The TrackingPoint rifle is said to be so effective that some members of the shooting community say it should not be sold to the public.
Normally it takes a marksman years to shoot accurately with a normal rifle.
But the TrackingPoint rifle lets even novices easily hit a target more than 500 metres away.
The rifle’s scope includes a colour graphics display that lets the shooter select a target and lock onto it with the integrated laser range finders, like in a video game.
The marksmen then pulls the trigger – but it will only fire when the gun is aimed correctly to hit the target, according to an on-board ballistics computer that monitors factors such as wind speed, shake, bullet drop and the distance to the target.
The rifle is also fitted with a wi-fi transmitter, which lets a marksman stream live video and audio to an iPad, where it can be recorded for replay or for posting on Youtube and Facebook.
The company calls the weapon a “smart rifle.”
“You have a smart car; you got a smartphone; well, now we have a smart rifle,” TrackingPoint president Jason Schauble told National Public Radio in the United States.
Schauble says the TrackingPoint system was built for hunters and target shooters, especially those from the younger generation who use social media.
But some hunters say the TrackingPoint system undermines what they call the principle of a “fair chase,” while gun control proponents fear the new rifle could make it too easy for a criminal or a terrorist to shoot people at distance.
The company says it vets its customers, who pay around US$22,000 (B660,600) per weapon, and that the computerised targeting features are protected by a security password – although the weapon will still function like a normal rifle without the password.