Started by engineer John McHale, TrackingPoint is lined up to release a line of rifles and targeting systems they call the XactSystem.  Using technology like nothing seen outside the military to date, the XactSystem promises to make that long shot a whole lot easier.

Mated and matched with a specific rifle, the XactSystem’s scope utilizes data from a laser range finder, three gyroscopes and accelerometers, as well as environmental sensors, all fed into an advanced ballistics computer to make the shot.  In use, the shooter will “mark” his target with a red dot.  When the ballistics computer’s calculations are complete it projects a blue “X” onto the display where the shot is most likely to strike in conditions at that exact moment.  The system is hardly static though, with a 14-megapixel camera feeding 54 frames per second to an image processor that continuously tracks the target relative to the background, thus allowing the ballistics computer to maintain an accurate display of the target “X”.  

When the shooter overlays the blue “X” over the red dot he squeezes the trigger, but the XactSystem isn’t done.  At that point if the red dot isn’t exactly centered in the blue “X” the gun doesn’t fire, instead continuing to feed data to the system and firing automatically the instant the two line up perfectly.  What’s more, the XactSystem is wi-fi enabled and will stream video to a smartphone or tablet, to show off later.

The XactSystem is due out this spring, but don’t get too excited yet.  The base price of $15,000 will keep the target market to a minimum.

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