Can you shoot down a drone that is flying near your property?

If you read the news, you have probably seen many stories about drones. For the hobbyist, a drone is a remote control toy that usually has an onboard video camera. There are numerous laws concerning how high and where they can fly, especially near airports.

As a drone enthusiast myself, I have taken some nice footage at our club that I will be posting on our website sometime in the near future.

I have heard many jokes about using my drone as target practice; I find this less funny than you do because I spent $500 for my toy as it carries a 14 megapixel high definition video camera. It takes great video.

Do I fly it close to my neighbor’s houses and spy on them? No, I do not. I asked my next door neighbor if I can use his pasture to fly in and he not only gave me permission to fly, but came out to watch and chat with me about it. I told him that I would inspect his roof with it. Farmers are starting to inspect their crops with drones. 

Let’s say that I don’t know my neighbor or maybe we don’t get along. Can he bring out his shotgun and shoot down my drone because he thinks I am too close to his house? He can, but he will be charged with breaking a bunch of laws and will certainly have to pay for my drone (remember the $500 price tag?).  So, what should you do? Two things; talk to the guy flying the drone or call law enforcement and tell them that someone is flying it too close to your house. DO NOT SHOOT IT! You will not like what happens if you do, I don’t care how right you think you are.

This article provides you with everything you need to know about laws concerning personal drones and what your rights are.

http://gizmodo.com/is-it-ok-to-shoot-down-your-neighbors-drone-1718055028