Drones endanger elk herds.

Harassment of wildlife is ethical and legal???? Hmmm....well, run your drone at your own risk when it's out here. I think it's probably just a matter of time before some idiot figures he can chase flocks of geese over his spread with a drone. I was thinkin' about that this season laid out in the rags. But, maybe I shouldn't give anyone ideas. But, heck, it's probably already been done with RC airplanes. The world is full of idiots.

 

Invasion of privacy via a drone is no different from a peeping-tom sneaking around at night, trying to look through a window.

Using a drone to spy on wildlife can be legitimate, so long as the critters are not spooked.

For me, there is a grey area when it comes to hunting. Using a drone to locate a game animal is not necessarily bad, but after the initial locating I am of the opinion that further monitoring during an approach is unethical. It's no longer "fair chase". (Hypothet: The drone finds elk a mile north of you. Okay, you know to sneak north, not west. End of use of drone.)

 

We use drones regularly for project documentation and progress measurements.
I've seen some spectacular photos and videos of scenery and wildlife from aspects that otherwise would be unavailable but human nature being what it is will push the envelope until it tears.
I agree with Art on the privacy issue, some have gone to a lot of trouble to build at the end of the lane or behind that hill or put that window high on the wall.
As to hunting, many states have time periods in between flying and hunting for good reason and those regulations should hold for viewing drone video as well.

 

Man, I swear, EVERY SUBJECT that comes along on an internet posts seems to remind me of a South Park episode.

 

Don't drones have built in video, maybe not all do. It would really suck to have it sending video of you while you shot it. (I typically don't have a shotgun with me and I won't launch a bullet when I'm not sure it can come down safely. In other words, any drone over my property gets to do so with impunity.) What is the range of these drones? The one's I've seen the operator had to be within a couple of hundred yards and battery life was 20 or 30 minutes. Good luck finding it if it comes down in a forest or in tall grass. I obviously don't know much about drones.

 

I've never watched South Park, not one episode, yet I'm pretty sure I know what you mean.

 

Fella's;

I do believe that some states have quite rigorous statutes on the books regarding the use of electronic devices while hunting game. If using a walkie-talkie to alert a fellow hunter is a game violation, and it's my understanding it is in Montana, I'd be pretty sure that using a drone would also qualify as a violation.

I think I've also heard that some states are considering legislation concerning the height at which a civilian drone can overfly private property. Personally, I'm in favor of something like 10,000 feet. That's not out of line considering the state of the art of digital photography these days.

900F

 

Harassing wildlife is an offence in most places. I believe the FAA has regulations regarding the use of drones too. Altitude, distance away from you(Think it's visual only), etc. Pick up the phone.

 

So Art where you live it is ok to kill someone for that?





Glad to see so many promoting talking the law into their own hands then covering up the evidence of their crimes.




.

 

I carry a shotgun most every day I'm in the woods. It's very versatile for small game, doves, whatever's in season and squirrel and rabbits are always in season. I even got a deer with it once. I wasn't hunting deer, but had some buck shot along and one in the modified barrel.

I really wouldn't shoot a drone if one was over my property, though, unless it was doing something that really miffed me off. You know, might be piloted by some PETA pain in the butt, trying to scare the cute little deer away from my box blind, or something. I think such an incident happened back east a few years ago, think there was a thread about it here.

 

Yes, It has become a common practice to push Mule Deer into grease wood or ceder thickets in late winter. This causes the lose antlers to pull off in the brush. It is illegal to do this on horses or ATVs.

 

Yeah, Acera, how'd you get there from what I said?

Sure, I'm fully aware that various levels of violence have been visited against peeping toms, but I'm not the Dastardly Devil That Dunnit.

 

A Drone can and does use cameras. But a Drone can also carry a deadly weapon. Can a property owner who fears for his safety shoot down a Drone? The current charge for shooting a drone seems to be "Unlawful use of a firearm".

http://www.popsci.com/article/technology/man-shoots-down-drone-lawyers-scratch-their-heads

 

why should some on have the right fly a drone over your pool,cook out or party at low altutude on your property for their viewing enjoyment? , i guess you could build a roof over all your land, but why should you have to? eastbank.

 

Fella's;

It's my understanding that t he U.S. Air Force has a standing regulation that it's helicopters must maintain 500 feet of altitude over land that is not directly owned by the Federal Government. I should think that maybe a good starting point to get the 50 foot permissible altitude, lifted another 450 vertical feet for pilotless aircraft.

900F

 

People here are talking about illegally shooting down drones then you pop up about peeping toms and invasion of privacy as many see innocent flying of drones being. Easy connection. Especially with some tossing out the 'in fear of my life' BS.

Many in this thread are attempting to legitimize a criminal act for no other reason than they don't like a RC aircraft flying in their vicinity or over their property.

If you look at the price of a quad-copter of any size and capability you see that they carry a decent price tag. Most here in Texas would fall into a class B or C misdemeanor. However if the value of the property is over $2,500 it would become a felony. Some of the larger, semi-professional drones with a good camera that is gyro stabilized could pass that price. (for the legal types I am referencing Texas 28.03. Criminal Mischief) That is just the criminal end, I see it would be very easy to get a civil settlement against someone who shot a drone down, especially how many of you are promoting the actions and feeble attempts at justification for it.

This is just the latest iteration of the sport of flying RC helicopters and airplanes. You will not get some 500 foot minimum altitude rule for a toy. BTW if you don't know, regulation is based on weight of the thing. I really love how so many of you guys take the liberal scare approach and make these things out to be ominous drones, LOL. They are really just a natural progression from the Cox airplanes I used to fly as a kid.

No, I don't own one.................................



.

 

Hmmm? Sounds like I need another shotgun. Shhh, don't tell my wife about my old single shot H&R. It's old and only takes short shells anyway. Yeah, I need a new single shot or a pump.

 

I don't find it ominous but if it interrupts a hunt, I will not be happy. As I said before, I won't launch a bullet without a safe backstop so the pilot can be a jerk with impunity but if he interrupts a hunt, I'm calling the game warden and trying to find the pilot to tell him to fly it somewhere else. (I've got his number on speed dial.)

On a happier note, I think I really need another shotgun and a sling to carry it.

 

These are not the noisy short range model planes of the 1950s. They were simply experiments and achievements in flight for adolescents. The Drones have become a stealth device for invading privacy.

 

A few years back my Son was at a live pigeon shoot. There was a guy flying a drone with a camera
there to spy on the shoot. He was not allowed on the property so he stayed off of the property and
flew the drone. The drone flew over a couple of guys shooting "sporting clays". The guys shot the
drone down with their shotguns. The drone owner blamed the pigeon shooters who, it turned out,
never even saw the drone. No one was fined and the drone guy was out one drone.
Zeke

 

There is concern that the terrorist will attach grenades to these drones.

 

Consider what used to be proper behavior: You generally behave in a manner which is not upsetting to others. You don't go all nicey-nice, but you pretty much go with the flow of acceptable behavior.

Nothing wrong with flying drones, but snooping into other folks' business is just flat-out wrong. Court cases all over the place about rights to privacy. Folks tend to go all irate when they feel that their privacy has been invaded, whether the peeping-tom-ism is via a guy on foot or sumdood with a camera in a drone. Irate people have been known to shoot. "You can avoid reality, but you cannot avoid the effects of reality."

FWIW, don't confuse awareness with advocacy.

Anyhow, if it's wrong to use a drone to panic a herd of elk, why should it be okay to panic folks in their own back yard? Refusal to consider the needs of others is a sign of sorry, low-rent cretins.