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Taking the “sport” out of “sport shooting” and the “man” out of “marksman,” a company called TrackingPoint has developed what it calls “Intelligent Digital Tracking Scopes” for use on its “Precision Guided Firearms.” The latter is something of a misnomer, as neither the munition itself nor the firearm is guided, but the shooter is–sort of. TrackingPoint’s technology allows a shaky shooter to digitally tag a target through the optic, which then won’t let the firearm discharge until it is lined up perfectly on the target.

In other words, once you tag the target with the scope you can’t miss. At least that’s the claim. Technologically speaking, there seems to be little reason that claim doesn’t hold up if it indeed works as advertised (see video below). The company is developing three rifles with integrated intelligent scopes, two for tactical use and one hunting model.

That ratio seems to fit; while it’s true that tapping an onboard computer to ensure every shot is on target is somewhat unsporting for the average hunter or (especially) sports shooter, there are plenty of situations that arise in law enforcement and military operations where the ability to double-check one’s trigger pull is a highly-attractive, potentially life-saving feature. The rifles go into production next year.

[via Kottke]