Drone bounty, no bag limit!
July 17, 2013 11:45 AM Subscribe
The town of Deer Trail, Colorado is considering hunting licences for federal drones. Deer Trail is a small town in the plains of Colorado east of Denver, and claim they are the home to the worlds first rodeo (though that's open for interpretation). They've decided they don't want drones, and offer a bounty for licensed hunters who bag a federal drone. The mayor of the town shows the proper technique for hunting them...
If a mayor in Pakistan did this, the next drone the mayor saw would be one that was about to kill him.
posted by el io at 11:51 AM on July 17, 2013 [12 favorites]
posted by el io at 11:51 AM on July 17, 2013 [12 favorites]
This'll wendell.
posted by arcticseal at 11:54 AM on July 17, 2013 [5 favorites]
posted by arcticseal at 11:54 AM on July 17, 2013 [5 favorites]
I forget, are heat-seeking missiles legal in Colorado?
posted by entropicamericana at 12:01 PM on July 17, 2013
posted by entropicamericana at 12:01 PM on July 17, 2013
I thought, briefly, they were offering to sell people licenses to hunt using drones. And I thought "at last, we have done away with the idea that this is "'sport.'" Fortunately? I was in error.
posted by GenjiandProust at 12:06 PM on July 17, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by GenjiandProust at 12:06 PM on July 17, 2013 [2 favorites]
That'll show 'em!
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 12:06 PM on July 17, 2013
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 12:06 PM on July 17, 2013
Looking forward to seeing the front fuselage of a drone mounted above someone's fireplace.
posted by bondcliff at 12:09 PM on July 17, 2013 [17 favorites]
posted by bondcliff at 12:09 PM on July 17, 2013 [17 favorites]
Given that drones fly at 20,000+ feet, he'll never hit one with that little pea shooter.
This is just the opening the NRA needs to get surface-to-air missiles classified as "hunting weapons!"
posted by GenjiandProust at 12:11 PM on July 17, 2013 [9 favorites]
This is just the opening the NRA needs to get surface-to-air missiles classified as "hunting weapons!"
posted by GenjiandProust at 12:11 PM on July 17, 2013 [9 favorites]
Looking forward to seeing the front fuselage of a drone mounted above someone's fireplace.
Hey, that guidance camera looks farm-raised!
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 12:11 PM on July 17, 2013 [5 favorites]
Hey, that guidance camera looks farm-raised!
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 12:11 PM on July 17, 2013 [5 favorites]
Glad to see someone taking up defense against Skynet.
posted by exogenous at 12:11 PM on July 17, 2013 [4 favorites]
posted by exogenous at 12:11 PM on July 17, 2013 [4 favorites]
Listen, it was either this or a hundred-foot-tall marble statue of the word "IMPOTENCE" in the center of town, and when you look at the cost they made a good call.
posted by jason_steakums at 12:12 PM on July 17, 2013 [10 favorites]
posted by jason_steakums at 12:12 PM on July 17, 2013 [10 favorites]
That $100 bounty won't even pay for an hour of the lawyer's time when the hunter is in jail charged with a felony for destroying Federal property.
posted by aught at 12:13 PM on July 17, 2013 [5 favorites]
posted by aught at 12:13 PM on July 17, 2013 [5 favorites]
Yeah, I definitely read this headline as authorizing people to hunt things like deer with drones.
I still can't decide if this is more or less absurd.
posted by craven_morhead at 12:13 PM on July 17, 2013 [6 favorites]
I still can't decide if this is more or less absurd.
posted by craven_morhead at 12:13 PM on July 17, 2013 [6 favorites]
You laugh, but have you ever had braised rack of MQ-9 Reaper? Delicious and tender, all falling off the fuselage. Work some Oklahoma dry rub into that thing, cook it low and slow, and your family's eating well for a couple days at least.
posted by FAMOUS MONSTER at 12:13 PM on July 17, 2013 [17 favorites]
posted by FAMOUS MONSTER at 12:13 PM on July 17, 2013 [17 favorites]
Pogo, your point about the stupidity of firing a bullet into the air is very valid, but in the article it says the ordinance specifies "any shotgun, 12 gauge or smaller, having a barrel length of 18 inches or greater." Generally, bird shot, even buckshot, fired into the air reaches much less altitude than a high-powered bullet, and falls harmlessly to the ground. It's worth noting, though, that at least in the article, the type of ammunition used in the shotgun is not specified. So some dipshit could potentially load solid slugs into his shotgun and we'd be right back in your problematic situation. (But then, it could be argued that anyone shooting at drones is already a dipshit, so there is that.)
posted by xedrik at 12:14 PM on July 17, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by xedrik at 12:14 PM on July 17, 2013 [1 favorite]
Xedrik speaks truth. Hearing the gentle patter of birdshot falling to earth around you when at certain types of hunts/events is not unusual or a huge concern.
posted by RolandOfEld at 12:17 PM on July 17, 2013
posted by RolandOfEld at 12:17 PM on July 17, 2013
You can have a drone operator point out exactly where in the sky one is, and you still won't be able to see it. They're small and they fly at two or more miles up. Good luck trying to bag one.
posted by azpenguin at 12:18 PM on July 17, 2013
posted by azpenguin at 12:18 PM on July 17, 2013
This was a petition by a resident of the town, so it's hard to say that the town is seriously "considering" such an ordinance.
posted by KokuRyu at 12:29 PM on July 17, 2013
posted by KokuRyu at 12:29 PM on July 17, 2013
So, basically, what we got here is a tax on the gullible?
posted by NoMich at 12:30 PM on July 17, 2013
posted by NoMich at 12:30 PM on July 17, 2013
PETA is planning to fly UAVs around hunting areas
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 12:38 PM on July 17, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 12:38 PM on July 17, 2013 [2 favorites]
exogenous: "Glad to see someone taking up defense against Skynet."
Yeah, great, piss off the drones so they start off hating us and have a reason, right away. Good going you FREEDOM LOVERS, you're gonna get us all killed!
posted by symbioid at 1:06 PM on July 17, 2013 [2 favorites]
Yeah, great, piss off the drones so they start off hating us and have a reason, right away. Good going you FREEDOM LOVERS, you're gonna get us all killed!
posted by symbioid at 1:06 PM on July 17, 2013 [2 favorites]
Similar in principle to this post a while back on "rebel towns." Except that one story gets accolades and a spread in The Nation, and the other gets mocked for being about stupid tea party nuts who's only plan to stop big government is to LITERALLY fire wildly into the air at nothing.
posted by Halogenhat at 1:13 PM on July 17, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by Halogenhat at 1:13 PM on July 17, 2013 [2 favorites]
Are they worried that without licenses the drones would be hunted into extinction?
(Presumably hunting season would start a few months before the primaries and continue until election day.)
posted by ceribus peribus at 1:23 PM on July 17, 2013 [1 favorite]
(Presumably hunting season would start a few months before the primaries and continue until election day.)
posted by ceribus peribus at 1:23 PM on July 17, 2013 [1 favorite]
I forget, are heat-seeking missiles legal in Colorado?
Yes, but laws prohibit the use of a wall-wart transformer or generator as bait.
posted by sebastienbailard at 1:36 PM on July 17, 2013
Yes, but laws prohibit the use of a wall-wart transformer or generator as bait.
posted by sebastienbailard at 1:36 PM on July 17, 2013
Drone Demonology: Flying Robots, Cop Mustaches & Resistance in the End Times
posted by homunculus at 1:38 PM on July 17, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by homunculus at 1:38 PM on July 17, 2013 [2 favorites]
I forget, are heat-seeking missiles legal in Colorado?
posted by entropicamericana at 1:01 PM on July 17
Not really heat seeking, but there is this silo. Missile silos aren't an unusual thing in Colorado.
posted by Eekacat at 1:48 PM on July 17, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by entropicamericana at 1:01 PM on July 17
Not really heat seeking, but there is this silo. Missile silos aren't an unusual thing in Colorado.
posted by Eekacat at 1:48 PM on July 17, 2013 [1 favorite]
I like this.
posted by windykites at 1:57 PM on July 17, 2013
posted by windykites at 1:57 PM on July 17, 2013
Yay. They'll possibly succeed in blasting some middle-aged nerd's FPV equpped DJI Phantom quadcopter out of the sky. Woo hoo, freedom.
posted by smoothvirus at 2:13 PM on July 17, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by smoothvirus at 2:13 PM on July 17, 2013 [2 favorites]
symbioid: Yeah, great, piss off the drones so they start off hating us and have a reason, right away.
They already do hate us - they hate us for our freewills!
posted by Greg_Ace at 2:22 PM on July 17, 2013 [2 favorites]
They already do hate us - they hate us for our freewills!
posted by Greg_Ace at 2:22 PM on July 17, 2013 [2 favorites]
>symbioid: Yeah, great, piss off the drones so they start off hating us and have a reason, right away.
They already do hate us - they hate us for our freewills!
I'm not sure I am going to listen to advice on what I should or should do with SkyNet/drones from somebody called symbiod. I am sure the symbiod unit is perfectly nice but quite likely biased on this issue.
posted by GenjiandProust at 3:07 PM on July 17, 2013
They already do hate us - they hate us for our freewills!
I'm not sure I am going to listen to advice on what I should or should do with SkyNet/drones from somebody called symbiod. I am sure the symbiod unit is perfectly nice but quite likely biased on this issue.
posted by GenjiandProust at 3:07 PM on July 17, 2013
Right now this is silly pandering to the "arm yourselves against tyranny!!!1!1" nutbags, but in all honesty if you were to ask me if I believed the federal government (and in particular the wildly out of control security-industrial complex) is going to start using drones domestically on various pretexts within the next few years, I would lean more toward yes than no. Though I disagree profoundly with these whack jobs on the role of government in principle, the way things are at the moment they're right in practice to a distressing degree, and getting more so.
posted by George_Spiggott at 4:16 PM on July 17, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by George_Spiggott at 4:16 PM on July 17, 2013 [2 favorites]
Westerners in general don't trust "back easterners" particularly Gubmint. At least that's what Ralph tells me. I'm not surprised.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 4:17 PM on July 17, 2013
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 4:17 PM on July 17, 2013
I want to hunt drones WITH drones. Sounds like an iron-clad stone groove. You could mount one of those solid slug 12 gauges on your drone...
posted by Samizdata at 4:27 PM on July 17, 2013
posted by Samizdata at 4:27 PM on July 17, 2013
if you were to ask me if I believed the federal government (and in particular the wildly out of control security-industrial complex) is going to start using drones domestically on various pretexts within the next few years, I would lean more toward yes than no.
In the next few years? It's already begun:
Nytimes: U.S. Border Agency Allows Others to Use Its Drones
Aljazeera: FBI says drones used to monitor people in US
In the next few years? It's already begun:
Nytimes: U.S. Border Agency Allows Others to Use Its Drones
...the agency in charge of border protection is increasingly offering the military-grade drones it already owns to domestic law enforcement agencies and has considered equipping them with “nonlethal weapons,” according to documents recently made public."Among other things" sounds a little ominous in this context, doesn't it?
Agencies that have used the 10 Predator drones owned by the Customs and Border Protection Agency have deployed them to investigate fishing violations, search for missing persons and inspect levees along the Mississippi River, among other things.
Aljazeera: FBI says drones used to monitor people in US
"Does the FBI use drones for surveillance on US soil?" Republican Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa asked during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.posted by ceribus peribus at 6:07 PM on July 17, 2013
"Yes," Mueller said, adding that the use was in "a very, very minimal way and very seldom".
Finally, a practical use for my shotgun drone! Yee-haw!
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 8:34 PM on July 17, 2013
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 8:34 PM on July 17, 2013
"The government has killed a 16-year-old American boy. Shouldn’t it at least have to explain why?"
posted by jbickers at 8:51 AM on July 18, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by jbickers at 8:51 AM on July 18, 2013 [1 favorite]
in the article it says the ordinance specifies "any shotgun, 12 gauge or smaller, having a barrel length of 18 inches or greater." Generally, bird shot, even buckshot, fired into the air reaches much less altitude than a high-powered bullet, and falls harmlessly to the ground. It's worth noting, though, that at least in the article, the type of ammunition used in the shotgun is not specified.
Clearly they'll be using this.
posted by homunculus at 10:31 AM on July 18, 2013
Clearly they'll be using this.
posted by homunculus at 10:31 AM on July 18, 2013
entropicamericana: I forget, are heat-seeking missiles legal in Colorado?You bet yer sweet 2nd-Amendment rights they are, sonny!
posted by IAmBroom at 1:52 PM on July 18, 2013
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posted by homunculus at 12:44 PM on July 30, 2013
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What he might hit though....
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 11:47 AM on July 17, 2013 [3 favorites]