If you shoot something that close to you with a shotgun, you're probably going to obliterate it. I doubt it was that low.
Ok I was with him until I read this. I know so many wannabe John McClane's just like this and I know he is loving this. I honestly don't buy his version (no freaking way it was only 10 feet off the ground) of the events. People like this get so excited to use their guns outside of a shooting range and say things they think Dirty Harry would say. They want to be the main character in their own action movie, I bet this was the best day of his life. What a wanker.
It said he grabbed a shotgun so I'm assuming he was using bird shot and when fired up into the air the risk of injury pretty minimal. Using a small amount of awareness you can avoid any real risk to others. Sure the guy shouldn't be shooting guns in town...but I understand why he did. and just because I think it's funny. Spoiler
Right so 4 young guys show up to a dad's place looking to kick his ass for knocking down their peeping-tombot. He isn't intimidated and he's a wanker? No one was shot. Why are you so sure it wasn't 10 feet off the ground? Any evidence for that?
Ok but what is more likely ... 4 guys buy a $1800 drone to fly over some houses to look for girls laying out in bikinis ... or 4 bored nerds bought a drone to play around with and accidentally flew it too close to some guys house while his daughters were tanning and then try to ask what happened when it gets shot down? How do you know they were looking to "kick his ass"? If something of mine that expensive gets destroyed I am going to want to know what happened. I think the man was dramatic and his overreaction to both the drone and the guys asking about it were completely ridiculous. Also if it was 10 feet off the ground why wouldn't he just swat it down with a broom? Why didn't the girls just go inside? Stepping across a resident's sidewalk is not a threat of violence. As it stands now he is a wanker in my book but it doesn't matter I am just some guy on the internet. If it turns out the 4 dudes were looking to "kick his ass" and peep on his daughters then I will take it back.
I don't agree with how he did it but I agree with him that a drone hovering over his house is an invasion of his privacy and the owners were an asses to do so. This is an area where regulation needs to catch up to reality. Small lightweight drones shouldn't be considered airplanes and their ability to invade privacy makes them much different. My opinion this should be considered no different than if someone put a camera on your property without your consent no matter how it was done.
Probably would. But people are much more likely to own a gun than they are a pressure washer. Thanks. Really the only problem I have with what he's done is the risk of firing a gun in the air. If it's just birdshot that falls harmlessly to the ground, I have no problems with it. In my view, having a drone in your airspace is trespassing. And considering it isn't even a person, you should be able to do whatever you want to it. I find other, more measured responses to be pretty useless. Call the cops? The drone will be gone before they can do anything. You'll file a complaint but they'll never get the evidence to charge anyone. And probably won't try either. Peeping tom drones can then operate with impunity? They will unless you blow them out of the sky. When the owner considers the benefits of his hobby against the risk of losing $1,800 he might moderate his behavior. I'd put some ceiling on a homeowner's airspace, like maybe he can't shoot anything over 200' in the air. And obviously there'll be trouble if the drone he shoots isn't over his property or if he shoots a police drone.
So . . . how exactly is your neighbor's drone . . .different that Google Earth? Google driving around town taking pictures of people I distinctly remember some saying it was public places so it was ok . . . . even if you in your own front yard Since some have questions the 'sovereignty' of your 'airspace' I don't see a significant difference Why would we be ok with a company doing it for fun and profit but bother by someone doing it for their hobby? Rocket River
There's a significant difference. Google respects privacy by blurring out sensitive images. Google vans also don't go behind private boundaries. There's no way you'd get close-up images from Google satellites, either. It's silly to compare the two.
Now they did it accidentally? Quadcopters are gyro stabilized with HD cameras they don't go somewhere accidentally. This is a hard stretch. I think 4 douchebags bought a quadcopter and thought it gave them carte blanche to invade anyone's privacy they wanted. That's his claim. Up against your fantasy of how it happened, his claim wins. "Minutes later, a car full of four men that he didn’t recognize rolled up, "looking for a fight." "Are you the son of a b**** that shot my drone?" one said, according to Merideth." http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...shoots-down-drone-hovering-over-his-backyard/ "Well, I came out and it was down by the neighbor's house, about 10 feet off the ground, looking under their canopy that they've got under their back yard. I went and got my shotgun and I said, 'I'm not going to do anything unless it's directly over my property.'" It wasn't on his property at 10 feet. What is the point in hitting it with a broom anyways. You won't drop a quadcopter with a broom. He wanted it down.
"The people that own the drones and the people that hate guns are the only ones that disagree with what I did," he said. "Now, if I’d have had a .22 rifle, I should have gone to jail for that. The diameter of those things are going to come down with enough force to hurt somebody. Number 8 birdshot is not. Number 8 is the size of a pinhead.
If these drones are legally "aircraft", then they need to be registered and their pilots should need a license to operate. There should be technology like some kind of geofencing that prevents drones from coming over your property up to the legal range that drones are allowed to operate, 400 feet I think.
http://www.wdrb.com/story/29670583/...ry-produces-video-he-claims-shows-flight-path Flight data recording for the drone. Owner says it's hovering shy of 200', so Merideth's claim of it flying around 10' is an exaggeration. The flight lasted for about 2 minutes, and it was over his property for a few seconds from what I can tell. It's hard to say if drone was a peeping Tom since it wasn't over his property for long, but it could clearly see into his property at an elevation of 200' and yards away from his property with an HD camera. It did fly over his property so I still think he was justified in shooting it down. Keep in mind that it's not the first time a drone has flown over his property. Even the judge appears to be shaking her head and stating there needs to be better legislation over drones. Merideth also claims that off the record, law enforcement agreed with his action.
Earlier I said the range of a shotgun is 70 meters. #8 shot reduces that to about 30 meters. No way 200 feet.
That's what the flight recorder data says on the app. Take it for what it's worth. The picture from the ground looks like it was at a high elevation. Meredith also shot 3 times. Is the 30-meter range its effective range or max range when shot in the air?
