One of our segments was spent talking guns and I brought up this:
New From TrackingPoint: Squad-Level M1400 Extreme Distance Precision-Guided Firearm
TrackingPoint announced today its latest Precision-Guided Firearm. The squad-level M1400 338LM bolt-action rifle engages stationary and moving (up to 20 mph) targets out to 1400 yards. The squad-level M1400 represents a breakthrough in performance, cost, and weight in comparison to TrackingPoint’s prior extreme distance precision-guided firearms. The squad-level M1400 is designed to provide unprecedented battle stand-off capabilities at the squad level. The M1400 gives every squad a precision shooting expertise at ranges beyond the capabilities of skilled snipers . . .
And there’s a bunch of other features talked about at the link. What caught my eye was that their first offering cost about $30K – here’s the march of technology:
The M1400 is $16,995 and is available for order now.
To be sure, is the “gun” part just as good (quality parts, et al) as the original which was marketed to higher end hunters? No, but almost always, the electronics / compute part of the package was a big chunk of that original price – it was a new way of solving a problem for ordinary folks.
Certainly, Rick (former US Marine Chief Warrant Officer, armorer, combat hardened, ardent hunter) and I had differences on this – he taking the “purity” of human and gun and I (former Chief Techie here at the ‘Grok) talked from the “technology augmentation” and “gee whiz” end of the “is this good or not” spectrum.
I just know that IF I had the need, it would be nice to have the tech to augment my skills with long distance shooting.
