPs. However, the price sensitivity is temporary — it diminishes rapidly as commitment to the sport deepens. The first season's investment is the barrier; after that, the community's spending norms take over. Get them before the first match if possible.

**Community-seeking and community-forming.** New precision shooters are actively looking for belonging. They ask questions. They participate in club Facebook groups. They want to become part of something. This is a high-engagement surface — answer their questions genuinely, provide educational content without promotion, and this ICP becomes an organic advocate within their local club community.

**Aspirational toward the established competitors.** They watch what the experienced shooters at the club do. They notice the DOPE cards. They notice the Kestrel. They notice the printed sticker when they see one. They are actively modeling the practices of the shooters they respect. Being the tool that those shooters use — or being introduced as the tool that experienced shooters recommend — is the most effective positioning for this audience.

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## 5. Current Ballistic Workflow

**Workflow A — No workflow (most common)**
The new shooter fires at the range, adjusts their scope by feel or trial-and-error, and writes the resulting click adjustments on a sticky note, in a phone note, or in a range notebook that was bought with good intentions and used twice. They know they need a more systematic process and are not sure what it looks like.

**Workflow B — Free web calculator, used once**
They found JBM Ballistics or Hornady 4DOF via Google, entered their load data, and generated a drop table. The table looked approximately right at 100 yards and was increasingly wrong at longer distances. They applied the corrections they found at the range to their notebook. The browser tab is still open somewhere. They have not revisited it.

**Workflow C — Watching what the better shooters do**
The most deliberate new shooters have noticed that the experienced competitors at their club have DOPE cards, a systematic process, and sometimes a Kestrel. They are gathering information about what that process looks like. They know they should adopt one. They are ready to act if someone explains what to do and why.

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## 6. Pain Points

*Note: Many of these pain points are not yet consciously named by this ICP. They are experienced as vague dissatisfaction or confusion rather than specific, articulated frustrations. Marketing copy for this ICP must name the problem they are experiencing — not the one they will feel acutely in six months. Connect to their current experience first.*

**"I don't know why my first shot doesn't go where I expect."** This is the foundational confusion for new long-range shooters. The zero at 100 yards was verified. The target at 175 yards didn't connect. Temperature, elevation, lot variation, and barrel quirks are all contributing — but the new shooter cannot isolate which factor, or in what proportion, or how to correct for it systematically. ScopeDOPE turns this problem into a structured data-collection process with a concrete output.

**"My DOPE doesn't apply to distances I haven't shot."** The new shooter confirmed their adjustments at 100 and 200 yards. What about 160? Or 225? Their notebook cannot answer that. A calculator gives a theoretical answer. ScopeDOPE gives the best available answer from their actual confirmed data — interpolated using their own correction curve, not a manufacturer's average.

**"The experienced shooters have a system and I don't."** This is a social pain point, not a technical one, and it is real. The new shooter sees DOPE cards, Kestrel hardware, printed stickers, and systematic process at the club. They know they are missing something. ScopeDOPE is what a systematic DOPE workflow looks like — the same workflow the experienced shooters use, in an accessible, structured form.

**"I'm changing things and I can't isolate what's affecting my shots."** The new shooter is trying different ammo, adjusting scope clicks, changing position — and they cannot separate the effect of each change between sessions. ScopeDOPE's session and lot tracking creates the record-keeping infrastructure that makes this isolation possible.

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## 7. Buying Triggers

**First NRL22 match.** A structured, scored competition — especially the first one — forces the new shooter to confront the gap between their data and their performance in a way a range session cannot. A stage miss at a distance they "should" be able to hit creates direct purchase intent. The post-match conversation with experienced competitors compounds it.

**Seeing a more experienced competitor use ScopeDOPE.** Particularly the printed sticker. A new shooter who sees a match competitor peel a printed scope correction sticker off a small printer at the bench and apply it to their stock asks what that is. The answer — "ScopeDOPE, $44.99, one-time" — is immediately actionable. No other buying trigger for this ICP is as fast.

**A YouTube or community recommendation by a trusted source.** New shooters consume YouTube and community content heavily during their learning phase. A credible, first-person account from an experienced competitor explaining what ScopeDOPE does and why it helped them — without promotional tone — is a high-conversion tool. The key is authenticity; promotional-sounding content will be recognized and discounted.

**Barrel maker bundle activation code.** Particularly effective for the new shooter who just purchased their first dedicated precision barrel. They know they need to build their DOPE from scratch on the new barrel. An activation code tells them exactly what tool to use — at the moment of maximum openness to instruction.

**A helpful answer in a forum or Facebook group.** When a new shooter asks "what app should I use for NRL22?" and receives a substantive, non-promotional answer — "ScopeDOPE, because it starts with your actual confirmed impacts instead of just math, here's what that means" — the conversion probability is high. The at-launch community presence strategy should actively cultivate these moments. Answer genuinely, answer specifically, and do not make the answer sound like an advertisement.

---

## 8. Objections and Counters

**"I don't have enough DOPE to use an app yet."**
ScopeDOPE starts with physics — the same engine as JBM Ballistics — and improves with every confirmed impact you add. You do not need a complete DOPE card to start. Three confirmed impacts are enough to begin anchoring the solution to your specific rifle. Start on your first range trip. The app gets better as you do. The data you build now is data you won't be able to recover later.

**"$44.99 is a lot for an app."**
You spent $500 on your rifle and $200 on your optic. The weakest link in your setup right now is your DOPE management — and that problem compounds every time you change your ammo, upgrade a component, or show up at a venue with different conditions than your home range. ScopeDOPE is a one-time purchase, no subscription, no account. The tools you're using now — sticky notes, a browser tab, memory — cost you first-round hits.

**"I'll figure out my workflow first and then look at apps later."**
The best time to start building your session data is your first range trip. Every confirmed impact you record without ScopeDOPE is a data point you cannot recover. Start now, even with three shots at two distances — the app builds on that from day one, and the session data compounds over time into something that becomes increasingly hard to leave.

**"This looks complicated."**
ScopeDOPE is designed to walk you through exactly the data it needs: your load, your confirmed impacts. The app handles the correction. You get a firing solution — and if you have a Niimbot printer, a scope sticker. It is the same workflow every experienced shooter at your club already uses, just organized and automated. The vocabulary in the app is the vocabulary of the sport. Learn one and you learn both.

**"The free calculators work fine."**
Free calculators give you what the manufacturer says the bullet should do, from a theoretical barrel, under average conditions. ScopeDOPE gives you that as a starting point — and then corrects it for what your actual barrel does. As your session count grows, the free calculator's output and ScopeDOPE's output will diverge. ScopeDOPE's will be more accurate for your rifle.

---

## 9. Discovery Channels

| Channel | Relevance | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| **YouTube** | Very high | New shooters consume YouTube heavily during the learning phase. App walkthrough content framed for first-season shooters is high-intent. A video that explains the DOPE management gap in plain terms — and then demonstrates ScopeDOPE filling it — outperforms any spec-list video. |
| **NRL22 Facebook Groups** | Very high | New shooters ask questions in these groups constantly. A genuine, specific, non-promotional answer to "what app should I use for NRL22?" is the most effective discovery format. |
| **Reddit r/NRL22, r/longrange** | High | Same pattern as Facebook — "what app" questions are frequent from new entrants. A helpful account that answers these questions consistently builds organic credibility. |
| **Google Play / App Store search** | High | "NRL22 app," "ballistic calculator for beginners," "DOPE card app." This ICP searches more than any other because they are in active research mode. App Store title, short description, and keywords must capture these terms. |
| **Instagram** | Medium | They follow competitive shooters and gear accounts, absorbing what the established community uses. Product demonstration posts — especially the printed sticker — register as social proof when they appear repeatedly on accounts they follow. |
| **At-match conversation / visible use** | High | Seeing the printed sticker at a club match is a direct conversion moment for this ICP. They have not seen it before and it prompts an immediate question. |
| **Barrel maker bundle activation code** | High (targeted) | For the new shooter who just installed their first precision barrel — maximum intent, maximum openness. Reaches them at the exact moment they know they need to build DOPE from scratch. |

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## 10. The Right Message for This Profile

**The core problem, stated in plain terms:**
> Every ballistic calculator tells you where the bullet should go. ScopeDOPE tells you where yours actually goes.

**The "start now" message:**
> You don't need a full DOPE card to start. Three confirmed impacts are enough. ScopeDOPE builds on what you have and improves with every range trip.

**The system message:**
> Ballistic Computer, live weather, printed scope sticker — around $225. Start with the app at $44.99 and add the sensor and printer when you're ready.

**The accessibility message:**
> No subscription. No account. No internet required. Yours from the first launch.

**Plain-English framing of DOPE-Blend™:**
> Other apps run the math. ScopeDOPE runs the math and then corrects it against your actual shots. When the math says 4.2 clicks and your rifle hits at 4.5, ScopeDOPE remembers 4.5. The math was a starting point. Your data is what matters.

**The "experienced shooters use it too" angle:**
> It starts simple enough for your first session and scales to a top-200 PRS competitor's workflow. You won't outgrow it.

**Voice note for this ICP:** The brand voice remains declarative and non-promotional across all ICPs. For this profile specifically, more plain-English explanation is warranted — without condescension. Do not assume fluency in MRAD, BC, spin drift, or Coriolis. Do not make the new shooter feel excluded for not knowing the vocabulary — they are learning it. Plain-English definitions of key terms are appropriate in educational social content targeting this audience. The vocabulary of the app should be explained in context, not assumed. See `SCOPEDOPE_MARKETING_GUIDE.md §1.3` for the full terminology reference. See `SCOPEDOPE_MARKETING_GUIDE.md §4.2` for banned phrases.

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## 11. Competitive Landscape Awareness

**Hornady 4DOF** — Free. The dominant starting-point tool for this ICP. Generates a theoretical table with no DOPE management, no session memory, no lot tracking, no printing, no live atmospheric correction. Not a retention risk — it is the tool they are using now that creates the problem ScopeDOPE solves. "You've already used 4DOF. ScopeDOPE is what comes next" is an accurate and appropriate framing.

**Applied Ballistics Mobile** — $19.99/year subscription (reduced Dec 2024 from $29.99). More accessible than before but still a subscription. No DOPE management at the session level — corrections are additive. For a new shooter evaluating options, the subscription model is a psychological barrier that ScopeDOPE's one-time purchase sidesteps. The free trial period of AB Mobile (if one exists) may draw this ICP briefly — emphasize the fundamental architecture difference and the ownership model.

**Free calculators generally** — The new shooter has tried one or more free web calculators. The objection "the free ones work fine" is common and must be handled by articulating the specific gap: free calculators don't know their rifle, don't retain session data, and don't improve over time. ScopeDOPE does all three.

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## 12. Kestrel Displacement Tier

Per `SCOPEDOPE_COMPETITIVE_ANALYSIS.md §7`:

**Tier 1 — New to precision shooting (the defining example of this tier).** These shooters cannot justify ~$560 for a dedicated device before they know whether the sport will become a lasting commitment. ScopeDOPE at $44.99 removes the financial barrier entirely. This is the easiest conversion and the largest pool in absolute numbers. They already have some range data. Every shooter in this ICP who enters their confirmed impacts into ScopeDOPE becomes progressively harder to convert away from it as their data accumulates.

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## 13. Strategic Importance

This ICP represents the foundation of ScopeDOPE's long-term install base. Several strategic implications that are not obvious from short-term conversion metrics:

**The data lock-in effect.** A shooter whose confirmed impacts, ammo lot records, and session history live in ScopeDOPE from day one is not casually switching to a competitor when a new app launches. The switching cost is not the subscription price — it is the loss of an entire accumulated session history that cannot be recreated from scratch. Building that history early is the structural moat. Every month a shooter uses ScopeDOPE before a competitor reaches them, the moat deepens.

**The community amplifier effect — delayed but real.** New shooters become experienced shooters. Today's NRL22 Base division first-season competitor is tomorrow's Open division shooter and a potential PRS competitor. The person who started with ScopeDOPE at their first club match is the person who recommends it to the next new shooter three seasons later — with genuine credibility and lived data. This ICP's community influence is disproportionate to their conversion difficulty at first contact. The investment in reaching them pays long-tail dividends.

**The upgrade cycle as a retention mechanism.** As new shooters move up the equipment ladder — better optic, better barrel, better rifle — each transition is an event that pulls them back to ScopeDOPE to update their data and rebuild their solution. A barrel change resets DOPE to zero; the shooter rebuilds in ScopeDOPE because that is where their data lives. Every equipment upgrade is a ScopeDOPE retention event.

**The `.dope` format as a loyalty multiplier.** The portable `.dope` file format means a new shooter can archive and carry their session data across devices. But it also means their data is increasingly valuable to them the longer they use ScopeDOPE. The open standard enables portability — which is a genuine community benefit — but ScopeDOPE is the tool that fills the format with the most data, the most session history, and the most accumulated confirmation. Portability enables freedom; accumulated data creates preference.

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## 14. References

| Document | Relevant Sections |
|---|---|
| `SCOPEDOPE_MARKETING_GUIDE.md` | §1.2 (the problem — plain-language version), §1.3 (terminology reference — for writing educational content for this ICP), §1.4 (ammo lot differentiation), §2.2 (NRL22 demographics — Base division), §2.6 (upgrade cycle), §3.2 (brand voice), §4.2 (hard rules — banned phrases, no military imagery) |
| `SCOPEDOPE_COMPETITIVE_ANALYSIS.md` | §2.1 (DOPE-Blend architecture), §2.3 (price), §2.4 (no accounts, offline), §2.10 (barrel maker partnerships — most effective at maximum-intent trigger), §7 (Tier 1 displacement — this ICP is the defining example) |
| `MARKETING_ENGINE.md` | §3 (key differentiators in plain language), §4 (general audience messaging) |
| `ICP_NRL22_COMPETITOR.md` | What this ICP becomes; frame the "experienced shooter" aspirational angle against the NRL22 ICP |

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## Document Control

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| **Document owner** | `jschwefel@coldboreballisticsllc.com` |
| **Classification** | Highly Confidential (04_-_Highly_Confidential/) |
| **Location** | `OneDrive/ScopeDOPE/04_-_Highly_Confidential/Marketing_Guide/ICP/ICP_NEW_TO_PRECISION.md` |
| **Cross-references** | `SCOPEDOPE_MARKETING_GUIDE.md`; `SCOPEDOPE_COMPETITIVE_ANALYSIS.md`; `MARKETING_ENGINE.md`; `ICP_NRL22_COMPETITOR.md`; `PERSONA_OVERVIEW.md` |
| **Created** | 2026-06-08 |
| **Last updated** | 2026-06-09 |
| **Next full review due** | 2027-06-08 |

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## Revision Control Block

| Rev | Date | Changed By | Reviewed By | Approved By | Summary |
|-----|------|------------|-------------|-------------|---------|
| DRAFT | 2026-06-08 | jschwefel | — | — | Initial draft |
| DRAFT 2 | 2026-06-08 | jschwefel | — | — | Revised: TOC numbering fixed (was mismatched §12/§13 anchor); §11 competitive landscape added; aspirational psychographic added; "experienced shooters use it too" message added to §10; §13 strategic importance deepened; AB Mobile price note added |
| DRAFT 3 | 2026-06-09 | Claude (Opus 4.8) | — | — | Fixed "DOPE-blend"→"DOPE-Blend™" per BRAND_LEGAL_LANGUAGE_GUIDE; applied ™ to first use of ScopeDOPE/Cold Bore Ballistics. |
