TrackingPoint Offers Free Rifles to Fighters Battling ISIS
OutdoorHub Reporters 11.05.15
TrackingPoint, a Texas-based company famed for the development of its touted “Precision Guided Firearm” technology, recently announced that it will be giving away 10 of its recently unveiled M600 or M800 rifles to any US organization that can legally bring them to fight against ISIS and Al Qaeda in the Middle East.
“We firmly believe that the M600 SR and M800 DMR will save countless lives and enable our soldiers to dominate enemy combatants including terrorists,” said John McHale, TrackingPoint CEO, in a press release. “It’s hard to sit back and watch what is happening over there. We want to do our part. Ten guns doesn’t sound like a lot but the dramatic leap in lethality is a great force multiplier. Those ten guns will feel like two hundred to the enemy.”
The company did not specify on what it means by “organization,” but it is likely that the offer is primarily targeted towards the United States military. In 2014, the US Army purchased several of TrackingPoint’s rifles for testing, and TrackingPoint has recently focused on more military-applicable products rather than the bolt-action sporting rifles first offered by the company.
On Thursday, TrackingPoint revealed two new firearms designed specifically for military use: the M600 5.56 NATO service rifle and the M800 7.62 NATO designated marksmen rifle. Like the rest of TrackingPoint’s rifles, the two firearms are equipped with advanced scopes that allow a shooter to lock onto a target—like a fighter jet—and then fire a bullet calculated to hit that target after factoring in variables such as wind, bullet drop, and other conditions.
The new TrackingPoint models have received praise from retired Colonel Tommy Gilmore of the US Air Force.
“The modern battlefield is a dynamic, confusing, and very lethal environment. We have seen extraordinary advances in major weapon systems development,” Gilmore said. “Now we see with the TrackingPoint precision-guided M600 SR and M800 DMR a force multiplier and a major step forward for the individual soldier, sailor, airmen, and marine. I have shot several TrackingPoint PGFs, in fact I own one, and can say without reservation the TrackingPoint PGFs are by far the most lethal and accurate small-arms weapons platform ever designed and produced.”
TrackingPoint added former Navy SEAL and Commander of the US Special Operations Forces, Admiral Eric Olson, to its board of directors after the company resumed operations in September. Due to financial difficulties, the company had shut down in May and suspended orders. Since resuming business, McHale says the company is now much more focused on military and law enforcement products.
You can learn more about how TrackingPoint rifles work in the video below. Read up about a partnership between the company and Taya Kyle, the wife of Chris Kyle, here.
Note added 11-9-2015: This article has been updated to include a different video than the one that was previously embedded.
