Two keen hunters and ballistics engineers have created a self-steering bullet that could take the guess work out of taking aim.
Red Jones and Brian Kast, both researchers at Sandia, worked with colleagues to create the self-guided bullet for small-caliber, smooth-bore firearms.
Tested with an LED, the bullets hit designated targets at a distance of more than two kilometres.
Jones said in the Sandia newsletter: "We have a very promising technology to guide small projectiles that could be fully developed inexpensively and rapidly compared to other proposals."
The 4-inch-long bullet includes an optical sensors that detect a laser beam placed on a target.
Guidance and control electronics within the bullet command electromagnetic movements to correct its course and direct the bullet to the target. The moving parts, or actuators, steer tiny fins on the outside of the bullet, much like a rudder on a boat.
Elizabeth Quintana, senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute think tank told the BBC: "The public may be uncomfortable with the implications of people being able to use this without needing to have a sight line to the target - you could see this having terrorist uses."
Red Jones said: "It was one of the coolest things I've ever worked on," Red says. "I worked with a great bunch of people who are incredibly bright, incredibly motivated, and who solved a great array of problems. It was awesome."