Lewis Machine & Tool’s Estonian rifle contract has been news for some time, of which TFB has covered, but the LMT Shot Counter technology that was also rolled out with that rifle hasn’t attracted much attention. One reason for the lack of coverage could be the lack of marketability for non-military and police users. However, during TFB’s GunFest 2021 coverage, Joe from LMT went into further discussion about what the Shot Counter is capable of, which is much more than just round counting. Firearm aficionados should be able to appreciate it even if it’s outside of their budget or needs.

The LMT Shot Counter technology was developed by Visible Assets, and is housed within the pistol grip, which allows it to be sold separately to military units or law enforcement agencies that wish to keep track of the information it can register. The pistol grip module and the accompanying software are sensitive enough to tell the difference between dry fire and live fire, as well as what kind of impact signatures are not either of those impulses like bumping or dropping your rifle. Joe also explained that the LMT Shot Counter can also accurately estimate how hot the barrel got on any given string of live fire. The primary benefit to this technology would be to track parts wear so that armorers could be more proactive with keeping rifles running with objective digital tracking rather than handwritten logs. It could also keep more accurate data on ammunition consumption per year to help with staying on top of ammo orders. The quote below is from Visible Assets’ description page:

The basic diagnostic maintenance warnings for weapons is similar to the warning the lights found in any modern automobile. So what can we say about the health of a weapon:

1.  Needs to be cleaned
2.  Has gas port erosion
3.  Has barrel erosion, loss of accuracy
4.  The bolt is at risk of cracking
5.  Barrel burnout time to replace
6.  Increase jams are likely

Since the LMT Shot Counter is self-contained, it can be swapped to different rifles as needed, either by zeroing out the stored data or by “pausing” it, which would give a distinct point to start tracking new data on the next rifle. The battery should also last around 12 years. LMT prices each Shot Counter pistol grip around $70, which is pretty reasonable, however, it’s the “Reader” unit that becomes quite cost-prohibitive for the individual shooter and small agencies, with a price point around $5000. LMT hopes to reduce that cost in the future, but for the time being, this product will make the most sense for large units or agencies, with the exception of a multi-agency agreement to share a Reader.

You can view LMT’s main website for their other products, or follow them on Facebook and Instagram.

What do you think about the new-ish LMT Shot Counter technology?