New gun related buy....sort of.

[Orchidman]

Bought a DJI Mini 4K drone.
Why is it gun related?
Its main use will be to spot targets when sighting in rifles. The drone will be parked up next to targets at 200-300 and 400m to enable us to spot impacts and make adjustments by simply turning the head and looking at the screen without getting off the rifle.
It was cheaper than buying a dedicated spotting scope and can be used for other tasks..........
Will post pics up when we test it at the range..
Have made a take off and landing pad with materials I had on hand and just about to finish a stand to sit the drone on near to the targets..
Flight time is only 30+ minutes but by placing the drone near the targets on a pad, it should last a lot longer.

Heres a pic of the drone in its case.....

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And a pic of the 2 stands I made.

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Both stands were made from old camera tripods I had laying around....the grass at the range is knee high and they are adjustable for height to get them above the grass. The landing pad has a built in level which was only $3.00 and the only thing I had to buy. the 'viewing' pad just needs a little more work at this stage....

[shotgunshooter3]

I'm professionally obligated to hate drones, but regardless that's a nice grab!

The capability really is pretty fascinating. My local Search and Rescue team uses drones to canvas an area, watch the tape for potential subjects, and then sends teams to those areas. Saves HOURS of time and effort. Very cool.

[Wambli Ska]

What a cool idea!!! :imgoingdroneshopping:

[Elk Creek]

Cool!! Just hope your shooting partner never takes a stab at it….

[Bigslug]

Cool!! Just hope your shooting partner never takes a stab at it….

I'm thinking that drone skeet would be obligatory.

Of course, in the same vein that my students have trouble finding the bullseye at the center of the cardboard, but seem UNERRINGLY able to shred the wooden frame the cardboard is stapled to, it is probably inevitable that your drone is similarly doomed.

[Elk Creek]

Funny you should say “drone skeet.” When we first moved to our current house there was a drone that would fly behind the house stopping at each house. That ended when I took a poke at it with a 12 ga….

[Wambli Ska]

Any particular reason you bought THIS drone? I’ve looked at them before and the brands/features and price ranges are overwhelming!!!!

[Orchidman]

I showed the specs to a guy I know who was in the top echelons of IBM and writes programs for NASA....he said that for the price point it would be perfect for what I want.
I did put a target out when doing the first few test flights and with the drone parked 4m to one side the pics were very clear...and by zooming in on my mobile, I could place it 10m away and still see impact holes from my 17HMR. ( Using 'splash' targets)
The 4 k resolution is perfect.
Dont need a drone that can fly for miles or stay aloft for a long time...

As far as it getting shot......only a few select people will have access to it....and it will be on the basis that 'If you shoot it, you own it'.

All rifles will be zeroed at 100m using normal methods btw.....the drone will only come into use if you can prove consistent hits on target at 100 before you progress to longer shots...
Just ordered a second battery and a stand alone charger for it which can also charge my ph and other stuff...

[Freezer]

That is a brilliant idea! You are a real fart smeller....I mean real smart feller!

[Wambli Ska]

I showed the specs to a guy I know who was in the top echelons of IBM and writes programs for NASA....he said that for the price point it would be perfect for what I want.
I did put a target out when doing the first few test flights and with the drone parked 4m to one side the pics were very clear...and by zooming in on my mobile, I could place it 10m away and still see impact holes from my 17HMR. ( Using 'splash' targets)
The 4 k resolution is perfect.
Dont need a drone that can fly for miles or stay aloft for a long time...

As far as it getting shot......only a few select people will have access to it....and it will be on the basis that 'If you shoot it, you own it'.

All rifles will be zeroed at 100m using normal methods btw.....the drone will only come into use if you can prove consistent hits on target at 100 before you progress to longer shots...
Just ordered a second battery and a stand alone charger for it which can also charge my ph and other stuff...

Cool thank you! I now have that on my Amazon “wish list”. Let’s see how much the wife loves me.

[Orchidman]

Just a word of caution......when you first fly it, dont get cocky and try to fly it into a house through a window....The drone has an automatic feature which makes it climb if it gets too close to the ground........and when it passes over the window sill it will automatically go into max thrust cos it thinks its crashing.
Dont ask me how I found out.

...........Luckily it comes with spare propellor sets which are easy to change

[Wambli Ska]

[Jayhawker]

Well thought out!

[Wambli Ska]

Just a word of caution......when you first fly it, dont get cocky and try to fly it into a house through a window....The drone has an automatic feature which makes it climb if it gets too close to the ground........and when it passes over the window sill it will automatically go into max thrust cos it thinks its crashing.
Dont ask me how I found out.

...........Luckily it comes with spare propellor sets which are easy to change

Some day we need to get drunk together

[Orchidman]

Thanks for the comments guys.
I figured that my redneckery should join the electronic age.....I looked at all the alternatives like buying a dedicated camera for spotting targets, getting a very high powered spotting scope or telescope, but this seemed to be the easy fix. Of course, the drone will also come in handy to spot deer on the farms I cull and make culling more effective. ( By effective it means I dont have to manually cover the ground)
And it could come in handy to spot downed deer if they dont drop on the spot DRT.

Will post up a 'range report' when I get time to head to the range. Am working 7 days a week at the moment so it could be a couple of weeks....

[jbp-ohio]

There are companies I've seen advertising using drones with IR cameras to find wounded deer. I'm sure each state or country has many laws to wade through.

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[Orchidman]

Update on progress.....
Did some research and found out that there may be a problem with overheating if the drone is 'live' but not flying...apparently they do get hot when the battery is discharging and the air movement as it flies keeps the temp down...
So, I adapted the flat platform to this.

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Had to spend more money and buy a battery fan for extra cooling......cost me $10 for a rechargeable fan....
Hopefully will get out tomorrow if the crappy weather changes and give it a test but the forecast doesnt look good so far..

Total outlay so far is $13.00 for the landing pad and the 'observation platform'.

[Chiro1989]

Redneckery!

[Orchidman]

Redneckery!

Yep. the only 'AI' involved is 'Alecs Ingenuity'.....

[Wambli Ska]

Pretty darn inventive!