There's been a drone flying over the deer land Friday night and last night. Could be before that, but a friend of mine took video of it both nights. Is it legal to take a shotgun and shoot it down next time? I can't think of any logical reason except poachers doing it. And, I doubt they would call the sheriff since they would need to explain why they were using it. Would a game warden do anything for us? What do y'all think?

SSS

AFAIK you own the airspace above your land to a certain, low, altitude.

One issue with shooting drones is they have cameras that save their footage on another device. They will likely have footage of you shooting them down. Drones aren't cheap.

How does the law balance that? No clue. You're going to get very opinionated people from both sides very soon on this thread.

My drone stores the video on a chip that's resident on the drone.
I'd call the Game Warden to get answers on what's legal.

- Get a drone of your own
- follow it back to its owner
- post pics of owner/vehicle LP etc here
- accept your nomination for top OB thread 2024

Not only is it a huge felony (FAA looks at this supposedly not much different than shooting at a manned aircraft), but if you could reach it with a shotgun, it is low enough to already identify you. Plus, some drones save cache low res video/images on the mobile device that is controlling them.

I'd go the legal way on this one.

Shooting down a drone at any altitude is illegal and has the potential to get you in a serious jam. It is super frustrating, but not worth it.

Maybe it is just poacher who would never report it, or maybe it's CBP surveying for illegal activity.

Mine does too, but they can stores video in an uploaded fashion too.

However they can only see where the camera is pointed. On mine the green lights are the front. Shoot from behind and they probably cannot record you.


As someone who uses a drone for work, I don't really advocate just shooting them down, but your assumption seems pretty valid in this case.

texAZtea said:

---

Drones aren't cheap.

---

Especially thermal drones

Best way to take out a drone is another drone.

Does anyone know someone that's actually gotten in trouble for this. Reminds me of yesteryears "tampering with mailboxes is a federal offense" without a federal agent within 200 miles.

Marauder Blue 6 said:

---

Best way to take out a drone is another drone.

---

Go buy a cheapo and crash it into the other "by accident". Clip a propeller and it will drop like a rock.

Did it stop and check out your camp or was it on the move, perhaps looking for deer like you suggested? I would think kids if they were trying to get a reaction out of someone on the ground, and I would think poachers if they were quick to get out of the area at the sight of a human on the ground.

CBP has told us that guides are using drones to guide groups of illegals at night down entry routes (pipelines, high lines etc).

You do not own airspace above your property. Court law has been generally clear about this. The gov/FAA owns airspace. Some counter that with court decisions in the 60's. However, if a drone is hovering over your property, courts have allowed shooting them down as that is considered a privacy issue. Not sure you want to challege that.

Drones are a relatively new issue and court decisions will flip flop over the years until it is unified.

Depending on where you live, some drones can be tracked. You would need to contact the mearest FAA air traffic facility to see if they have capabilities.

Seems these things should be tracked like aircraft on flight aware or something?????

If they can't be, they should be.

Jason_Roofer said:

---

Seems these things should be tracked like aircraft on flight aware or something?????

If they can't be, they should be.

---

Remote ID is a requirement. Not everyone follows it but it is an FAA requirement now to broadcast.

So does that mean you SHOULD be able to figure out who owns it if you know the time and location of the "appearance" of said drone?

If so, that's the route I'd go and then figure out what's going on.

I'm 98% sure I can pop a drone from a fair distance away if it's not moving but the risk of that seems a bit more than I'm comfortable with. On the flip side, I feel like a drone eyeballing my place is up to no good….and I care not who is behind it.

"I thought it was a dove"

Buy a falcon. Train it to attack drones, but deny you ever did.

bowhuntr said:

---

Did it stop and check out your camp or was it on the move, perhaps looking for deer like you suggested? I would think kids if they were trying to get a reaction out of someone on the ground, and I would think poachers if they were quick to get out of the area at the sight of a human on the ground.

---

It was moving but not fast. It was just above treetop level.

I see working drones in our ranch area doing land planning on neighboring tracts and flying the large 3 phase electric lines fairly often. Recently I talked to the contractors doing the electric lines and they were looking for a problem but had not found it yet. I've always seen a truck in the area when they are flying and these guys were sitting on the truck tailgate.
I've wondered if neighboring duck or dove hunters could use a drone to get birds up off feeding and roosting areas on our land. Or to buzz a deer feeding at my feeder. I see where the drone could be used by poachers or thieves possibly.

I've never considered bothering a drone but would be much more likely to if it was above my home or camp at night.

Net gun. Or get REALLY good with a cast net.

I have a small drone I fly for fun and just to get a cool aerial view of whats around me.
That being said I'm always very aware of people. I'm not worried about someone shooting it down but wouldn't want people thinking I'm watching them or spying on them ( most lower end drones are not zooming in on people).

I totally get someone not wanting it flying over and around them. Might be poachers, might be kids just having fun, but it would be hard to trace as the range on some can be miles

Someday we all will reminisce what life was like with a drone-free sky above your own property. With commercial deliveries like Amazon, it will approach the traffic like that of cars in the suburbs.

I don't disagree and we could say that about many things we deal with today.

But as someone who uses a drone daily, albeit not a top of the line fancy one, I really think all that talk is more fantastical than practical at this point and for a long while to come. There are so many potential issues, restrictions, things that will knock it out of the sky, potential liabilities for personal harm and property damage.

I just don't think it will happen in for a long while. While my Phantom is a game changer for inspecting roofs, it will crash and burn if one of the four props hit a twig on a tree. There is no redundancy and little room for error. Heavy wind and rain are a problem. Getting into areas with too much turbulence will knock one down. They have a ton to overcome.

agAngeldad said:

---

You do not own airspace above your property. Court law has been generally clear about this. The gov/FAA owns airspace. Some counter that with court decisions in the 60's. However, if a drone is hovering over your property, courts have allowed shooting them down as that is considered a privacy issue. Not sure you want to challege that.

Drones are a relatively new issue and court decisions will flip flop over the years until it is unified.

Depending on where you live, some drones can be tracked. You would need to contact the mearest FAA air traffic facility to see if they have capabilities.

---

Not true.

Here's some reading material.

https://uavcoach.com/shoot-drone/

Go out and sit in the stand with a bow or muzzle loader. When it comes around again video it from the stand, then call the game warden and the sheriff and accuse the operator of hunter harassment. Let the law take care of figuring out who it is.

OP states that it's flying around at night. My money is on it being as likely a law enforcement agency's drone as it is anyone else's combined. Shoot it down and I bet you find out which one.

Pervert fantasy material.

Yes, shooting a drone is illegal, but flying it over people/private property without the proper license is also a bad idea.

Honestly, they have some great commercial uses, but I think the whole industry is focused on the pervert market

normaleagle05 said:

---

OP states that it's flying around at night. My money is on it being as likely a law enforcement agency's drone as it is anyone else's combined. Shoot it down and I bet you find out which one.

---

Yeah, if it is at night, don't sit in the stand...might be a game warden looking for poachers.

Rexter said:

---

agAngeldad said:

---

You do not own airspace above your property. Court law has been generally clear about this. The gov/FAA owns airspace. Some counter that with court decisions in the 60's. However, if a drone is hovering over your property, courts have allowed shooting them down as that is considered a privacy issue. Not sure you want to challege that.

Drones are a relatively new issue and court decisions will flip flop over the years until it is unified.

Depending on where you live, some drones can be tracked. You would need to contact the mearest FAA air traffic facility to see if they have capabilities.

---

Not true.

Here's some reading material.

https://uavcoach.com/shoot-drone/

---

Contrary to the article, Courts have allowed it. Just one of many below:

https://www.wdrb.com/news/judge-dismisses-charges-for-man-who-shot-down-drone/article_b52eff9b-0c87-53ce-ad68-38806c7c9288.html

I work in this industry for the FAA. I didn't say it was legal, just that it has happened. There are court cases that contradict Gov/FAA law regarding ownership of airspace above your property. Mostly due to erecting ham radio towers. Again, I suspect we will see more rulings and clarifications in the upcoming years.

The FAA never claimed to own all airspace. Nor did they pay for it.

(The .gov has to take what it pays for)

Trespass by bullet, airspace rights in urban areas, power line easements, etc and common law all support ownership of airspace over your land.

Send one of these up after it...