Can I purchase a net gun anywhere? (Because of a drone that's harrassing us)

I wish I still lived in Portland. I have a shotgun.

If it is getting 10 feet away carry a rock and throw it. Don’t expect to hit it but it will scare the perv that his 1500 dollar perv machine might get killed. The quad-copter drones are very fragile.

One you can buy a BB gun and shoot at it.
two and much cheaper buy a laser pointer and point it at the camera the idiot might get the idea then.
carry a couple of rocks with ya and chuck them at it.
If it comes on your property have a garden hose ready and blast it with that.
Get a sling shot and use the drone for target practice.

Get a bow with an arrow called a “fru-fru,” or something like that. It is a special arrow used to shoot birds.

When you throw a rock, or shoot your arrow, or even aim your garden hose, make sure you hit one of the rotors.

1. If you live in the country, a shotgun would do the trick. Load it with birdshot or rocksalt and fully open the muzzle for a wide spread pattern. Wait until the drone makes a low sweep and get it from the front so it stays in the line of fire. Destroy that fucker. Make sure it crashes on your property. Get pictures. Have witnesses. But if you live anywhere near people, it might be a felony to shoot off a firearm in public.

2. Video the raids on your phone, call the cops and the FAA and let them track the assholes down. If the drone has numbers or any identifiable marks on it, make sure you get them on video. Make sure the video shows the drone over your property, have your witnesses ready. They are probably kids. The fines will be enormous, the drone will be confiscated, and the kids might end up under felony charges, depending on what is seen on the videos.

Here is a link to a net gun web site, man those things are not cheap.
http://www.thenetgunstore.com/video/

A hose! Why didn’t I think of that?!

No, I don’t live in the country, so a gun is pretty much out of the question, unless it’s a BB. Even that’s iffy, though.

If they are kids, like I’ve wondered, they’re very good at flying it. But with video games, I guess that’s not very surprising. Next time it’s around, I’ll definitely try to have my phone out and ready before I’m even outside. The airport said they’re investigating, but I have no idea if they’ll be allowed to tell us who it belongs to.

@SQUEEKY2 Whoa. Okay, well, that’s out. lol

@SQUEEKY2: If they aim a laser at it, they’re likely to get in trouble themselves as lasers are not allowed to be pointed anywhere near planes. The OP said they live near the airport.

@Drasticdreamer Keep us posted on this.

Just what we need… people shooting guns at drones. What could go wrong?

I think what you really need is a Super Soaker

Maybe a 4-Pak so the kids can be involved!

Hey @DrasticDreamer check this out.
https://youtu.be/BJbLYyrnUsw

Another option might be a water balloon slingshot.

If the drone/s is/are harassing you in your own yard, then do you have any trees on the property? It shouldn’t be terribly difficult – or expensive – to set up some nets on the ground (or in the trees, for that matter) and simply deploy them (or release them with a quick-release mechanism to drop them from the trees) and capture the machine.

No projectiles, no illegal or problematic electronic transmissions, and the cost is as low as can be. Best of all, if it’s all on your property, then no one can say “Boo!” about it.

If the drones are flying so close as you say, then maybe even something as simple as a bullwhip (or even a well-tossed jump rope) could interfere with one or more of the rotors to destabilize its flight and bring it down.

For that matter, simply hanging ropes from trees makes the whole airspace more difficult to fly through (like the blimp-based anti-aircraft modes of the First World War). All you have to do is make the airspace difficult and dangerous to navigate.

EDIT TO ADD:
Combining this question with one from yesterday, we may have found an ideal use for dental floss. If you string the stuff overhead in your yard it might be impossible for the drone operator to see – or at least “to see in time” – and he might crash his own machine on a web that you can lure him into. A few thin strands tied tightly at each end could do the trick. It could even be a game for the kids to see if they can lure the drone to “fly this way…” and lead it into the trap.

Set it up at twilight when the drones aren’t flying. You don’t want them to see what you’re up to, but you want light to make the setup safely. Post pics of the destroyed flying machine!

Here is your net only it is Gill net. See if you can buy it in Portland at a fishing store. Hang it between two trees or a building and a pole.

Hanging anything from trees to buildings might be pretty difficult because of how stuff is laid out. There’s also a powerline near the tree in the backyard that runs out to the front street all along one side of the yard. Also, when they want to, they can go really, really high. Most of the time, that’s how they approach since it’s hard for us to see/hear them until they’re literally coming down on top of us. They’ve also only ever been outside when my niece is, and last time, it seemed like they had literally been waiting on the roof.

Slingshots, hoses, and mini bows are probably going to be my best bet at this point. Maybe a laser, too, if I am it when it’s really low. I’ll definitely try to get pictures for you guys, one way or another, and I’ll keep all of you updated.

@drasticdreamer Until now, I’d never heard of a “net gun.” I just searched for the phrase and learned that a net gun is non-lethal. Kudos to you; your go-to choice is something that won’t hurt anyone. I love how you think.

And, yes, you really need to take down this drone.

Yeah, I’d recommend against the bow or the firearms. Wouldn’t want to risk a reckless discharge/endangerment charge (or worse). Honestly, I’d say the simplest, and safest, bet would be a garden hose with a good nozzle.

Okay, now I’m even more concerned. My next door neighbor just came over to tell us that there are two drones, one the size of a bird, the other much bigger (which is the one I’m familiar with.) The smaller one was just following an even younger neighbor girl around, inches from her, and they also caught it hovering in front of their house window, looking in. I’m getting seriously pissed off.

The parents of the young girl need to call the police. The police need to be on alert that a perv is following young girls with drones. I know you have called, but more people need to report it.

@chyna Yes, I fully agree with that. I’ll do everything I can to convince them to call if they haven’t, and I don’t think it will take much. This is starting to occur on a regular basis. Our kitchen window currently has no curtain, and now I want to put something up. For all we know, they could also be trying to see if there’s anything worth stealing.

My neighbor also just informed me that she caught two grown adults in her yard (it’s an unusually large lot for a house) not that long ago, and they ran and hopped the fence to get out when she confronted them. The fence is right in front of my driveway – which is the back of my neighbor’s lot (sounds weird, I know, but I also live on a dead end cul-de-sac, so it’s hard to describe), and I also just heard stuff not that long ago in their yard at night (no lights, and very dark at night). I do not like this.

Forgot to mention: The adults were in the yard of the girl who keeps getting followed. How are police not doing something? I don’t understand why they keep saying it’s out of their hands. How can it be??

It wouldn’t be out of their hands if it was their daughter being followed.

@chyna Exactly, I don’t get it. It’s harassment. I also don’t see how it’s any different than a person standing outside of someone’s house and looking in. After being directed to the FAA, they told us that the cops, by this point, can definitely get involved, but they won’t. One reason drones should not have been allowed without concrete laws. >:(

Well, a good-sized fishing net will take care of a drone that’s “within inches” of a person. Then you can have the fun of breaking up the bits while the camera runs. Let them see you take it apart … slowly.

I wonder if there are any net-dropping, privacy-enforcement drones on the market. I’m sure if there are, they cost moocho moola. If only there was at least one good wealthy person with a drone.

@Brian1946 Yeah, buying a drone myself is out of the question probably – if they are expensive. If I could, I’d follow it back to the owners and go from there.

I have no idea why the police wouldn’t be acting on this complaint, however, is it possible legislation hasn’t kept up with technology? So while they’d like to do something, the legislation that exists doesn’t cover what this person is doing? If it was me, I’d be going to the cop shop to ask them why and to find out what they can do.

Thankfully, someone from the FAA just emailed us a .pdf telling us what to show the cops next time they say it’s out of their jurisdiction, and he also told us to give the cops his number to have them call him directly if they have more questions. Finally getting somewhere.

Don’t dismiss the arrow part until you see how a fru-fru is constructed. It has a large head and a large tuft of feathers behind so that is doesn’t go very far. When it hits a bird, it’s large head only stuns the bird enough to bring it down, not pierce the flesh. Check it out.
Here is another idea: Get a sling-shot (beanie flipper) and make some projectiles from 8” squares of cloth tied by string to machine nuts, like small parachutes. Roll the nuts, string, parachutes up into balls and shoot them at the drone. The parachutes will act like air brakes, slowing their speed and limiting their distance, and also aiding to foul the drone’s blades.

@kritiper

The term you’re looking for is “flu-flu”.

@kritiper I like those ideas a lot, so I’ll definitely still consider arrows.

@Darth_Algar Thanks. It’s been years since I heard about them but wasn’t sure I remembered the name exactly.

I wish I lived near you. I’d have that thing on the ground and intact so fast it would make the operators head spin. While not exactly legal means would be employed it would be completely safe and harmless.

How’s the battle for air superiority going?

Drone came around again at least one time, but I honestly haven’t been spending tons of time around the yard, so haven’t been able to do much about it yet. Apparently it’s still bothering my neighbor and attempting to look into their windows. >:(

You know, a “net gun”, as cool as it sounds, is totally unnecessary. All you need is something that will send “a string” into the rotors. Once the rotors are slowed, or even better, interfered with so that at least one of them stops rotating, then control of the craft is essentially lost and its lift and steering may be impaired to disable an escape – that is, if it doesn’t crash outright.

So something as silly-seeming as a magician’s “magic snake” (you know, the kind of spring-loaded toy that jumps from a closed container) could do the trick. That was why I had earlier suggested the idea of hanging strings from tree branches, or tying them in a horizontal attitude from one high point to another, or something like that. That’s a more passive mode of defense, because no one has to “do” anything once the defense is in place.