View Full Version : Right to shoot at drones
We'll see what happens on appeal, but this is good news.
http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2015/10/daniel-zimmerman/charges-dropped-against-man-who-downed-drone/
“He had a right to shoot at this drone, and I’m gonna dismiss this charge.” With that, Judge Rebecca Ward gaveled the case against William Meredith to a close. Meredith’s the Kentucky man who shotgunned a drone out of the sky (http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2015/08/foghorn/does-defending-the-right-to-privacy-justify-pulling-a-gun/) that he suspected was ogling his teenage daughter as she sunned herself. He faced charges of criminal mischief and wanton endangerment. “’The next time something like this happens, they’re gonna refer to it,’ Merideth said about future cases involving drones (http://www.wdrb.com/story/29828038/ky-lawmaker-proposes-drone-legislation-hoping-to-define-the-rules). ‘Now I don’t encourage people to just go out and start blasting stuff for no reason – but three times in one day, three times over the course of a year, six times total, over one property? That’s not right, that’s harassment.'” Justice served?
airborneranger
10-28-2015, 12:27
The best part of the story happened when the toy drone operator tried to retrieve it. That is when Mr. Meredith told him that if he crossed the sidewalk there would be another shooting.
Damn Good for him. Very happy to see it play out this way.
It wasn't a drone photographing property or whatever, but peeping at your family, through windows whatever, I'm glad he won the case. Hopefully it se
ts some kind of precident
If we can shoot wild dogs, we damn well better be able to shoot wild drones.
Martinjmpr
10-28-2015, 13:38
So I guess I'm the only one who thinks shooting at drones is a monumentally stupid idea?
I can think of at least 2 reasons why this is dumb.
First, when you fire a gun you are legally responsible for where that projectile goes. Maybe it goes into the drone, or maybe it goes into someone's front window, either way you are 100% liable. Shooting at flying objects is not easy even under the best circumstances. I hope he's using bird shot because a buckshot pellet can travel quite a distance and still pack a punch.
Second, assuming your aim is true and you hit the drone, again, YOU are now 100% responsible for what happens to it. Maybe it just falls to the ground, but then again, maybe it goes out of control and hits someone's home, a car on the highway, passing pedestrian, etc.
I guess I don't get the tinfoil-hatted paranoia about drones. Using an ominous term like 'drones' makes it sound like they are predator drones flying over us with Hellfire missiles ready to shoot at innocent citizens at the press of a button, or heartless Terminators forever looking for Sarah Connor. :rolleyes:
OTOH, Calling them "remote control airplanes" (which is exactly what they are) makes them sound more like a toy (which, again, is what they are.)
Martinjmpr
10-28-2015, 13:40
Hey, if the kids next door are playing Frisbee am I legally allowed to blast the Frisbee out of the air if it crosses my property line? [LOL]
How about shooting down this "drone"? This is info that we expect coming from North Korea...
http://abcnews.go.com/US/military-blimp-loose/story?id=34799147
Aloha_Shooter
10-28-2015, 14:12
Martinjmpr, I'll disagree with some caveats. We should be exercising judgment any time we pull out a firearm and observing all the safety rules we were trained by -- including knowing your target and what's beyond. The guy in question said he thought the drone was trying to take pictures of his teenage daughter who was sunbathing. With that in mind, I see nothing wrong with downing it with a shotgun if the drone is doing multiple low level passes as was claimed and he knows there's nothing beyond the drone in his zone of fire. Whole different situation if there was an apartment building or a plane behind the drone when he fired.
I have a couple of multicopters, one big, one tiny, and another on order so I don't want people shooting at them but I'm also not going to be doing low level passes over the neighbor's girls in their backyard. If someone is doing passes over my backyard while I'm in the hot tub, I'm not firing at it in an urban residential neighborhood (and having to look at pictures of me in the hot tub is probably punishment enough anyway) but if I was out in the country and had a safe shot, I'd certainly consider it an option if I thought he was snooping on my wife or daughter.
wctriumph
10-28-2015, 14:23
If the daughter didn't like the drone watching her, she could have gone inside. If the drone operator doesn't get the message that what he is doing is unwanted, then time to talk with the parents, then the law if needed.
If however, the daughter knew who the operator was and did not go inside (I know, I know), then maybe she wanted to show off for the guy. ??
Still stupid to shoot it, even if it was fun.
Martinjmpr
10-28-2015, 14:29
I say fuck private property rights. I think people should be able to do whatever they want on, over or in your property. fuck anyone who thinks they should have privacy and the right to not have tresspassers.
now I know why we have 20 million illegals, even supposed conservatives dont think rules and property rights are important.
shooting the gun in public was stupid. funny(since nobody was hurt) but stupid.
What does this have to do with property rights? Are you allowed to destroy anything that intrudes into the air above your property? So you can shoot down any airplane that flies over your property? :rolleyes:
If someone is engaging in activity that is harassing, hostile, or otherwise interferes with YOUR rights to use and enjoy your property, there are legal remedies available to you that don't include blasting it apart.
Circuits
10-28-2015, 14:37
If you want to peek on people from the sky, you need to keep your platform out of range and use telephoto lenses, just like the paparazzi and the government.
Martinjmpr
10-28-2015, 14:46
Better yet if you want to look at nekkid girls use the internet like a normal person. :D
ruthabagah
10-28-2015, 15:04
What we need are hurter-killer drones....
I'm very happy the guy got off. I also like this case in the event I need to blow some drones out of the sky.
on the other hand I think I need to develop anti-drone drones that attack drones within the airspace above your property to a certain altitude. Shouldnt be too hard to figure out! And you would t be responsible for stray bullets, just pieces of drones falling from the sky
If there was a non-firearm method of downing the drone, the guy might have used that instead. A hose only has so much reach though.
The yet to be released Can-Canon Net should do the trick.
http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2015/04/01/x-products-can-cannon-net-launcher-and-grappling-hook-prototypes/
Some sort of pressure washer attachment may also work well.
Paint Ball Gun?
Boomerang?
68Charger
10-28-2015, 16:07
If there was a non-firearm method of downing the drone, the guy might have used that instead. A hose only has so much reach though.
hmm, directional EMP or microwave pulse? fry the electronics, and they can't even say it was you that brought it down...
or a less destructive option- an RF jammer- they most commonly use unregulated 2.4Ghz or 5.8Ghz
The simplest jammer is simply an amp for the frequency in question- run in open-loop (antenna on input and output)
This creates a feedback loop that creates so much noise the signal is lost...
Use of directional antennas would limit the impact to what you pointed it at... likely it would go into a "return home" mode when it loses signal.
I'd say someone could make a business creating these devices, but they're not really legal... so the business would be black market.
Interesting case... The civil suit argued the drone was on the operator's property and he won $850. I don't know if that's true or not, but it stands to reason the drone was close to the shooter's property or how else would he have known? That should have been the end of it. I'm very happy the criminal charges were dismissed. That's overkill for rural shotgun use against a drone.
I'm in the camp that says your privacy comes with property and is sacred. Like "get a warrant" sacred. There are plenty of common open spaces to use a drone if you're into that. No need to violate someone else.
OTOH, Calling them "remote control airplanes" (which is exactly what they are) makes them sound more like a toy (which, again, is what they are.)
Hey, let's make peeping Toms with video recorders a protected class. [Sarcasm2]
When they have cameras on them and are looking in your windows or flying over your private property, they cease to be a "toy".
7 1/2 or 8 shot is enough to take out a drone and isn't going to hurt anybody as it falls back to the ground.
What if you spray a drone with a hose and the water hits the witch next door?
This method seems to work:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4emOInWh2ec
You don't even need to have a camera to be a nuisance.
E (https://youtu.be/zGYNLfAZEZ4)DIT: Sorry, NSFW for language.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGYNLfAZEZ4
Hey, let's make peeping Toms with video recorders a protected class. [Sarcasm2]
When they have cameras on them and are looking in your windows or flying over your private property, they cease to be a "toy".
7 1/2 or 8 shot is enough to take out a drone and isn't going to hurt anybody as it falls back to the ground.
Id disagree on that last part. My good hunting partner had a guy in his group pheasant hunting almost lose his eye last year when he was a blocker and caught a piece of shot just under his eye which embedded. One more reason to wear eye protection
I'd try to take the drone in one piece. Then charge the owner a fee to get it back. And when he shows up to retrieve it I'll beat him senseless and call the cops and say he attacked me.
hghclsswhitetrsh
10-28-2015, 18:51
Would you shoot down your neighbors surveillance camera that was pointed towards your house?
Is his wife hot?
gotta do something in that tractor that drives itself with GPS!
I had a client who is actually a TSA supervisor. A good guy, hunter, gun collector etc. He has an asshole neighbor who has a pivot (irrigation sprinkler) on the neighboring property. For what ever reason, he mounted cameras on a pole at the edge of his property pointing right at this guys house. This is in the middle of nowhere. The neighbor doesnt live there, who knows why, but he harrases my client.
The guy I know is a super law abiding man, there would be absolutely no reason to harrass him. either he hates pro 2a people or wants this guys wife. (maybe)
Finally an actual good reason to have a long range sniper rifle. Sounds like fun target practice at pole mounted cameras just out of visual range.
its so close you could hit it with a shotgun.
but, I like the way you think about the long range shooting.
"Honest judge it couldn't be me that shot up all of his cameras, that was me in the video driving off in my truck...no I don't remember what was in that long case in the back of my truck"
Is it possible the farmer wants to see when the sprinkler is running or if people are messing with it or trespassing?
Great-Kazoo
10-28-2015, 21:55
If someone is engaging in activity that is harassing, hostile, or otherwise interferes with YOUR rights to use and enjoy your property, there are legal remedies available to you that don't include blasting it apart.
Hostile activities could be interpreted as lawful use of deadly force. Just because one is not harassing you personally, but by remote activity using a QUAD COPTER doesn't mean you have to sit on your hands and take it. Well maybe someone like yourself does. You call the cops and wait.
Me I will respond to a potential threat in a way i feel is necessary at that time.
the pivot goes all the way to two busy county roads, with no cameras. thats where any damage, theft, vandalism would come from. this camera doesnt even see the pivot. it is so close to the property line, I doubt it can see any of his own property. its on a pole probably 30 plus feet high and only 30-50 feet inside his property line. I forgot that he may have wanted to buy that piece of land years back when they bought it.
Any my chance it's just a fake camera to be used as a deterrent. i just ordered one since a bunch of illegals are working across from my house right now and have been eyeing my car lately. Not putting up a real one since we are moving, although it would be worth it if something happened, but a deterrent is better than nothing.
I hear somewhat frequent stories about construction crews stealing stuff from neighborhoods in which they are working. Probably a pretty good idea.
It's legit, my neighborhood has had my neighbor across the street have his jeep stolen, 2 stolen vehicles found by cops on job sites, 1 stolen car found in a new build garage during a walk through before closing, not mention petty stuff. They've been bold enough to go into my neighbors back yard to fill up their water jugs.
kidicarus13
02-24-2019, 19:18
https://nypost.com/2019/02/24/man-shot-drone-searching-for-missing-dog-out-of-sky-cops/
An angry Long Island man pulled a Clint Eastwood on a drone that was hovering over his St. James property, allegedly using his shotgun to blast the high-flying gadget out of the sky, police said Sunday.Gerard Chasteen, 26, allegedly fired off three shells at the Mavic 2 Zoom drone, which was soaring around looking for a missing dog named Dezie at 4:45 p.m. Saturday, cops said.Not far away, the drone operators, Lynn Fodale and Teddy Henn, who volunteer with the pet-finding group Missing Angels Long Island, were puzzled when the gizmo suddenly went dead.?Within minutes, Teddy said to me, ?I think a bird took out our drone,?? Fodale recalled to The Post on Sunday.
As the pair followed the drone?s flight path to the last place its GPS pinged, they met a man who told them it had been shot down and pointed them to Chasteen?s house, Fodale said.
When they met the sharpshooter, he immediately copped to downing the $2,000 drone ? simply because he didn?t like it passing through his air space, according to Fodale.
?Did you shoot down our drone?? Fodale asked.
?Yeah, you can?t fly over my house,? Chasteen fired back, according to Fodale.
She and Henn then called Suffolk County police, who hit Chasteen with a field appearance ticket for charges of third-degree criminal mischief and prohibited use of a weapon.
He will appear in county court for his arraignment at a later date.
Authorities also seized multiple shotguns from the home.
Chasteen gave a Post reporter only a slightly less unfriendly greeting than he allegedly gave the drone, when he was asked for comment while walking his own two dogs on Sunday.
?I would take off,? he said.
However, man who identified himself as Chasteen?s father tried to defend the family by saying they were sympathetic to Missing Angels? goal.
?Listen, we?re dog lovers ourselves,? said the man, who declined to give his name. ?We have two dogs and they?re duck hunters.?
?It?s just that the drone was flying over, and,? he offered, before trailing off. ?That?s it.?
He then said the family would ?absolutely not? be making any additional comment, and booted reporters off the property.
About 50 yards from the home, a pair of lost-dog posters bearing Dezie?s photo were stapled to a pole.
Fodale and Henn said they showed cops a map of the drone?s flight records, which illustrate that the gadget never flew over Chasteen?s home.
Rather, they said, the rarely-used drone was helping them get an aerial view over a mile-long drainage ditch by a shuttered concrete company where Dezie was last seen.
BushMasterBoy
02-24-2019, 20:16
A lot of question marks in that post. just sayin...
I don't think that there would be much of a discussion if a drone crashed in my yard. You own a drone? It crashed? Cool story brah. No, you can't trespass to look for your alleged drone.
If Hornady can sell zombie ammo Im sure the drone ammo will come along shortly.
OtterbatHellcat
02-24-2019, 21:20
It's fair for me to say that if you were flying a drone around my property, I'd have a real attitude problem with that. I would find an effective non firearms way to trash your 2K investment into a pile of broken shit.
Why the attitude? What if someone was flying a kite near your property, or an estes rocket?
Why the attitude? What if someone was flying a kite near your property, or an estes rocket?
Yeah, a kite or Estes rocket with a 4K camera. Apparently you folks have something to hide.
kidicarus13
02-25-2019, 08:44
Yeah, a kite or Estes rocket with a 4K camera. Apparently you folks have something to hide.How does that slippery slope start? If you aren't doing anything illegal, you shouldn't have nothing to worry about. Uh huh.
I would venture to guess the majority of the objections have NOTHING to do with an attempt to conceal illegal activity and are much more about the fact that everyone has property with some kind of value that they don't want to disappear, as well as the simple decency of respecting someones privacy...
One of my neighbors sells drones online for a living and has hundreds of them in their garage. The cheapo ones, that are basically toys, have been found in many of the neighborhood backyards and on at least two roofs that i know of... I would love to be able to launch a net up at them or something, and leave the pieces in their yard instead of my own, but I would never consider shooting at them with a gun, that is until they started hovering outside a window while someone was showering.
Christ, I can't say what I'd really want, but what a bunch of irrational children. Make us really look like a bunch of hillbilly bumpkins sometimes.
BladesNBarrels
02-25-2019, 16:48
Christ, I can't say what I'd really want, but what a bunch of irrational children. Make us really look like a bunch of hillbilly bumpkins sometimes.
Huh, what?
https://i.imgur.com/tdBuBq8.png
Christ, I can't say what I'd really want, but what a bunch of irrational children. Make us really look like a bunch of hillbilly bumpkins sometimes.
Don't you dare suggest any similarities to being afraid of inanimate objects being abused by people with bad intentions.
Grant H.
02-25-2019, 17:09
Yeah, a kite or Estes rocket with a 4K camera. Apparently you folks have something to hide.
It wasn't 4k (didn't exist, shit, I don't think HD did either), but I had a model rocket with a camera on it back in the day.
Not really apples to apples, but it's still the point.
Honestly, a kite would be even easier than a quad... You don't have to have the wireless video transmission.... You can use the rope to run a data/video cable.
__________________________________________________ ___
Back to the real topic of the thread...
The simple answer here is that there is new tech that isn't going away, and as long as there is a human element involved, there are going to be douche bags with said tech that will do the douche baggery...
I have a sneaking suspicion that most that shoot a drone over their property are going to be red-flagged pretty quick anymore.
1. Discharging a firearm in a neighborhood is verboten everywhere that I know of (city limits thing)
2. Announcing that you have firearms to douche bags that just lost their $2k toy, why wouldn't they be vindictive and get your guns confiscated for a year...
3. Likely going to get the police involved... (revert back to #1)... May not even be the drone the owner...
While some of these cases may appear to go the way of the shooter, the reality of the situation is likely to be a very negative thing for a pro-2A person shooting a drone out of the sky...
ChickNorris
02-25-2019, 18:34
Huh, what?
https://i.imgur.com/tdBuBq8.png
Popcorn Sutton!
FireMoth
02-25-2019, 20:17
So, if youre of the belief you should be allowed to shoot at drones in defense of your property boundaries:
1) Are the drones, being someone elses property, then allowed to shoot at you?
2) Do you have the right to launch space vehicle weapons at geo-sync sattelites because google earth has enough resolution to see your nipples?
3) Why would you then violate your own privacy by talking about shooting at drones, and what they might see if you dont, by posting about it on public forum?
In all seriousness, if you your a string to a drone, is it just now a Smart Kite?
FireMoth
02-25-2019, 20:34
In all seriousness, if you your a string to a drone, is it just now a Smart Kite?
Isnt a smart kite... a hawk?
OtterbatHellcat
02-25-2019, 20:45
Why the attitude? What if someone was flying a kite near your property, or an estes rocket?
A kite I wouldn't give two shits about, have fun kid. Estes rocket, no, I don't want you burning the neighborhood down.
I said drone. If you're not a realtor taking pics for a listing, the people in that neighborhood won't be as nice as I'm being for the sake of the discussion. If you want to be a drone jockey, take it out to open space and play....otherwise, I'm figuring shit ain't gonna go so well for your equipment.
How can you tell from the ground who is whom?
OtterbatHellcat
02-25-2019, 20:57
What?
OtterbatHellcat
02-25-2019, 20:58
Are you suggesting that normal sighted people don't know what a drone flying on their property looks like?
No, I'm asking how you can tell the difference between an asshole with a $2,000 toy and a real estate agent or claims adjuster doing an inspection.
kidicarus13
02-25-2019, 22:06
It wasn't 4k (didn't exist, shit, I don't think HD did either), but I had a model rocket with a camera on it back in the day.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190226/1593be2f0842c4c201b3869628a5d89f.jpg
OtterbatHellcat
02-25-2019, 22:37
No, I'm asking how you can tell the difference between an asshole with a $2,000 toy and a real estate agent or claims adjuster doing an inspection.
Why, Irving....are we cross or something? Dude, you brought up kites and estes rockets, and now you're asking me this. You actually wondered if myself or one of my neighbors could tell the difference between a drone...…..or a kite or an estes rocket, and then equated a toy VS commercial drone usage.
If none of my neighbors have a home for sale, or recent significant severe weather has occurred (and they would know about this as well if it were my home)...….a drone is HIGHLY SUSPECT with anyone living in the neighborhood. Again, good luck if your equipment survives.
Nope. I made a joke about kites and rockets. You suggested that a real estate drone would be okay. How can you tell the difference? A real estate agent is photographing a house before it ever hits the market so you wouldn't know it was for sale. I inspect damage from hail storms that happened years ago. I'll be inspecting roofs damaged by the May 8, 2017 storm for years to come. When you look at a quad copter, how do you tell which way it is facing? How do you tell which way the camera is facing? How do you tell if the camera is on? How do you tell if it has a camera at all? A drone with a 4k camera could read over your shoulder through your window from a block away, or see you standing in a window from probably a mile away. Why would anyone that is looking at you or your property be right on top of you? How long do you imagine a drone hanging around? How many actual drones have you seen operating in the wild? I've seen exactly two. Both were traveling at least 20 mph in a straight line and were clearly on the way some where. Even if you were waiting with a loaded auto shotgun in the crook of your arm, you'd have hit neither. Not even close. Where exactly is all the paranoia coming from?
OtterbatHellcat
02-25-2019, 23:24
I'll reiterate... anyone selling in my neighborhood wouldn't be secret. Anyone with damage from a severe storm would mean all of us have the same damage. I tried to differentiate those circumstances. It's still real if I say it three times, I love ya man, I mean that too.
I'll concede that if I see a drone "somewhere near my domain" for a short period of time ONCE. You're good I suppose. I guess the hang up here is your impression of zero tolerance, and what I was trying to suggest of some asshat flying crap around your house or property just for fun.
Looks like we both win if we see it the way I think is going on.
Like with most everything, the idea people prepare for in their mind, and the reality in which they encounter "whatever" are almost always vastly different. So while on one hand I get frustrated with people making up cowboy scenarios in their head, I can just as easily remember that I'm extremely unlikely to hear stories of people actually acting out their drone shooting fantasies.
Looking for a lost dog with a drone sounds like a great idea to me. I think I'd actually be less annoyed by dog seeking drones than I would be by sifting through lost dog threads on Nextdoor.
OtterbatHellcat
02-26-2019, 00:01
My neighbors would let me know their dog was out and or missing. No drone needed.
There's no need to automatically resort to the latest technology to find a lost dog in a neighborhood.
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