Won't be long till somebody figures out how to mount and use a gun from one. Hunting from the couch, Bah-humbug! Never tried shooting straight up YET.

a college student mounted a semi auto pistol to one and boy did he get in trouble

I know of one guy that literally made a fortune taking videos for real estate companies.

Drones will be both the most useful tool and the most abused machine invented lately. They have no place in fair chase hunting, including scouting.

i might consider useing one to help find a wounded deer, other than that....

QuoteOriginally posted by Thumper Dunker:
The guy did not get in trouble for shooting the drone it was for shooting a shot gun in the city limits. If I knock one out of the sky I'm keeping it.

Modern wing shooting.  Maybe mount it and hang it up in the man cave? LOL!

In Michigan it's illegal to use wireless communication for reporting game movement while hunting. Anyone use cell phones for texting while hunting? I have to admit I've texted my son that there was a buck heading down the ditch behind him.

How about pizza deliveries trying to break the land speed record in residential areas so we can have our hot pizza without ever walking out the door?

Every technological advance will bring abuse and miss use. I can see some injuries if they start using drones for home deliveries and certainly some illegal use of them for scouting or even herding of game. There will probably be civil and criminal charges brought for shooting them down.

It won't be the technology that causes the problem; it will be the lack of ethics and we can't really legislate that.

I can see where it probably is, and should be, illegal to shoot one down where it is legally allowed to fly.  How about where it is illegal to fly, such as in a hunting area where they have been outlawed, or snooping around my backyard?

I'm sure there will be a lot of legal issues arising out of their use. How high does our property line extend vertically? Obviously not illegal for a plane to fly over at 30,000 feet. How about 100 feet? 10 feet? Where will we draw the line?

I think this will be where case law develops as charges are brought. Some of my modeler buds are crying because they will have to register their models - both fixed wing and rotary type with the FAA. I say "So what?" I have to register my car.

There is hunting and there is assassination,killing at all cost,I can always go to the Grocery store if I don't feel like hunting with nothing more than stick and string and my own physical abilities and wits.Drones have a place unfortunately there's the human factor to deal with.Do we want to just find ways to kill everything,what will be left to hunt.

QuoteDo we want to just find ways to kill everything,what will be left to hunt.  

"When the deer are gone I will hunt mice for I am a hunter"

As mentioned they all have to be registered in the next week or so. I could see where they would come in handy, checking out the terrain for hazards, water, cliffs etc.

You could give me one and I wouldn't know how to turn it on. I can't hardly answer the cell phone!!!

Yep, starting Friday, Feds have now passed a law requiring registration of most of the higher end ones.  I don't own one of the devices but I don't like the feds butting their noses in on it. They claim too many are flying them around airports or too high, endangering commercial flights. I don't buy it. I think some well-placed business types are trying to corner markets.  

Funny, I wasn't nearly so suspicious of government 7-8 years ago.

I've studied them some:
- They can take live video and stills and send directly to the controller.
- They can fly about 20-25 minutes, 500 yards or more from the controller.
- Some of have "homing" button to return and land at take-off point

Frankly, if someone wants to check their stands from time to time to make sure trespassers or thieves aren't messing around, no LE officer could make a case against it.  

I don't think I own the air space above my property?  So, unless I could prove an invasion of privacy, like hovering outside a home window, I wouldn't think I could take destructive action against a neighbor's device.

I heard somewhere several months back that a state legislator, can't remember the state, had submitted a bill that would essentially declare the air space directly over a property owner's property to be the owner's own sovereign air space up to a certain altitude, a couple hundred feet or so.  I doubt it got anywhere, but it was addressing issues such as where the one was hovering over the sunbathing teen.  It would still be illegal to fire a gun inside the city limits, but it would allow trespass charges to be filed.  In a rural setting, you could probably get away with shooting one down over your yard if that law was ever passed.  I actually think they're cool.  My son got a small one from my mother in law for Christmas.  It's neat to video around our rural property.  Using them for scouting on the other hand...big no no.

I saw a news clip where a skier in a world cup race had one crash right behind him.  Almost hit his skis!  I don't think he even knew it happened. It was big and heavy and was apparently videoing the racer.

On another note as far as shooting drones is concerned, we had a dove hunter this year intentionally shoot an ultralight.  Apparently he thought it was interfering with his Hunt!  Turned out it was a farmer flying his own property to inspect his crops!

I think the registration is a good idea. It's only a few bucks and the flyer can use the same registration for all his devices. He's basically registering himself as an operator and posting that registration number on all devices he flies. If it comes through your thermopane window there is no problem identifying who owns it.

And there have definitely been pilot reports of a lot of them flying in congested space around airports. Sooner or later some newbie is going to lose one and fly it into an engine intake.

Sure they're a lot of fun. My son's dog loves to chase one. But we live in an ever more congested world and can't expect zero restrictions on what we do in public space. We all buy hunting licenses, right?

Bladepeek makes a good point on vertical property limits. I can't drive my truck across your property anytime I want, so why is it legal for me to be able to fly a drone across it. I see lots of new laws in the future regarding these things.

My brother got a phantom 3 for christmas.  This thing is absolutely amazing.  I actually had him fly over the local archery club to see if anyone is there.  The technology is mins blowing.

Like any other technology that can be abused.  I belong to the AMA and we agree not to overfly people, homes, structures or roadways.

I have been flying R/C models for 35 years and have them up to 85" wingspan with 43cc chainsaw engines (22" propeller).  No one thought twice about them until kids put GoPro cameras on four-engine drones and started peeping on the neighbor's daughters.

Now the FAA requires EVERYONE who flies any model ("drone" just means unmanned aircraft to them)  of 0.55 to 55.0 pounds to register with them and keep them under 400 ft.

Like the NRA, the AMA (Academy of Model Aeronautics) will have the privlege of being the only two organizations whose members get blamed for acts they do not commit.    

Drones are already being outfitted for weaponry. Companies are definitely testing them for warfare. However they have been incredibly useful and have revolutionized some industries. Surveying is one. Another is the film industry. Where before you had to get a helicopter and camera crew to film high speed chases now you. An have a drone do it for 1/3 of the cost. There are guys making fortunes on the tech in Hollywood. Another group using them extensively is the use border patrol. There are definitely ethical and privacy concerns however. I think they are neat but, to expensive for me.