4 ms·
He fired at it with 3 shots of number 8 birdshot[1], which means he fires hundreds of pellets per shot[2] and those pellets spread out as they travel. All it t
by skwirl 11y ago
He fired at it with 3 shots of number 8 birdshot[1], which means he fires hundreds of pellets per shot[2] and those pellets spread out as they travel. All it takes is one pellet to bring down the drone. It would have been trivial.
[1] http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/07/kentucky-man-shoots-down-drone-hovering-over-his-backyard/ http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/07/kentucky-man-shoo...
[2] http://www.gunnersden.com/index.htm.shotgun-shells.html http://www.gunnersden.com/index.htm.shotgun-shells.html
- pjungwir 11y agoI wouldn't call it trivial. Have you tried it? I'm not sure about kill-with-one-pellet either. 40 yards (120 feet) is about the effective range for birdshot. Also at 40 yards your spread is about 40 inches. It's not a flamethrower. :-)
- Nadya 11y agoI'm sick of seeing "effective range" used to claim "absurd!" Yes. If you want your pellets to go inside of a goose and harm it, then your birdshot is only effective at about 40 yards. Further than that, you won't be bringing a bird down, because the birdshot isn't hitting with enough force anymore. But you aren't shooting a bird. You're shooting a drone. Some birdshot hitting and damaging the propeller is enough to bring the drone down. It doesn't need to penetrate and because it doesn't need to penetrate, it doesn't need to be within effective range.