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Austin Tech Company Can Turn You Into A Sharpshooter

Austin-based Tracking Point has created the world first precision guided firearm.  Company President Jason Schauble says, "The Precision Guided Firearm pretty much allows anyone with a couple minutes of training to be able to master long range shooting, what we call either extreme distance hunting or long-range target shooting."   

Normally long range shooting takes years of practice, but the PGF, as it's been designated, allows a rookie to become a skilled marksman in a matter of minutes.  They credit the jet fighter lock and launch technology built into the rifle.  The rifle is mounted with an advanced Networked Tracking Scope.  Schauble says "What the user is actually looking at is a heads up display, very similar to what a fighter jet pilot would look at.  Really all he has to focus on is tagging his target, by pressing a red button on the right side of the trigger guard, and that places a persistent red dot on his target."  The Scope then measures range, temperature, pressure, shooting position (inclination and cant), pressure, and movement, all variables that go into an accurate firing solution.  The only variable the user must account for is wind direction and speed.

Once a target is tagged, the system uses all the information to compute a firing solution that is updated 54 times a second.  The user arms the system by squeezing the guided trigger. A red X appears that a shooter now moves onto his desired tag.  Schauble states, "The only way the system will actually allow the shooter to fire, which is why we call it a guided firearm, is that it guides him to only be able to release his shot when the x and the dot are aligned."  It eliminates the improper breathing and trigger squeeze techniques of first time shooters. 

The system also has a built-in wireless server that connects to iPads or smartphones, allowing others to view and record what the scope is seeing.  It improves training time and can give spotters the chance to correct any errors in target designation.  First shot success probability is dramatically increased, allowing first time shooters to hit targets out to 1000 yards.

To help protect against unwanted use, Tracking Point has designed each weapon so that advanced features can be locked out unless a special passcode is typed in, essentially turning it into a conventional rifle.  This revolutionary technology has been designed for hunters, competition shooters, and farmers who need help with predator eradication. "They see a coyote 700 yards away near their sheep, and by the time they get in their Polaris with their conventional firearm and drive out there he's gone.  Well now you can take that 700 yard shot with confidence," says Schauble.  It also has law enforcement and military applications.  Schauble says, "We can put this on platforms they have today, and now a basically trained soldier or marine, airman, or sailor would be able to have a far greater capability.  Their training times would also go down, their ammunition consumption would go down, it would be a large cost savings."

The company currently offers two versions of a .300 Winchester Magnum and a .338 Lapua Magnum.  The first rifles are expected to be delivered in May.

For more information visit http://tracking-point.com/.

By Hunter Ellis