At CES 2013, thanks to a company called TrackingPoint, hunting rifles can now be considered a piece of consumer electronics. Starting at $17,000, TrackingPoint is launching a range of Precision Guided Firearms (PGFs) that use a Linux-powered scope and other advanced technologies to provide shooters with real-world auto-aim.

The image above might look like an augmented reality HUD from Terminator, but it’s actually what you see when looking down a TrackingPoint scope. Rather than looking directly down your scope at the target, you instead look at a small digital display that has HUD-like data overlaid. The augmented view shows range, wind speed, and other important info for hitting your target — but as you’ll soon see, this data is rather superfluous.

Once you’ve picked out a target, you tap a button near the trigger to mark it. The target is then tracked by the scope and its built-in laser. When you want to fire, you pull the trigger — but rather than immediately firing, you then line the crosshairs up with the target. When the crosshairs line up with the laser dot, the rifle automatically fires. According to Ars Technica, the built-in Linux computer automatically accounts for temperature, humidity, wind speed/direction, the age of the barrel, and more, to ensure that your shot hits the target.

The end result, as you can see in the graph above, is a massive increase in accuracy. The TrackingPoint .300 Winchester Magnum PGF is 100% accurate at a range of up to 950 yards (870m); the unmodified version is only 100% accurate at up to 300 yards (274m). You do need to use special, expensive ammunition made by TrackingPoint — but the company says that you’ll ultimately save money due to the increased accuracy, and thus less ammo used. If it doesn’t upset you to see animals being hunted, the video at the end of the story gives you a good idea of how a PGF works in practice.

Beyond aimbotting, TrackingPoint’s Linux-powered scope has a few more tricks up its sleeve. For a start, it records the output from the scope, so that you can download and watch your very own point-of-view hunting videos. You could of course upload these videos to YouTube, if you so desire. The scope also has a built-in WiFi server, which can be connected to from the companion iOS app, allowing your friend with an iPhone or iPad to act as a spotter. For the $17,000 price tag, you actually get the rifle and a pre-configured iPad — what a steal.

Enough about the tech — what about the repercussions? TrackingPoint is quick to point out that you are always in control, and can take your finger off the trigger at any point; the gun never fires on its own. All of TrackingPoint’s PGFs are bolt-action rifles, too — no good for a close-quarters shooting spree — and the company has no intention to produce anything other than bolt-action rifles for the foreseeable future. When questioned by Ars about any involvement with the US Department of Defense, TrackingPoint said its main goal is to bring the technology to market, rather than securing a DoD contract.

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