1/10/14 10:19 AM

i'd heard about these last summer. they're ridiculous, just like using a jet fighter's heads-up display: put the red dot on your target and the computer fires when everything is aligned.

any man that uses this for hunting should face immediate castration and revocation of their man-card.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfpZjTOyiFA

https://medium.com/war-is-boring/4d355426cb92

1/10/14 10:28 AM

But does it work on a moving target?

[edit - That second link talks about this system working on a moving target. But how does one go about tagging a moving target? That still requires a certain level of skill.]

1/10/14 2:27 PM

Sure, it still requires some skill to keep the laser dot on the moving target. But it eliminates the need for the shooter to calculate the lead, as well as the effect of wind and how far the bullet will fall below a straight line because of the distance.

If you're going to use one of these for hunting, just put the guns away and go to the supermarket like the rest of us.

1/10/14 3:22 PM

My nephew is busting his butt trying to qualify as a sniper in the USMC at this very moment (80% washout rate), why doesn't he have one of these :)?

1/10/14 5:57 PM

Come on, it's just a tool.

It still takes steady hands and sharp eyes to get the kill!

1/10/14 6:06 PM

Does it come with face recognition like my point and shoot camera?

Sandiway

1/10/14 6:21 PM

Agree with a revoked man card.

I will say that I would rather see this than have to track a wounded and suffering deer. Remember folks, I am a hunting guide every fall and see more than my fair share of poor shooting by my customers. Grrrrrr is a very nice way of putting it.

BTW that rifle may look scary but I hunt with that style of rifle and have for years. I don't have an automatic aiming system of course.

Physics is cool, gravity is a constant and with the ballistic coefficient of the bullet and muzzle velocity you figure any hold over or lead, if you have good atmospherics you can figure that amazingly well too. All said if the rifle is of good quality (sub MOA is a solid starting point) then you can hit some amazingly long shots.

All my shooting is sub 440 yards/ 400 meters so I use much simpler ways of figuring my shots than a laser. Though I will use one for insurance. Humans are horrid at instinctfully long distances.

1/10/14 8:23 PM

Weird, but so is voice recognition and a bunch of other stuff that is probably useful but creepy.

Hey, are you Wallymann on another board? With pics of a very sweet Ovalmaster?

1/10/14 9:01 PM

quote:

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I will say that I would rather see this than have to track a wounded and suffering deer. Remember folks, I am a hunting guide every fall and see more than my fair share of poor shooting by my customers. Grrrrrr is a very nice way of putting it......

All my shooting is sub 440 yards/ 400 meters so I use much simpler ways of figuring my shots than a laser. Though I will use one for insurance. Humans are horrid at instinctfully long distances.

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1/10/14 10:29 PM

I think that this kind of technology is deliberately kept out of the news stream, until and unless they want play the fear card, much like (just like) with the NSA spying stuff.

Ten years ago, I interviewed for an ME design position at a hidden-away bay-area company that made all kinds of remote-control weaponry, and it was a frightening visit.

Not just the remote tripod camera/gun concealed out in some desert, but fortune-500 Co's and embassies, etc. who's building's "light fixtures" actually conceal heavy remote-op camera/weaponry that who-knows what mercenary hire is in control of.

So that riot activity won't be tolerated, but who knows when and where something like this might come into immediate use.

And that's just some of the stuff that I was shown on a first visit, as a mere job-seeker. I was not given a copy of the Company's brochure, which is probably not available to the public.

1/11/14 12:33 AM

>>>Hey, are you Wallymann on another board? With pics of a very sweet Ovalmaster?

1/13/14 5:44 AM

There are hunters who kill for food.
Then there are those who kill to help conserve endagered species...
Wonder if this 'pro-conservation' hunter'll be using the weapon above?
; p
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-25702214

1/13/14 7:58 AM

Remember computer, radar and laser guided weapons are nothing new. Artillery, ground to air and air to air rockets and aircraft dropped bombs have had electronic guidance for many years. This is just adding that technology to an individual's weapon.

1/13/14 11:55 AM

I guess they figure that the $350.000 paid for the permit will benefit the species more than keeping an old, non-breeding rhino alive. It makes sense to me, but I'm not at all surprised that the anti-hunting (a.k.a. "animal welfare") groups have their panties in a wad over it.

Last edited by Brian Nystrom on 1/14/14 6:23 AM; edited 1 time in total

1/13/14 12:35 PM

The idea of auctioning off the right to shoot a specimen of an endangered species seems morally reprehensible, but the facts of this situation seem to mitigate in favor of the auction. The questions I have all have to do with how do they make sure that the right rhino is hunted and shot?

1/13/14 7:39 PM

It always occasions me cynical amusement when I hear hunters describe themselves as "sporting shooters", given the one-sided nature of the encounter. My suggestion is: set aside a tract of wilderness somewhere and they can go in and hunt each other. That'd be sporting...

1/14/14 6:36 AM

The animal has been identified, its location is known, the hunter will be transported to the animal's location and will be accompanied by multiple guides for protection and logistical support. The equipment necessary to process and transport the carcass will be there. There's nothing "sporting" about it; it's really just a carefully choreographed execution of the selected animal. Of course the shooter knows this and that's what he's paying for. The only real question is the exact location and conditions at the time it all takes place. The fact that this is a RHINO does add an element of danger, but the end result is a foregone conclusion.

The $350,000 he paid will go a long way towards helping the rest of the herd and whatever edible parts there are will feed local people, so I guess the satisfaction must come from that. As a hunter, I just can't see any sense of accomplishment or pride in the actual "hunt" and I'd be somewhat ashamed to display the animal as a trophy. Perhaps he'll donate it to a natural history museum or something, though I doubt it.

1/14/14 8:11 AM

Several African countries discovered that banning sports hunting had a devastatingly negative effect on their game populations. Since the animals had no economic value (hunting license fees, guide services, lodging, etc.) they were considered crop raiding pests or killed for their black market value (Rino horn, etc.) and there was no money to cover game law and anti-poaching enforcement.

1/14/14 9:33 AM

It's not the banning of hunting that hurts the game population, it's the farming of game habitate!

Issuing hunting license to fund anti-poaching enforcement is a clever idea. Though I wonder if that simply raises the price of the proached animal parts.

1/14/14 12:21 PM

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Though I wonder if that simply raises the price of the proached animal parts.

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1/17/14 7:49 AM

But considering himself a "hunter" (in this specific scenario) is pushing it imo,

With bs such as this - he's naturally at risk of attracting attention and then, threats from lunatics, duh...

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"I'm a hunter. I want to experience a black rhino. I want to be intimately involved with a black rhino," Knowlton said.

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1/17/14 9:44 AM

well, grab yourself a k-bar and see what kind of hunter you really are.

1/17/14 10:32 AM

Some people find it "fun" riidng their bike in a circular route for hours just to arrive at where they started.

Other people have "fun" hiking in the woods for hours to have a glimps of some dubious view that might be obscured by cloud 90% of the time.

Still others prefer to pay big money to walk around the thick woods with a rifle on their shoulder in hope of shooting a (typically standing) animal, with the help of computerized gun sight that got the wind/temperature/distance calculation already taken care of.

It's all legal. It provides entertainment for some people. I don't see anything wrong with it. It even provides paying work for hunting guide like Erik who probably wants to go out and walk in the woods anyway.

Sporting? Well, that's a very low bar... (though higher than shuffleboard, I guess)

1/17/14 12:15 PM

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Still others prefer to pay big money to walk around the thick woods with a rifle on their shoulder in hope of shooting a (typically standing) animal, with the help of computerized gun sight that got the wind/temperature/distance calculation already taken care of.

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1/17/14 7:44 PM

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Using lights for night hunting (aka jack lighting) is also forbidden most places except for some specific predator/varmint hunting.

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