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Is it legal to shoot down a drone over my private property?
Thanks@

Aggiedan wrote: ↑Wed Apr 03, 2019 7:48 pm Is it legal to shoot down a drone over my private property?
Thanks@

No.

Aggiedan wrote: ↑Wed Apr 03, 2019 7:48 pm Is it legal to shoot down a drone over my private property?
Thanks@

I don't think that there is a simple answer to your question.

This was discussed in length several years ago(2016 IIRC):

viewtopic.php?f=26&t=87220&p=1125115&hi ... s#p1125115

No, it IS a federal felony. The FAA regulates drones (unmanned aircraft) as aircraft which means that 18 U.S. Code § 32 comes into play which makes it a felony to damage or destroy an aircraft. In fact it is a felony to even threaten to do so. Now that we have that out of the way no one has been prosecuted for shooting, shooting at, or threatening to shoot a drone.

If the unmanned aircraft was capturing an image of your property then Texas Government Code 423 does provide you with some recourse if you can identify the remote pilot.

You also don’t want to discharge a weapon if you are with in city limits.

6 REASONS WHY DRONE’S WON’T WORK IN TEXAS
http://smithmonitoring.com/homesecurity ... -in-texas/

Aggiedan wrote: ↑Wed Apr 03, 2019 7:48 pm Is it legal to shoot down a drone over my private property?
Thanks@

No. It's absolutely illegal.

Interesting: Knocking My Neighbor's Kid's Cruddy Drone Offline

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/3 ... ower-plant

Previously unreported swarm of drones flew over the nations largest nuke power plant in Arizona.

Proof of concept test by a foreign power. Practice run by the same. Or a hobbyist with a lot of money and time playing in places he shouldn't be.

At night so they probably were not doing it for photographs.

Very inexpensive way to cause a lot of trouble real quick.

They'll be useful in the coming years if you take the time to learn about them

It should be legal, IMHO, as long as your rounds do not travel past your property line (including missed shots). But I'll rely on the advice of others here that it is apparently illegal.

On another note, and at the risk of thread drift, I've been interested in getting into drones since the technology seems to have improved quite a bit. Can anyone point me to a good resource to learn more about beginner drones?

Soccerdad1995 wrote: ↑Thu Jul 30, 2020 5:20 pm It should be legal, IMHO, as long as your rounds do not travel past your property line (including missed shots). But I'll rely on the advice of others here that it is apparently illegal.

On another note, and at the risk of thread drift, I've been interested in getting into drones since the technology seems to have improved quite a bit. Can anyone point me to a good resource to learn more about beginner drones?

I have two $100 drones. They are hard to control, easy to lose.

A friend has a $1000 drone Mavic, I think. You program where you want them to go on your phone, and they do it. But if you lose contact by radio they are still gone. Video tends to be kind of robotic looking. But the advances in the last few years are amazing. They sell them at Best Buy now, so you can see them and compare features.

philip964 wrote: ↑Thu Jul 30, 2020 6:43 pm

Soccerdad1995 wrote: ↑Thu Jul 30, 2020 5:20 pm It should be legal, IMHO, as long as your rounds do not travel past your property line (including missed shots). But I'll rely on the advice of others here that it is apparently illegal.

On another note, and at the risk of thread drift, I've been interested in getting into drones since the technology seems to have improved quite a bit. Can anyone point me to a good resource to learn more about beginner drones?

I have two $100 drones. They are hard to control, easy to lose.

A friend has a $1000 drone Mavic, I think. You program where you want them to go on your phone, and they do it. But if you lose contact by radio they are still gone. Video tends to be kind of robotic looking. But the advances in the last few years are amazing. They sell them at Best Buy now, so you can see them and compare features.

Losing link with a modern (GPS equipped) multirotor usually means it'll return to home autonomously if it's set up properly, it shouldn't be lost.

The cheap ready made stuff is usually junk, but the name brands or building it yourself usually results in aircraft that are easy to fly and operate.

Soccerdad, RCGroups used to be a good forum for learning, but I haven't been on there much lately so I'm not sure.

Surprisingly, even in Texas, you cannot shoot a drone. In Houston, Texas, KHOU 11 News verified that drones can fly over your house anytime. However, filming with the intent to capture video of that person in a manner that can be construed as surveillance could be a violation of Texas law.
https://www.robertreeveslaw.com/blog/sh ... 20register.


But is it legal?

Yes: KHOU 11 News verified that drones can fly over your house anytime.

TEGNA regional drone trainer Jason Barnett says rules are different for commercial drones, like Drone 11, and those used by hobbyists for personal use.

But similarities exist when it comes to flying over someone’s private property.

“It appears that if you’re flying over someone or over someone’s yard, someone’s private property, and you’re shooting them with the intent to capture video of that person in a manner that can be construed as surveillance, then you could be in violation of Texas law,” Barnett said.

In other words, it comes down to the drone owner’s intent. They cannot disclose, display, or distribute images without consent.

And, unlike certain intruders who may enter your private property, you cannot shoot a drone.

https://web.archive.org/web/20180326004 ... /438289775