# CBB Project Brief: Cold Bore Load — Reloading Companion App
**Status:** Concept
**Destination:** CBB_Corporate venture (sibling product — separate app/brand line; graduates to `CBB_Corporate/03_-_Confidential/Product_Strategy/`)
**Tier:** 1 — Highest Strategic Priority
**Classification:** Internal — Confidential
**Version and date:** see Revision Control Block at the end of this document

---

## Summary

Cold Bore Load is a dedicated handloading and reloading data management app for precision rifle and rimfire shooters. It tracks powder lots, charges, brass lifecycle, primer lots, bullet seating depth experiments, and ammo lot inventory — and closes the loop with ScopeDOPE™ by correlating load variables directly against confirmed downrange impact data. No competing product integrates reloading data with real-world ballistic performance. This is the natural second product for Cold Bore Ballistics™: the same demographic, the same obsessive-about-data personality, and a market where current tooling (Quick Load, spreadsheets, paper notebooks) is genuinely terrible.

---

## Problem Statement

Precision rifle competitors who handload have two disconnected workflows: the reloading bench and the range. At the bench, they track powder charges, primer lots, brass neck tension, seating depth, and dozens of other variables across multiple load development experiments. At the range, they confirm impacts and build DOPE. Today there is no tool that connects these two workflows. A shooter can't answer "does my lower charge weight produce measurably different DOPE at 300 yards in cold conditions?" without manually cross-referencing a notebook against a spreadsheet. Cold Bore Load answers that question automatically.

Existing tooling is fragmented and outdated:
- **Quick Load / QuickTarget** — DOS-era desktop software, no mobile, no cloud, no integration
- **Hornady 4DOF** — ballistic calculator only, no reloading data management
- **Reloading spreadsheets** — common, fragile, not linked to downrange data
- **Paper notebooks** — universal, unsearchable, not backed up

---

## Market Opportunity

The handloading market is large and underserved by modern software. Estimates suggest 5–8 million handloaders in the US, with precision rifle competitors representing a concentrated, high-value segment. The NRL22 and PRS communities skew heavily toward handloading rimfire and centerfire respectively. A shooter who buys ScopeDOPE is already in this demographic — Cold Bore Load is a natural bundle or upsell.

Key sizing indicators:
- Hornady sells millions of reloading manuals per year
- The Reloading Forum on Sniper's Hide has 500,000+ posts
- No mobile-first, cloud-backed reloading app has established market leadership

---

## Product Concept

### Core Features (v1.0)

**Ammo & Load Library**
- Create and manage individual load recipes (powder type, charge weight, primer, bullet, brass, OAL, seating depth, neck tension, crimp)
- Associate loads with specific ammo lots (ties directly to ScopeDOPE lot tracking)
- Tag loads as "development," "match," or "retired"

**Brass Lifecycle Tracking**
- Track individual brass by case ID or batch
- Record: headspace measurement, primer pocket tightness, number of firings, annealing cycles, case weight
- Alert at user-configured max firing count
- Flag brass approaching headspace limits

**Lot & Inventory Management**
- Track powder lots by lot number, weight on hand, date purchased
- Track primer lots (same)
- Alert when approaching depletion of a specific lot
- Flag when a new lot is opened (prompts user to start a new load development node)

**Seating Depth / OAL Experiments**
- Record seating depth experiments with notes
- Mark a specific depth as "confirmed match load"
- Track OAL across brass stretching over multiple firings

**ScopeDOPE Integration**
- Link a Cold Bore Load load recipe to a ScopeDOPE session
- View DOPE session outcomes alongside load variables
- Query: "Show me all sessions using lot #4472 — what was my SD at 300 yards?"
- Export load data as a note appended to a .dope session file

### v2.0 Features
- Chrono integration (import velocity strings from BLE chrono; see Brief #07)
- Load performance charts — charge weight vs. SD, seating depth vs. group size (from confirmed impacts)
- Target image overlay with load variable annotations
- Share read-only load recipes with teammates or coaches

---

## Target User

**Primary:** NRL22 and PRS competitive shooters who handload. This is the overlap between ScopeDOPE's user base and the handloading community — estimated at 60–70% of serious precision rifle competitors.

**Secondary:** ELR (extreme long range) shooters, F-Class competitors, benchrest shooters. These users are even more data-obsessed than NRL22/PRS competitors and currently have no better tooling.

**Non-target:** Casual/plinking shooters, hunters who buy factory ammo. Cold Bore Load is explicitly for the precision shooter who treats load development as part of the sport.

---

## Revenue Model

**Option A — Standalone paid app:** $24.99 one-time purchase. Same model as ScopeDOPE. Simple, no subscription friction.

**Option B — CBB Suite bundle:** ScopeDOPE + Cold Bore Load together for $44.99 (vs. $54.98 individual). Promotes bundle adoption, increases per-user revenue.

**Option C — Included in a future ScopeDOPE Premium subscription tier:** If a subscription tier is introduced for cloud sync and performance history, Cold Bore Load access becomes a subscription benefit. Increases subscription value substantially.

**Recommended at launch:** Option A (standalone) with Option B bundle pricing available. Option C deferred until subscription infrastructure exists.

---

## Strategic Fit with CBB / ScopeDOPE

Cold Bore Load is the reloading-bench half of the Cold Bore Ballistics system. ScopeDOPE is the range half. Together they form a complete precision shooter data platform:

```
Reloading Bench          →          Range
Cold Bore Load                    ScopeDOPE
Load recipe                       Session data
Lot tracking              ←→      Lot tracking
Charge weight                     Confirmed impacts
Brass lifecycle                   DOPE table
          ↕
    CBB Cloud Sync
    (shared lot DB)
```

Every ScopeDOPE user is a potential Cold Bore Load user. The cross-sell conversion rate should be high because the two products solve adjacent problems for the same person. Bundle pricing reinforces this.

---

## Competitive Landscape

| Product | Type | Platform | Reloading Data | Range Integration | Lot Tracking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quick Load | Desktop software | Windows only | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Hornady 4DOF | Ballistic calculator | iOS/Android | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Load Data (Hodgdon) | Reference only | Web | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Shooter's Calc | Ballistic calculator | iOS | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Paper / spreadsheet | Manual | — | ✓ (manual) | ✗ | ✗ |
| **Cold Bore Load** | **Reloading + Range** | **iOS/Android** | **✓** | **✓ (via ScopeDOPE)** | **✓** |

No existing product integrates reloading data with ballistic performance data. This is a genuine whitespace.

---

## Technical Overview

**Platform:** Android + iOS (same cross-platform approach as ScopeDOPE)

**Architecture:**
- Local-first data model (same philosophy as ScopeDOPE — no account required for core function)
- SQLite for local storage of load recipes, brass records, lot inventory
- Optional cloud sync (same backend infrastructure as ScopeDOPE cloud sync when built)
- .dope format extension: add optional `load_data` block for attached load recipe data
- BLE interface reused from ScopeDOPE for chrono integration (v2.0)

**Key dependencies:**
- ScopeDOPE lot tracking schema (must be compatible — design in parallel)
- CBB cloud infrastructure (for sync, if pursued)
- No hardware dependencies at v1.0

**Complexity estimate:** Medium. Core data model is straightforward. The integration with ScopeDOPE session data is the interesting engineering challenge — designing a linking schema that works offline, syncs gracefully, and doesn't require accounts is the same problem ScopeDOPE has already solved. Reuse that pattern.

---

## Go-to-Market

**Launch channel:** ScopeDOPE user base. Every existing ScopeDOPE user is a direct marketing channel — in-app announcement, email (for Community Account holders), and push notification.

**Pre-launch:** Beta via ScopeDOPE's existing NRL22/PRS community relationships. Reloading community beta users from Sniper's Hide forums and PRS competitors.

**Positioning:** "The missing half of ScopeDOPE. What happens at your reloading bench affects what happens at 500 yards. Cold Bore Load connects them."

**App Store listing:** Target keywords: "reloading app," "handloading tracker," "load development," "brass tracker," "powder lot tracker"

---

## Success Metrics

| Metric | 6-month target | 12-month target |
|---|---|---|
| Downloads | 500 | 2,000 |
| ScopeDOPE cross-install rate | 60%+ | 60%+ |
| Bundle purchases (both apps) | 200 | 800 |
| App Store rating | 4.4+ | 4.6+ |
| Sessions linked to ScopeDOPE | 30% of active users | 50% of active users |

---

## Risks & Mitigations

| Risk | Likelihood | Mitigation |
|---|---|---|
| Low standalone demand if ScopeDOPE install base is small at launch | Medium | Bundle pricing and delayed launch — ship Cold Bore Load at ScopeDOPE ~2,000 installs |
| Data model complexity (linking reloading ↔ session data) | Medium | Design the schema before building either app's data layer |
| Quick Load releases a mobile version | Low | Quick Load is effectively abandonware; this risk is negligible near-term |
| Feature scope creep — reloading data is deep | High | Strict v1.0 scope: load recipe, brass lifecycle, lot inventory. No performance analytics until v2.0 |

---

## Resource Requirements

- 1 developer (Jason) — ~3–4 months for v1.0 following ScopeDOPE launch
- No additional hardware
- Same App Store developer accounts (already established)
- Design work: minimal — reuse ScopeDOPE component library and CBB brand assets
- Testing: beta group from ScopeDOPE user base

---

## Recommended Timing

Do not build concurrently with ScopeDOPE v1.0. Begin design (data model, integration schema) during ScopeDOPE QA phase. Begin development after ScopeDOPE ships and achieves ~1,000 installs. Target launch at ScopeDOPE ~2,000 installs.

**Rationale:** Cold Bore Load's launch quality depends on having a real ScopeDOPE user base to seed the cross-sell. Shipping it to zero users provides no data on what features matter most. Wait for traction, then build with user feedback.

---

## Open Questions

- Should Cold Bore Load be a separate app or a module within ScopeDOPE? (Recommendation: separate app for App Store discoverability, but deep-linked integration.)
- Does the .dope format spec need a `load_data` extension block? (Recommendation: yes — add as optional block in .dope v1.1, document in the spec.)
- Should brass lifecycle tracking use individual case tracking (by ID) or batch tracking? (Recommendation: both — batch for new shooters, individual for competitors who care about each case.)
- Rimfire applicability: NRL22 competitors don't handload rimfire. Is there a rimfire data layer worth building? (Recommendation: lot tracking yes, charge weight no — scope to factory ammo lot management only for rimfire users.)

---

## Document Control

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| **Document owner** | `jschwefel@coldboreballisticsllc.com` |
| **Classification** | Confidential (03_-_Confidential/) |
| **Location** | `OneDrive/ScopeDOPE/03_-_Confidential/Product_Strategy/CBB_BRIEF_01_COLD_BORE_LOAD.md` |
| **Cross-references** | `CBB_PROJECT_BRIEFS_TOC.md` |
| **Created** | 2026-06-02 |
| **Last updated** | 2026-06-09 |
| **Next full review due** | 2027-06-02 |

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## Revision Control Block

| Rev | Date | Changed By | Reviewed By | Approved By | Summary |
|-----|------|------------|-------------|-------------|-------|
| 0.9 | 2026-06-02 | jschwefel | — | — | Initial release |
| DRAFT | 2026-06-09 | Claude (Opus 4.8) | — | — | Removed header version number (→ Status/Destination + revision-block pointer) per Document-version policy; added Destination-on-graduation tag (CBB_Corporate venture); applied ™ to first use of ScopeDOPE/Cold Bore Ballistics. |
