The guys at TrackingPoint have just realized that their tethered iPad feature will basically allow them to “remote operate” one of their guns. Your finger still needs to be on the trigger, but much like the periscope rifle of yesteryear you can fire from behind cover. A nifty trick, but the thing still weighs more than a boat anchor. Oh, and about that online survey to figure out which caliber will be next for them to scopify? . . .
Apparently, according to my contact in the company, .300 BLK took the cake. And no, I didn’t script a bot to stuff the ballot box. Not that I didn’t think about it, I was just too lazy. Also in the mix for the next caliber was 5.56, by the way.
And yes, those are both semi-auto AR-15 cartridges. Which means that we might soon see a TrackingPoint AR. Jason, TP’s el jefe, had said previously that he wants to be able to tag and track multiple targets, and a semi-auto gun would make that much easier to engage quickly. We’ll be watching to see what direction they go with this design challenge.
Shot the guns yesterday (both .338 and .300 win mag). Lots of possibilities.
AKay
Automatic killer sniper guns and school buses? Think of the children!
But seriously, this is a liberal field day in terms of advertising.
Very interesting concept, but until it costs less than a midsize car, it might as well be made out of unobtanium for the average shooter, or even local government. Also, if the prices came down I can see the antis making it illegal, since obviously gang bangers and terrorists are obviously going to use these robot death guns with the shoulder thingy that goes up to blow up trains, especially if it is mated to an AR pattern rifle.
I guess the summary is too expensive and impractical for me. Guess I will keep using the skills I acquired to make shots on the deer and pigs I hunt.
Do you remember what 40+inch flat-panel plasma TVs cost when they were first introduced?
Roughly comparable to a midsize car, I think.
Now?
They’re not exactly cheap, but definitely within reach of someone with patience and self-discipline.
Right now this thing is a toy for rich gizmo-collectors. 5 years from now, it’ll be expensive, but almost within reach of the mainstream. 10 years out, standard gear.
No comparison whatsoever. Everybody in the country and their mother has a big screen, trackingpoint has not had a single sale to the public and may never, and I doubt if allowed they will sell more than a few thousand. Come back to reality.
I dunno. I watched a Hickok45 the other day where he was shooting with an ACOG and he made a comment about them being ~$15k when they first hit the market. Was that hyperbole, or did military contracts and mass production drive the cost down from “mid-size car” to just over $1000?
Reality is that this assemblage off off-the-shelf hardware coupled with some software dev was something most of us saw coming 5+ years ago. Like many other things coming down the pike, its merely a question of who will fund a year or so dialing in the first one.
Once that happens, it’s all about hardware – which shrinks in size and cost every day. FWIW, this is a rather primitive 1st-gen device. Tying it together with active wind compensation, and FLIR/light amplification is coming next.
Not only will they definitely sell a few thousand of these things at $15K to guys on novelty alone – there will be a few competitors in short order and the price on this will quickly drop into the $1-2K range.
Unless of course, those “afraid” of it can get it defined as a ‘remotely operated firearm’ or ‘boobytrap’ – then all bets are off.
Actually, their sales numbers seem to be pretty healthy. I believe they sold out of pre-order slots for the first run of scopes already.
The AI PSR was $17k, it’s basically a caliber convertible AX 338. I don’t know how many they produced but the original run was extended because of them selling out fast.
I am waiting to buy until they make the robot that pulls the trigger.
When will tracking point produce an app that will put their screen onto Google Glasses? I suspect that the display circuitry and screen are a lot of the weight and size of their portable computer.
This tech will be stopped, somehow, someway. Those that think any differently are living in another reality. Shooting a single shot from some homemade plastic POS is one thing, but precision shooting “remotely” from great distances will scare many in power and laws will be made to limit or outright stop this tech from getting into civilian hands. They will at least stop a manufacturer from selling them. I hope trackingpoint gets their government contract they wanted being this is what this is all about.
300 BLK….really? Why would you attach a Tracking-Point system to a round who’s area of expertise is sub 600 yds?