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Camera Gun Would Let Hunters Get Killer Wildlife Shots

Zothecula writes "Not too long ago, brothers Randy and Michael Gregg were out on a hunting expedition. It was the day after deer season had ended, yet they spied a handsome animal bedded down in the snow. Not wanting to pass up an opportunity, they silently crept up on their quarry, raised their rifle, lined the deer up in the crosshairs ... and then took a picture through the scope with a mobile phone. That photo provided all the proof they needed that they had successfully stalked their prey, without bringing home an illegally-obtained carcass. It also inspired them to create the Kill Shot — a replica hunting rifle, that takes pictures instead of firing bullets." The Kill Shot isn't just for hunters. Think of how great this would be at sporting events or family reunions!

195 of 263 comments (clear)

  1. Too bad these are so new. by grub · · Score: 5, Funny


    It's too bad they didn't have these in 1963. It would have been nice to have a close-up of Kennedy's awesome hair.

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    1. Re:Too bad these are so new. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      Yeah. And I suppose we'd have 20 photos, then? All from different angles?

    2. Re:Too bad these are so new. by Dyinobal · · Score: 5, Insightful

      From multiple angles too...

      Seriously even I think this is tasteless and only going to get more so before we are done.

    3. Re:Too bad these are so new. by ViperOrel · · Score: 4, Funny

      I want a SLR shaped gun to go with my gun shaped SLR... Soon as someone says to take the shot, spectacular confusion ensues :D

    4. Re:Too bad these are so new. by Marxist+Hacker+42 · · Score: 1

      Maybe not in 1963- but I could have sworn I saw one on a TV show back in the early 1990s. Northern Exposure had an entire episode with a former hunter who to please his environmentally conscious girlfriend, had put a sportsman stock on a 35 mm camera to go bear hunting with.

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    5. Re:Too bad these are so new. by Jeremiah+Cornelius · · Score: 1, Funny

      Hell, since 2003, you can use 'em to get a close up of that SWAT team in your yard...

      --
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      Never been known to fail..."
    6. Re:Too bad these are so new. by squidflakes · · Score: 3, Informative

      Yep, those have been readily available for quite a while. Wild-life photographers like the stock holders because they make working with a very long lens a much simpler affair. They also help with providing a more stable base so you get less blur and thus can use a slower shutter speed at very long focal distances.

    7. Re:Too bad these are so new. by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

      And in order to be merciful towards the shooters and save their conscience, four of them would be handed out expired films.

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
    8. Re:Too bad these are so new. by ColdWetDog · · Score: 1

      Me, I like tripods. Never have seen anyone put a long lens on a gun stock. Unless you had a smallish lens, the gunstock would be overwhelmed by the lens. If you've got a smallish lens, then I'd just handhold it like I'm supposed to.

      If you were going to put the gunstock on a bipod or rest, then you might as well use a tripod.

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    9. Re:Too bad these are so new. by polymeris · · Score: 1

      The Zenit/Tair Photosniper was relatively common in the 90s around here. Mostly because people like its looks, I think.

    10. Re:Too bad these are so new. by Deadstick · · Score: 2

      Gunstock mounts are quite common. They used to look like a real rifle stock, carved from wood with a tripod fitting at the front to hold the camera, and a cable release fitting connected to the trigger. They form a useful compromise between the freedom of action of a camera alone, and the steadiness of a tripod.

      I had one of those in the Sixties; since then they've been built to look much less like a gun, for obvious reasons. Lots of designs to be found on Google.

      But who needs this gadget to get a picture of an animal with crosshairs on him? If you can afford an expensive DSLR, can't you afford Photoshop?

    11. Re:Too bad these are so new. by theshowmecanuck · · Score: 1

      No. Just one from the grassy knoll.

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    12. Re:Too bad these are so new. by flyneye · · Score: 1

      Hollywood shouldn't encourage the enviro-mentally challenged to feed the bears. Activists give them diarrhea...

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    13. Re:Too bad these are so new. by flyneye · · Score: 1

      You could do it, but you'd have to use fast film or a digital action setting on a camera that doesn't have to think for 3 seconds before deciding to trigger a shutter.
      I swear cheap cameras run on Windows95 w/ 16 mb ram...
      I'm with you though a long lens on a tripod w/ a cable release.

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    14. Re:Too bad these are so new. by squidflakes · · Score: 1

      Something like the Canon 500mm f4 or the Sigma 200-500mm f2.8 almost require some sort of something if you're not going to use a tripod.

      Personally, I agree with you and would rather have the tripod over the stock.

    15. Re:Too bad these are so new. by mrstrano · · Score: 1

      Something like that already exists (check the GunStock Shooter). If you use it in a war zone though there might be collateral damage.

    16. Re:Too bad these are so new. by More_Cowbell · · Score: 1

      Thanks, this is what I came here to see.

      --
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    17. Re:Too bad these are so new. by Digital+Vomit · · Score: 1

      We would have had to have caught JFK's killer in order to get that photo, though.

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    18. Re:Too bad these are so new. by ArsenneLupin · · Score: 1

      Something like that already exists (check the GunStock Shooter). If you use it in a war zone though there might be collateral damage.

      Actually, this "GunStock" Shooter looks nothing like a gun. It's shoulder mounted... and that's about where the similarities stop... It's more like a steadycam for still cameras...

    19. Re:Too bad these are so new. by Have+Brain+Will+Rent · · Score: 1

      They did have these in 1963 and before - I remember an old Danger Man (Secret Agent in the US) episode where one of these was shown and described.

      --
      The tyrant will always find a pretext for his tyranny - Aesop
  2. Problematic by DakotaSmith · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I think a replica rifle is liable to cause some consternation at your average sporting event.

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    1. Re:Problematic by sunderland56 · · Score: 4, Informative

      I think a replica rifle is liable to cause some consternation at your average sporting event.

      Or your average airport - don't take one on holidays with you.

    2. Re:Problematic by durrr · · Score: 4, Funny

      Just wait till you hear about someone shooting cops with this.

    3. Re:Problematic by PlatyPaul · · Score: 1

      At least they point out the potential use for training hunters (in TFA). Otherwise, why bother with this instead of an SLR?

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    4. Re:Problematic by sunderland56 · · Score: 4, Funny

      Just wait until your wife sees you taking a picture of your mother-in-law with one.

    5. Re:Problematic by bandy · · Score: 1

      I used a rifle stock mount for a camera at a baseball game and no-one in the stadium raised a fuss.

      --
      "You might as well get your son a ticket to hell as give him a five string banjo." -unknown minister
    6. Re:Problematic by Hoi+Polloi · · Score: 1

      Or if you are using it out of hunting season.

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    7. Re:Problematic by operagost · · Score: 5, Insightful

      +5, Clever. What's more dangerous to police: firearms, or cameras?

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    8. Re:Problematic by Beardo+the+Bearded · · Score: 1

      Well yeah, it was a baseball game. Everyone was either drunk or not there.

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    9. Re:Problematic by roc97007 · · Score: 1

      ...but right at home at family reunions.

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      Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
    10. Re:Problematic by gral · · Score: 1

      Or to a college or high school near you.

      --
      Scott Carr
    11. Re:Problematic by godel_56 · · Score: 1

      ...but right at home at family reunions.

      At some family reunions you might be better off with a real rifle.

    12. Re:Problematic by MacGyver2210 · · Score: 1

      You're absolutely right. Clearly the best option is to make all of the huntable wildlife in the area wear laser tag vests and have everyone use photon rifles.

      --
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    13. Re:Problematic by roc97007 · · Score: 1

      Ah, so you know my family.

      --
      Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
    14. Re:Problematic by DarkOx · · Score: 1

      Considering the usual response by police whenever anyone photographs them, I suspect we will hardly notice.

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    15. Re:Problematic by interkin3tic · · Score: 2

      Certainly would hate to mix the two up. After a few beers. "Hold on guys, let me take a picture!"

    16. Re:Problematic by AK+Marc · · Score: 1

      At least in my family, my wife also hates my mother in law.

    17. Re:Problematic by swillden · · Score: 1

      I think a replica rifle is liable to cause some consternation at your average sporting event.

      Or your average airport - don't take one on holidays with you.

      It's not only legal, but common, to take firearms on plane trips. They must be in checked baggage, must be unloaded and in a locked case -- with a "non-TSA" lock, so TSA personnel can't open them -- and must be "declared" during check-in. The counter agent just gives you an orange tag which you sign and date, certifying that the gun is unloaded and in a locked container. Some of the agents also check the unloaded state of the gun themselves. Where the orange tag goes and what happens after that varies widely across airports.

      In the case of this, you wouldn't likely be allowed to carry it on, but you could easily check it. It might be a good idea to declare it as a "non-firearm", just so the luggage screeners don't see what appears to be an undeclared rifle when they X-ray your bag.

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    18. Re:Problematic by roc97007 · · Score: 1

      I'll let you in on a little secret: I think every marriage has at least one mother that's a nightmare. In our relationship, it's mine. My wife's mother is a gem and has offered tremendous support, especially when the child was young and I was just learning the massive responsibility of raising one o' them there critters. My mom on the other hand didn't even deign to *see* her only granddaughter her first two years. Her reason? It was too far to drive. Ok, I understand, I'll buy her a plane ticket. But no, she couldn't stand being without a cigarette for the 47 minute flight.

      --
      Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
  3. Not new by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    People have been making DIY versions of cameras mounted on rifle stocks for decades. I had an 8th grade teacher that gave up bullets in favor of film.

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    1. Re:Not new by durrr · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Why not combine the best of both worlds? A rifle that first shoots a bullet and a photograph a split second later.

    2. Re:Not new by lessthan · · Score: 1

      Plus, you can buy a good pair of binoculars with a camera embedded in them, so why would you want a set that looks like a rifle?

      --
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    3. Re:Not new by Verdatum · · Score: 2

      It's easier to steady the shot with a rifle mount; for taking shots with a high zoom telephoto lens.

    4. Re:Not new by countach74 · · Score: 1

      Probably better to reverse the order on that. :)

    5. Re:Not new by cynyr · · Score: 1

      It's called a monopod... same idea but you get to set it on the ground to steady your "shot"

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    6. Re:Not new by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I can't tell if this is a joke, but a gun that also takes a photograph just before it fires could have very serious uses. If all police, for example, were required to use such a gun, we could have a much better idea whether any shooting they're involved in was justified.

    7. Re:Not new by Verdatum · · Score: 1

      A monopod is not a rifle mount. A rifle mount allows you to be more mobile; taking pictures while moving about more easily.

    8. Re:Not new by swillden · · Score: 1

      Nah, I would prefer to see the impact of the round rather than the before shot.

      You'd see the sky/trees. Recoil.

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    9. Re:Not new by swillden · · Score: 1

      That depends on caliber and how long after the shot the photo is taken.

      Even a lightweight .22 rifle has enough recoil to take your scope off the target. A long-barreled .223 that's well-buffered (think AR-15/M-16) doesn't jump too much, but any more powerful caliber, or any shorter barrel will jump regardless. Yeah, the camera could wait long enough for the shooter to get back on target. Maybe the best way would be to have a separate shutter release button so the shooter could take photos at any point.

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  4. useful everywhere by dittbub · · Score: 1

    Are these allowed in stripper bars?

  5. And just think... by NecroPuppy · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Police will be called out to those events because "there's someone with a gun!" Family reunion becomes a family bloodbath.

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    1. Re:And just think... by gknoy · · Score: 1

      Exactly. While it's moderately cool to think, "oh hey rifle for pictures", someone didn't think through the ramifications.

      Why does it need a barrel? Attach the optics to the scope, and have just the stock and the scope. That's a lot more clear that it's not a hunting weapon.

    2. Re:And just think... by demonlapin · · Score: 1

      You know, some family reunions are pretty cool about guns.

    3. Re:And just think... by Kanasta · · Score: 1

      Police are already frequently called out because "there's someone with a camera!" in public "acting suspicious" (taking photos). Do we really want to change those cameras to look like a rifle now?

    4. Re:And just think... by Elbereth · · Score: 1

      Sadly, this is true. I've never had to explain myself to a cop, but I have been stopped by paranoid people, who are unnerved by the thought of some nerd with a digital camera wandering around town.

  6. Just beware of the potential misunderstandings by Resol · · Score: 4, Interesting

    My aunt and uncle are avid bird watchers in Canada. My uncle built up a spotting scope on a rifle stock that he uses up there all the time. He brought it down here to SoCal and was out at the edge of a lagoon looking at shore birds when all of a sudden a number of police cars showed up, lights flashing, and the officers jumped out and drew their service pistols. Seems a number of folks had reported a lunatic (I'm not dismissing that assessment) with a gun out in the lagoon. Luckily they didn't shoot my uncle, but instead had a bit of a chuckle about the whole thing with the ultimate suggestion that his selection of bird watching paraphernalia could be better ;-) Relatives!

    1. Re:Just beware of the potential misunderstandings by gman003 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Sounds more like evidence that the US needs to sit down, shut up, and take a chill pill. Just mellow out.

    2. Re:Just beware of the potential misunderstandings by operagost · · Score: 1

      It's California. They need illegal narcotics to to do that.

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    3. Re:Just beware of the potential misunderstandings by sjames · · Score: 1

      If only I had mod points! YES. We are well past needing to chill out and stop responding to every sneeze with a paramilitary assault unit.

      Note to cops everywhere. NO, it doesn't make you look badass, it make you look like armed and dangerous lunatics who need to grow up.

    4. Re:Just beware of the potential misunderstandings by Baloroth · · Score: 1

      Sounds more like evidence that the US needs to sit down, shut up, and take a chill pill. Just mellow out.

      His story was about California, not the US.

      I'm only partly joking: California is insanely paranoid about guns, far more than most parts of the US.

      --
      "None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license." --John Milton
    5. Re:Just beware of the potential misunderstandings by tomhath · · Score: 2

      Where I live (rural Appalachia) it's quite common to see a person walking around with a gun whether it's hunting season or not (although offhand I can't think of any time during the year when it isn't open season on something, woodchucks if nothing else). Many times I've stopped to chat with the person even if I don't know him.

    6. Re:Just beware of the potential misunderstandings by myth24601 · · Score: 1

      I think it may be bad everywhere. A college campus in NC got locked down because someone saw a man walking with an umbrella slung over his shoulder and reported a "man with an assault rifle" to police. Buildings evacuated and dozens of officers from who knows where went on a man hunt.

      http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/10387437/

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    7. Re:Just beware of the potential misunderstandings by bandy · · Score: 1

      If only I had mod points! YES. We are well past needing to chill out and stop responding to every sneeze with a paramilitary assault unit.

      What, you want the paramilitary assault units that you can find in every police department of size to just sit around and twiddle their thumbs, waiting for the real emergency?

      --
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    8. Re:Just beware of the potential misunderstandings by Nadaka · · Score: 1

      It's California. They need illegal narcotics to to do that.

      Its California, they need a prescription for that.

    9. Re:Just beware of the potential misunderstandings by Resol · · Score: 1

      Nope, said he wasn't doing anything wrong at all, but ... that people we calling in about a crazy gunman, which they have to respond to which makes more work for them plus in general raises their heart rates (after all they don't know that he's not a lunatic at the time) which could result in something unfortunate happening. (Like if they yelled at him and he ended up turning the spotting scope towards them to get a look at them more closely ... could be considered an act of aggression)

    10. Re:Just beware of the potential misunderstandings by laughing+rabbit · · Score: 1

      Rabbit season!

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    11. Re:Just beware of the potential misunderstandings by tftp · · Score: 1

      What, you want the paramilitary assault units that you can find in every police department of size to just sit around and twiddle their thumbs, waiting for the real emergency?

      :-)

      You are right, it would be stupid and a waste of taxpayer dollars. That's exactly why when ER doctors have a lull they grab hatchets, go out and hack someone. Also glaziers without orders go around and throw bricks into windows. Everyone must be 100% employed, no matter what!

    12. Re:Just beware of the potential misunderstandings by ILongForDarkness · · Score: 1

      Aaah Aaaah aaah. Occasionally it is duck season I do recall too ;-)

    13. Re:Just beware of the potential misunderstandings by jamesh · · Score: 1

      Sounds more like evidence that the US needs to sit down, shut up, and take a chill pill. Just mellow out.

      Agreed. If you see someone with a gun you should wait until people started dropping before calling the cops. This pre-crime nonsense has to stop.

    14. Re:Just beware of the potential misunderstandings by Ihmhi · · Score: 1

      What would honestly help - painting the stock bright, neon green or orange. They'll either think it's a toy or not a gun.

      The whole 'Toy guns are bright colors thing" has only conditioned us to not feel threatened when we see a brightly-colored gun. I'm sure you could down a few people with a Hot Pink shotgun before anyone noticed.

      "Oh wow, NERF has gotten fucking hardcore!"

    15. Re:Just beware of the potential misunderstandings by RobertinXinyang · · Score: 1

      Actually, I am in P.R. China; so, if I saw someone running around with what looked like a rifle, and he wasn't obviously police or security, I would assume that he was playing airsoft.

  7. Bad Idea by DaMattster · · Score: 2

    Given the current political climate, this is a good idea gone incredibly wrong. If you come too close to law enforcement with something resembling a rifle, be prepared to be in a very sticky situation. These days even "toy" guns can get you in a ton of trouble. Cops' trigger fingers seem even itchier than ever.

    1. Re:Bad Idea by mvar · · Score: 2

      - Excuse me Officer, can i take a photo of you in your car?

      /smiles while preparing the rifle

    2. Re:Bad Idea by KiloByte · · Score: 2

      I understand cops trying to ban cameras, but then you can claim it's a gun. There's a damn explicit line in the Constitution about them.

      Oh wait, does that damn piece of paper still count?

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    3. Re:Bad Idea by Scarred+Intellect · · Score: 1

      How do you get such a slanted view of things? I have no problem walking up to an officer with a rifle. No one I know would be hesitant to walk up to a police officer bearing a firearm. Rifles aren't dangerous when walking up to a police officer, they have time to react, so they aren't terribly worried. I have a loaded gun in my truck at all times and both times I've been pulled over I told the officer I had a loaded gun in the truck (concealed) and neither of them cared much or asked to see it. The only way your statement could be generally true is if you walked up to law enforcement with a rifle in a threatening manner, which is just plain dumb.

      Maybe in a big city your claim that "If you come too close to law enforcement with something resembling a rifle, be prepared to be in a very sticky situation," might have some validity, but people in cities are uptight panicky assholes.

      Yes, I know more than half our country's population lives in cities...that explains our political situation as well.

  8. Catch and Release Hunting by jslarve · · Score: 1

    That's pretty neat, really.

  9. Russians did it before these guys by lemur3 · · Score: 3, Informative

    http://www.cryptomuseum.com/covert/sniper/index.htm

    Hooray for the russians!!

    The Photo Sniper was initially made for the Russian market. The text on the camera body, on the pistol grip and on the container was in Russian. ÐÐzÐÐz ÐÐÐÐ(TM)ÐYÐÐ means FOTO SNAIPER (Photo Sniper). The container was usually painted in the typical Russian grey hammerite colour.

    1. Re:Russians did it before these guys by billlava · · Score: 2

      The Photo Sniper was initially made for the Russian market. The text on the camera body, on the pistol grip and on the container was in Russian. ÐÐzÐÐz ÐÐÐÐ(TM)ÐYÐÐ means FOTO SNAIPER (Photo Sniper). The container was usually painted in the typical Russian grey hammerite colour.

      Does Slashdot STILL not properly render unicode text? I recognize those characters as being Russian characters in UTF-8 being rendered as Latin-1. Shame on Slashdot! ?

    2. Re:Russians did it before these guys by cayenne8 · · Score: 1

      Does Slashdot STILL not properly render unicode text? I recognize those characters as being Russian characters in UTF-8 being rendered as Latin-1. Shame on Slashdot! ?

      Well, to be fair, this is Slashdot, a US based and US centric website.

      Not a lot of call for needing to print Russian or other foreign characters around here....

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    3. Re:Russians did it before these guys by gknoy · · Score: 2

      Yes, but on a site that claims to be for nerds, you'd think that the pursuit of technical excellence in rendering text might be something people cared about -- after all, not all nerds are US nerds.

    4. Re:Russians did it before these guys by retchdog · · Score: 1

      well, slashdot doesn't like basic typographic symbols either. at least i can use html entities for endash and emdash, but it will strip out a proper ellipsis, even as an html entity.

      --
      "They were pure niggers." – Noam Chomsky
    5. Re:Russians did it before these guys by RDW · · Score: 1

      The Photosniper was my first thought. Though it's often thought of as a 'KGB' camera, they were made mostly for the civilian market, particularly (like the modern equivalent) for wildlife shots. They were exported to western Europe, and I remember seeing them in the catalogues of mainstream UK camera dealers in the 80s. Apparently they're surprisingly practical, despite the heavy lens and Zenit SLR:

      http://userpage.fu-berlin.de/tobiko/fotosniper.html

      Camera geeks might want to check out the very first version, which was designed in the 30s, came with a really nice wooden rifle stock, and used a FED I (Soviet copy of the Leica) as its camera:

      http://tomtiger.home.xs4all.nl/fs-2/fs-2.html

      Apparently Khrushchev was a fan, which may have been one reason why the factory introduced a mass-market SLR version in the 60s.

    6. Re:Russians did it before these guys by legont · · Score: 1

      And here is a video of this evil KGB weapon in action http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tBNb_k4fEE

    7. Re:Russians did it before these guys by tftp · · Score: 1

      Slashdot was never about technical excellency. It was a hack from day zero. Today there are tons of CMSes that are infinitely better, that support UNICODE, images - and at the same time provide adequate controls against messing the page up. Basically any blog today is better than Slashdot in purely technical terms. Slashdot is known and popular simply because it is a good site for geeks of all colors.

    8. Re:Russians did it before these guys by galanom · · Score: 1

      Slashdot, [...] US centric website.

      Yes. One Nation, One Language, One culture.

      Can you please provide me a citation? I didn't see such a warning during sign-up. I am totally un-interested in whatever American, except for technology.
      Certainly, it's language is English, but English is also used by almost all the world of IT.

  10. Re:'Kill shot' cameras by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Didn't even read the summary?

  11. Specific Solution for Specific Situation by wandazulu · · Score: 1

    I'll bet that the brothers did not consider this for anything other than for the game hunter, where it would not be out of place. Any other situation and I'd guess they'd say "uh, why not just use a regular camera?"

  12. Just get a muzzle loader by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

    Much longer season. Problem solved!

    In CA there is such a hunter shortage I can get 6 tags a year. (2 early season primitive, 2 rifle, 2 late season primitive.)

    --
    John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    1. Re:Just get a muzzle loader by tftp · · Score: 1

      Muzzleloaders are not very safe, though (for the operator) and they are a pain to clean.

    2. Re:Just get a muzzle loader by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

      Muzzleloaders are as safe as any gun. The trick is not to be an idiot.

      Good ones have removable breach plugs for cleaning.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
  13. It's not exactly a new idea. by bandy · · Score: 1

    Imagine getting a photo of a politician with this camera: http://www.novacon.com.br/odditycameras/mamiyapc.htm Or going to a (US) National Park with one of these: http://fedka.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=610&osCsid=726706c7db885cd7ea53125689e0e62e

    --
    "You might as well get your son a ticket to hell as give him a five string banjo." -unknown minister
  14. Re:'Kill shot' cameras by ClioCJS · · Score: 4, Informative

    Actually, deer collisions kill hundreds and injure 10s of 1000s every year. They multiply, have fewer predators in more populated areas, eat up all the food, get malnourished, wander to new places looking for food, and cause accidents. They absolutely must be thinned out, and there's no reason anyone who shoots a deer can't eat it. (They should. Venison chili is delicious, and no corporate growth hormones.)

    --
    -Clio
    Karma: Bad (mostly from not giving a fuck)
    Blog: http://clintjcl.wordpress.com
  15. for training hunters? by Cyrus20 · · Score: 1

    I always thought the target range was where you trained. I do not see how taking a picture of my target is more helpful than knowing how the gun feels when it actually goes off recoils etc ...

    1. Re:for training hunters? by Whorhay · · Score: 1

      Not all hunting is about sitting in a blind or tree stand until a prey animal approaches. This device could be used as an aid in training stalking techniques, which is where the hunter goes out and tracks down the prey on foot. If you've studied up on sniper training you'd likely note that stalking a target is often the most difficult skill to learn and implement properly.

    2. Re:for training hunters? by rcw-home · · Score: 1

      Of course, as a photographer I have to question using a tiny sensor [high signal noise/ low sensor speed] and a rather small objective lens [reduced light input] to take photographs from rifle distance. There's a reason why pro photographers carry big lenses.

      Just to add to this - physical resolution (not in the number-of-pixels sense but in the optical resolving-power sense) for a given light wavelength and a given focal length is limited by aperture size. A tiny sensor combined with a large lens aperture and focal length will give you a very limited field of view, but it will still be just as sharp as if you had a much larger sensor covering more of that field of view.

    3. Re:for training hunters? by rcw-home · · Score: 1

      Sensor size doesn't have much to do with field of view unless you assume a fixed distance from the back of the lens.

      Which I was ("for a given focal length").

      A given lens with a given aperture will concentrate as much light on any given square millimeter of a large sensor as it will on a small sensor. The only exception to this is that the sensor must be small enough to be positioned within the light circle of the lens (for example if you match a DSLR-sized sensor to a webcam lens, you will get severe vignetting). A sensor with a higher pixel density may have more wasted space in-between pixels (and thus may absorb less light per square millimeter of surface area), but this has nothing to do with sensor size per se.

    4. Re:for training hunters? by rcw-home · · Score: 1

      A bigger sensor makes a *dramatic* difference - rent a full-size camera sometime and you'll see it for yourself.

      A 50mm f/1.8 lens delivers within-an-order-of-magnitude sensitivity on a 3-year-old DSLR as it does on a 1/4" webcam sensor. The difference is that the 1/4" webcam sensor delivers a much smaller 540mm-equivalent field of view, while the APS-C DSLR sensor delivers a much wider 80mm-equivalent field of view. Try it. I have.

  16. tasteless jokes on my slashdot? by jguevin · · Score: 2

    Too soon, man, too soon.

    1. Re:tasteless jokes on my slashdot? by wickedskaman · · Score: 1

      Actually, it's too late...

      --
      Sand's overrated... it's just tiny little rocks.
  17. This thing by kryliss · · Score: 2

    Needs to be painted bright, NERF yellow and orange to have at least a chance of not getting shot at by a trigger happy cop. Why does it even need a barrel if it's not shooting a bullet? I can understand the stock, trigger and scope part.

    --
    --- If the bible proves the existence of God, then Superman comics prove the existence of Superman.
    1. Re:This thing by robi2106 · · Score: 1

      yep. "oh uhhh it was totally a threat to my life & safety so I had to shoot that 13yr old girl with the dangerous assault rifle"

  18. Bad tool by Hentes · · Score: 1

    Wildlife photography is not a new thing, but this is a shitty tool for it.

  19. But digital Phots still leave me hungry.... by who_stole_my_kidneys · · Score: 2

    and they don't taste as good either.

    1. Re:But digital Phots still leave me hungry.... by Surt · · Score: 1

      There are cake makers who can print your digital images as frosting. Tasty!

      --
      "Who is the Journal of Quantum Physics going to believe?" --Stephen Hawking
  20. Long ago in a life far far away by Tynin · · Score: 2

    As a kid, I would go on hunting trips with my dad, almost every summer. During one of our trips, I was maybe 8, I asked him if they made such a camera, and he thought nothing of it, said no they didn't, and why bother since you can just get a real camera. He then quip that whenever he would carry just a camera he would see more wildlife then when carrying a rifle. It never dawned on me later in life (actually, I had forgotten the event until just reading this article) that it might actually have a market.

    Now, take it to the next level. Have these camera gun's all get wifi and can do video (not just freeze frame pictures), and all connect to a central server. Then as "shots" occur, the server has them time stamped, and can do inspection on the images to see where the shot would have landed, and if it would have counted as a kill shot. Then just have the handle of the gun shake if it registers that you have been killed. Afterwards the server could take the feeds from the camera's and give a kill shot run through, perhaps using some video from some of the players who didn't have shaky hands or whatever heuristics you wanted to make... and ta da! You now have The Worlds Most Expensive Laser Tag game with extra video goodness!

    1. Re:Long ago in a life far far away by roc97007 · · Score: 1

      > Now, take it to the next level. Have these camera gun's all get wifi and can do video (not just freeze frame pictures), and all connect to a central server. Then as "shots" occur, the server has them time stamped, and can do inspection on the images to see where the shot would have landed, and if it would have counted as a kill shot.

      I think I saw that ride at Disneyland.

      --
      Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
  21. Re:'Kill shot' cameras by cayenne8 · · Score: 1

    That doesn't change the fact that there's something wrong with a person who enjoys killing other living things. Of course, it's necessary, but the enjoyment of the task indicates some serious mental problems.

    So, you're saying all those people that LOVE to go out, and enjoy fishing are mental too? I mean,that's killing other living things too....usually not even fast either, throwing them to flop around on ice in a chest till they die slowly...

    --
    Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
  22. Direct sighting is only 1/2 the story by GoodNewsJimDotCom · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Part of the fun of hunting is physics in action. You have a possibly moving prey X meters away. You need to know the wind, hold the gun steady, lead the prey, and know the drop of a bullet. If you just take a picture, that could be a complete miss from bullet drop. If you just take a picture, you could have missed with a bullet because the prey was moving.

    Regulated hunting is good because it keeps the animals from overtaking the environment and being pests as most of the natural predators are gone.

    1. Re:Direct sighting is only 1/2 the story by PeanutButterBreath · · Score: 1

      Part of the fun of hunting is physics in action. You have a possibly moving prey X meters away. You need to know the wind, hold the gun steady, lead the prey, and know the drop of a bullet. If you just take a picture, that could be a complete miss from bullet drop. If you just take a picture, you could have missed with a bullet because the prey was moving.

      So it sounds like what is needed is a more sophisitcated instrument that will only capture a well framed photo of the animal if you aim your shot appropriately, according to the measured physical and environmental factors that would guide a well-aimed bullet.

    2. Re:Direct sighting is only 1/2 the story by tomhath · · Score: 1

      Nah, GP is right. Unless you restrict the camera to a single picture it's too easy to cheat and take a second one if the first shows the crosshairs on the deer's butt. Plus gauging the time of flight versus the target's movement would be very difficult to capture with a picture.

      And pressing a shutter button is nothing at all like squeezing the trigger of a high powered rifle that will make a very loud scary, blast and recoil when it goes off.

    3. Re:Direct sighting is only 1/2 the story by greenmanfalling · · Score: 1

      So what we need is a paintball variation so that we can go after the rarer game (read: brown-mullet-ligers). Time the shutter based on distance to target. The liger gets a welt. We get physics-dependent proof of besting the shit out of said liger... Then we make an acid paintball variant just to be dicks!!!!

    4. Re:Direct sighting is only 1/2 the story by witherstaff · · Score: 1

      Make it a challenge, go lower tech. Forget those pesky scopes and high powered rifles. As a pre-teen on a trip to northern Ontario I hit a black bear and a moose with a slingshot. I'll admit the moose was easy, they're huge. The black bear was a bit of a challenge. Also scary even with a van being there to jump into.

  23. Re:'Kill shot' cameras by ClioCJS · · Score: 2, Informative

    Huh? It's a mental problem to enjoy doing what is necessary? Is it a mental problem to enjoy going to work? Is it a mental problem to enjoy drinking water? It's called living. And no, it's not a mental problem. Not by any professional classification. Just your own emotionalism. Of course, with "dog" in your username, you are incapable of objective thought with animals. Well-demonstrated by your bigoted comments.

    --
    -Clio
    Karma: Bad (mostly from not giving a fuck)
    Blog: http://clintjcl.wordpress.com
  24. Re:'Kill shot' cameras by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Most hunters would say that it's the excitement of the hunt, not the actual killing.

  25. Re:'Kill shot' cameras by Whorhay · · Score: 2

    I think you missed the entire point of the article/summary. The Kill Shot camera is not about actually taking photos of animals you are going to actually kill. It's a camera disguised as a rifle used to take pictures of an animal you stalked well enough that you could have killed. It's basically a modern take on "counting coup". I imagine that it could cause stress in the animal being stalked if it were aware of the "hunter" but this can't get much further from pleasure killings/sport hunting.

  26. Re:'Kill shot' cameras by sjames · · Score: 1

    Urm, no. We now have people running around taking your advice with cameras mounted on fake guns to get all of the sport with none of the killing.

  27. Re:Knowing the American fondness for killing by cayenne8 · · Score: 1

    Defenceless animals.. I sincerely doubt this will ever catch on.

    So, you think everyone should be a vegan or something?

    --
    Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
  28. Re:'Kill shot' cameras by holmedog · · Score: 5, Informative

    I get so sick of this sentiment. I am a hunter. I know many, many people who hunt. You don't hunt for the pleasure of killing - you hunt for the "thrill of the hunt". It's a base desire to be a predator. And, yes, part of that fulfillment is when you squeeze the trigger or release the arrow. But, that moment is celebrated for the completion of the hunt - not the act of killing.

    To put this in perspective, a common part of hunting is "finishing the kill". This is where you have mortally wounded the animal (eg, a lung shot to a deer), but it is bleeding out still and not entirely dead. Once all threat of the animal getting up and injuring the hunter is removed the hunter will use a knife to quickly finish the kill. I don't know anyone who enjoys this - and that's the actual moment the animal dies. It makes you feel weird having to do it. I can't really express the emotion well with written words, but it's definitely not a good feeling.

    TLDR; Hunters are in it for the rush of the hunt, not the actual kill.

  29. Re:'Kill shot' cameras by Anonymous+Freak · · Score: 2

    Yeah, I'm not big on hunting - largely because I think hunting for "sport" is stupid, if I hunt, I'll hunt because I want to eat what I caught. Considering I have yet to find a place to hunt Angus Beef Stock, and Elk tastes like crap, I won't be hunting anytime soon.

    But *THIS* is interesting. I enjoy target shooting, and this would be an activity the difficulty of hunting, without worrying about having to haul/clean/eat something I have no interest in eating.

    --
    Another non-functioning site was "uncertainty.microsoft.com."
    The purpose of that site was not known.
  30. Another use by g0bshiTe · · Score: 1

    Think of how great this would be at sporting events or family reunions!

    And speeches, don't forget those. I'm sure no alarms would go off using it there.

    --
    I am Bennett Haselton! I am Bennett Haselton!
  31. Re:Lot's of great uses. by g0bshiTe · · Score: 2

    I would've said that, but I don't have the balls to post that even as AC, even with and IP that's NP to trace.

    --
    I am Bennett Haselton! I am Bennett Haselton!
  32. A good weapon... by GameboyRMH · · Score: 1

    ...for hunting the most dangerous game >:)

    --
    "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
  33. Un-American by Any+Web+Loco · · Score: 1

    Mod me all to hell but this just seems Un-American (disclaimer: I am not American)

  34. Re:Knowing the American fondness for killing by roc97007 · · Score: 2

    So, processing farm grown meat is *not* defenseless slaughter? What, do they give the cows a fighting chance in your country?

    --
    Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
  35. Re:'Kill shot' cameras by thePowerOfGrayskull · · Score: 1

    So what you're saying is that you're supposed to feel a specific way when killing out of necessity; and if you don't feel that specific way it's a clear indication of mental problems?

    Moving right along...

  36. Re:Knowing the American fondness for killing by Rude+Turnip · · Score: 1

    Ah, so you prefer the disorganized slaughter of deer getting killed by cars instead?

  37. Re:Knowing the American fondness for killing by gknoy · · Score: 1

    Did you seriously compare hunting season to the wholesale slaughter of animals (e.g. cows, whales)? Even as a non-hunter, I feel that's a bit hyperbolic. In many locations, the animals to be hunted (deer, etc) are overpopulated enough that they are starving. Hunting can contribute to the health of the overall animal population, and it certainly seems like the animals have a much better chance than those raised in farms or harvested at sea.

    While shooting something with a rifle is much less risky, many hunters (though likely not the majority) prefer to hunt with bows, spears, or pistols -- and at that range, animals with antlers and tusks are significantly more dangerous. (Boar hunting in particular, with spears, is both popular and dangerous.) Hunting is something which many people value not merely for the sport, but also for the meat and for the connection to our cultural heritage as humans.

  38. I've seen this before by eclectus · · Score: 1

    I've seen something like this before... Oh yeah, during the vietnam war....

    http://www.coolest-gadgets.com/20090129/hi-8-camera-gun/

    --
    This signature is a waste of 42 characters
  39. Re: killing other living things by M.+Baranczak · · Score: 3, Informative

    Humans can't live without killing other living things. Until we learn to photosynthesize, that is. You just sound like someone who doesn't want to think about where his dinner came from.

  40. Re:'Kill shot' cameras by countach74 · · Score: 2

    As many have already pointed out, it's not the "killing" that is enjoyed.

    On another note: perhaps it's because our modern culture is so far removed from where their steak comes from that we have sentiments like this. If I were an animal, I would much rather be even a starving deer who eventually gets "hunted down" than an assembly-line, live in their own shit, cow. At least I would have had the opportunity to be free. This is one of the first thing that comes to mind when someone says how inhumane it is to go hunting; how it's somehow cruel to the animals. As already pointed out, many times those animals are so over populated they're all half starved to death (like the deer example above).

    Sigh, there really is too much stupid in this world. (Sadly, I think I probably fall into that lot.)

  41. Fantasy Island by husker_man · · Score: 1
    Fantasy Island Episode 2.19 had this sort of thing on it, way back in the 1970's.

    Now get off my lawn!

  42. Re:'Kill shot' cameras by girlintraining · · Score: 1

    I think you missed the entire point of the article/summary.

    Or maybe I was reinforcing it... Of course, I can see how on an internet forum the two can be easily confused, given the total absence of a SNARK tag.

    --
    #fuckbeta #iamslashdot #dicemustdie
  43. Rifle-stock-like camera mounts by BenEnglishAtHome · · Score: 1

    Those things are old hat. Here's one that was in the news recently: http://www.petapixel.com/2011/10/17/the-leica-gun-for-wildlife-and-sports-photography/ but virtually all the major camera and accessory makers have done something similar at one time or another.

  44. Monopod..? by drkim · · Score: 2

    As cool as it is to have a gun looking camera, you get much more stability out of a camera on a monopod.

    And to prove your hunting skills, you could use shorter and shorter prime lenses, which would force you to get closer to your 'prey.'
    A screen filling head shot with a 30mm would be pretty impressive!

    1. Re:Monopod..? by tftp · · Score: 1

      A screen filling head shot with a 30mm would be pretty impressive!

      It would be, indeed, after the rescuers wash your blood off of the mangled camera and extract the Flash card. The picture will look great on your gravestone :-)

      Many species of wildlife are dangerous. A rifle can kill the attacking animal or at very least scare it away. Going into forest armed with just a camera is minimally wise. Don't forget that forests in many states have the most dangerous creature of Earth - humans (drug growers.) Then you have bears, mountain lions, wild pigs, wolves...

    2. Re:Monopod..? by Bob+the+Super+Hamste · · Score: 1

      It is not just the pot growing humans you need to fear, but the meth labs, meth heads, crazies who don't want you on their public land (this has happened to me), crazies who pray and spray (think Dick Cheney), idiots that shoot at sound. I fear them more than I fear the dangerous animals (most tend to avoid humans) but in the areas I hunt you still need to watch out for cougars, wolves, and bears.

      --
      Time to offend someone
    3. Re:Monopod..? by drkim · · Score: 1

      Not disagreeing but; I was just saying that a non-gun-shaped camera (on a mono-pod) would be more stable that a non-gun camera (that looks like a rifle.)
      Someone "armed" with the Kill Shot camera (original article) isn't any better protected from wildlife than someone with a camera that looks like a camera.

  45. Re:'Kill shot' cameras by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    You are insane.. well-prepared elk is astoundingly delicious.

  46. Inevitable; they already exist for real rifles by BenEnglishAtHome · · Score: 1
    1. Re:Inevitable; they already exist for real rifles by JStyle · · Score: 1

      They also have mounts for standard digital cameras onto traditional scopes. You can use the viewfinder or digital screen to view through the sights.

      There is a person on youtube that documents bird and squirrel hunting through the use of high speed video on a consumer digital camera: www.youtube.com/user/EdgunUSA/featured ... His videos are pretty amazing, very informative too.

  47. Re:'Kill shot' cameras by powerlinekid · · Score: 1

    I find your use of "old fashioned" interesting here.

    --

    can't sleep slashdot will eat me
  48. The Professionals by MobileC · · Score: 1

    There was an episode of The Professionals (1977-1981) where a hunter got a "shot of" a murder happening.
    When asked if he meant "shot at" he showed the gun with a camera in the scope.

    --

    Fran
    :):):)
    1st 1st Poster of the new Millennium!

  49. Re:'Kill shot' cameras by Nadaka · · Score: 2

    That doesn't change the fact that there's something wrong with a person who enjoys killing other living things. Of course, it's necessary, but the enjoyment of the task indicates some serious mental problems.

    Vegetables are living things too you monster!

  50. Re:'Kill shot' cameras by farcedude · · Score: 1

    well-prepared elk is astoundingly delicious

    And there's the difference - A sadly large number of people's experience with elk is the elk that someone shot, threw in the back of their truck, then drove 12 hours before cleaning it. The best wild game (deer, not elk, but same principle) I've had was shot on a friends ranch, cleaned at the nearest tree, then immediately taken inside, wrapped, and frozen (to await the cwd results, of course).

  51. Re:'Kill shot' cameras by Nadaka · · Score: 2

    Elk don't live around where I am, but as a deer species they will have musk glands. And if those glands are not cut out ASAP, then the meat will taste a lot more gamey than it would otherwise be.

  52. I knew a girl like this... by erroneus · · Score: 1

    ... I could take her out, buy her things and go anywhere with her... but I couldn't get sex. Sounds like "the friend zone gun" to me... you get to do everything except kill and eat the animal.

  53. Re:'Kill shot' cameras by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Then why the fuck do they use rifles? If you want a rush, use a bow don't hide behind a rifle. It's too easy.

  54. Re:'Kill shot' cameras by laughing+rabbit · · Score: 1

    That doesn't change the fact that there's something wrong with a person who enjoys killing other living things. Of course, it's necessary, but the enjoyment of the task indicates some serious mental problems.

    Them veggies is alive too, you know.

    --
    No incumbents, not no where, not no how.
    Vote them out every term.
  55. doesn't prove anything. by Lumpy · · Score: 1

    any fool can line up the crosshairs on a target. it takes control and skill to be able to get the bullet to hit the target you had in the crosshairs. fire a high caliber rifle and even a tiny twitch will get you off target.

    this is a gimmick. unless it fires a blank or has a way to emulate the recoil and wind it's not proof of anything but having a lot of extra cash.

    --
    Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
    1. Re:doesn't prove anything. by countach74 · · Score: 1

      Thank you.

  56. Re:'Kill shot' cameras by adamofgreyskull · · Score: 1

    As others have pointed out, RTFS.
    Also: venison.

  57. This is definitely not news... Just an advertising by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    Rifles that shoot photos instead of bullets were already promoted in the 80's. I remember them in my old man's shooting magazines and on TV documentaries. Food for thought, consider such US patents as 4630911 (app. 1984), 4907022 (app. 1988) and 5845165 (app. 1997), as well as a whole host of others for all sorts of subtle variations on the same theme (such as patents often are).

    As far as "ideas" go, there is nothing news worthy in the KillShot. I proffer that this article is nothing more than an advertisement.

  58. Re:'Kill shot' cameras by blkmajik · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Except for varmint shooters (I'm one). That's all for the kill. Gophers/Prairie dogs exploding in a ball of red mist is just amazing.

    They make really heavy guns shooting small caliber bullets out of medium cartidges (.204 Ruger/.17 Fireball) for two things: Target (read paper) and Varmint (dead sploded things). The heavy guns let you see the target in scope as it blows up. Without the combination of lighter cartridge and heavy gun the recoil would not allow you to see the action.

    The design of the varmint bullets is such that you have a bullet spinning at a couple hundred thousand RPMs that is highly frangible. This is what makes the things go *poof*. There is far more varmint type bullets from commercial manufacturers than there are target bullets in these calibers. That's what people want, and for good reason: it's fun.

    Down south some of these critters actually get big enough to be a source of food. Where I live (up north) that's not the case. They are tiny little critters that just annoy ranchers and farmers. The annoyance is in the form of broken legs on cows/horses and crop damage. My fun actually helps things, but I do it for the fun, not out of helping a fellow human down the road.

  59. Re:'Kill shot' cameras by Intropy · · Score: 1

    Why assume it's any different for the hunters than the fishers? They can also enjoy the hunting part and the eating part, and even the shooting part without enjoying the specific fact that the animal died.

  60. Re:Knowing the American fondness for killing by adamofgreyskull · · Score: 1

    Sorry, but are you saying that the meat industry isn't "organised slaughter" and that hunting season is? I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure the cows, sheep, lambs, pigs etc. don't just happen to wander into the slaughter-house and drop dead of natural causes. People wandering around in the woods shooting at wild animals seems incredibly disorganised compared to raising tame animals for the sole purpose of them being killed for meat in large, purpose-built abbatoirs, then packing the meat and shipping it out to country-wide and international markets...

  61. Skip all this rifle stuff by reboot246 · · Score: 2

    Just buy a good DSLR and spend the bulk of your money on a fast long lens. A 300mm f2.8 telephoto lens will cost you a lot, but it's worth it for wildlife photography. Either that or just go to the zoo.

    1. Re:Skip all this rifle stuff by swillden · · Score: 1

      Just buy a good DSLR and spend the bulk of your money on a fast long lens. A 300mm f2.8 telephoto lens will cost you a lot, but it's worth it for wildlife photography. Either that or just go to the zoo.

      +1

      I "hunt" with a camera from time to time, and I see no value in having a rifle-shaped camera. It's not going to be easier to carry, easier to take photos with, and certainly not going to capture images as well as a good DSLR with a good lens -- and I don't even have a 300mm f2.8, though I do have a 70-200 f2.8 with a 2x extender (140-400 f5.6).

      --
      Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
  62. Re:'Kill shot' cameras by Em+Adespoton · · Score: 2

    And yet, unlike people who eat their beef steak or their hamburgers, hunters actually have the guts to finish the kill themselves. Personally, I think people have something wrong with them if they're willing to eat something they're not willing to kill themselves (whether it be microbe, fruit, vegetable, or animal).

  63. Yep! by PaulBu · · Score: 2

    These were quite popular in Soviet Union back when I was growing up (80s), and the name for the hobby of photographing wildlife was actually (fotookhota), literally "photo hunting"...

    Paul B.

  64. Re:'Kill shot' cameras by Em+Adespoton · · Score: 1

    That doesn't change the fact that there's something wrong with a person who enjoys killing other living things. Of course, it's necessary, but the enjoyment of the task indicates some serious mental problems.

    Vegetables are living things too you monster!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmK0bZl4ILM

  65. Re:'Kill shot' cameras by countach74 · · Score: 1

    Taking down a decent sized animal with a rifle isn't exactly easy, you know. I'm not a hunter, but I have many friends that are and have read a good bit about "take down power." Elk are notorious for taking what looks like a kill shot and running for miles; often times, they're never found... although the 3 foot wide blood trail is. Bows actually have great take properties if you can get close enough. Arrows kill very differently than bullets.

  66. These should be bought for by ILongForDarkness · · Score: 1

    all the White House press core. Would be fantastic.

  67. Re:'Kill shot' cameras by waives · · Score: 1

    How do you suggest one go about killing a fruit? I suppose a dessicator would do the trick, but personally I enjoy devouring my fruit while it's still living.

  68. Way to fuck the story by ubrkl · · Score: 1

    By putting: "Think of how great this would be at sporting events or family reunions!" at the end of the summary you've guaranteed a fucked discussion, way to fucking go. Lets not discuss this, just talk about how fucked up it would be to have these at sporting events and the hilarity that would ensue.

  69. Re:'Kill shot' cameras by jamesh · · Score: 1

    Look. Nobody enjoys killing animals, but if you have to kill animals, you might as well enjoy it.

  70. This is new? by JimCanuck · · Score: 1


    I'm sorry but rifle scopes with Camera's are nearly a decade old if not older, and yes for hunting purposes, rifle scopes in the half dozen thousand dollars for LE to train and then record in a shooting situation their marksman have been around for much longer.

    This is hardly news. If anything its designed with a slight anti-hunting aspect to the way the blurb was written. To start a flame war perhaps?

  71. Re:'Kill shot' cameras by cayenne8 · · Score: 1

    I would think the death of the animal, fish or land creature, is an expected part of the hunt...so, it's pretty much incidental, and you just don't even really think about it....

    --
    Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
  72. Re:'Kill shot' cameras by Nux'd · · Score: 1

    I'm pretty sure it's bloodlust such as in the parent post that DogDude was talking about and it doesn't take great leaps for a person to follow this bloodlust into hunting, so I'm confident holmedog's generalisation is wrong. Looking at the moderation though, it would seem slashdotters would prefer what he said to be true and so have modded him informative.

    I personally differ with people who want to turn creatures into clouds of blood, and share DogDude's sentiment. If you consider this an irrational stance to take, I would agree that it is, along with caring about other human beings and the like.

  73. Fostering Bad Habits by DraconicSoul · · Score: 1

    Anyone who has actually done anything with rifles should know that one of the fundamental rules is: don't point your gun at anything you don't want to shoot. By encouraging people to point these guns at people to take pictures, that is taking all safety out of the picture; imagine what these people are going to do once they have a real gun.

  74. Re:'Kill shot' cameras by ak3ldama · · Score: 1

    So in other words you're not a killer, just a throwback to an less evolved era. Good to know.

    Evolution has nothing to do with modern society and current humans. An easy argument could be made that humans are rapidly devolving.

    --
    "but money is the God of Algiers & Mahomet their prophet." - Rich. O'Bryen June 8th 1786
  75. Re:Knowing the American fondness for killing by jwijnands · · Score: 1

    A proper abbatoir the animals only have a very short "hey what's going on here, what the f... ?" moment. Cows, sheep and other farm animals are not exactly in any kind of danger to become endangered or extinct.

  76. Re:'Kill shot' cameras by lexsird · · Score: 1

    My state of Iowa has been very boneheaded about the population control of deer for quite some time now. It's now like you say, and they are in town now causing accidents. People are stupid though and feed them, encouraging them even more to move into town. It's going to take someone getting injured badly or killed by one before the public wakes up.

    Deer to me are no longer cute. They are vermin, big rats with horns and hooves, dangerous to property and to lives.

    Deer are also awesome eating! We could feed a lot of poor people with them and I feel people should be eating them down to a controlled population.

    I find the remarks of people who obviously have no idea where food comes from to be amusing. If they saw all the animals that die everyday to feed them, and had to process that food themselves, I fear they might starve to death. Of course there is a savagery that comes with the territory, but that is part of getting the job done. In a primitive situation, just keeping everyone fed and clothed is a full time job for about everyone.

    I can understand city folks not understanding hunting. They have no way to relate to it. Weapons of any kind are dangerous in proximity to such high populations, so it's not hard to understand a dislike for them. But if you were to be raised around them, and in a culture that can go produce food for its self out of the wilds, you can have a deep appreciation for their utility. If you live out in the heart of the wilds, you might consider it insane not to have a gun handy. From what I know of the people that prowl the back roads at night looking for things to steal or someone to prey upon, it's indeed insane not to have a gun handy.

    Not all hunters are Princes. What I really don't care for are fat cat rich city people who come tearing up the countryside with their big SUVs. They get drunk and are dangerous on the roads, they are dangerous to livestock and people while they are infesting the area. They throw money around like their weight though, hence they are tolerated.

    I've met "poachers" before. Poor people, just feeding themselves and others is all they were. I've never seen such efficient processing of deer until I met them, they never wasted a thing from the deer. City fat cat hunters will often just take a rack from the deers head or just a cut of the meat, leaving the rest. It's disgusting to find this rotted and wasting away, feeding coyotes.

    Is there an "insanity" to the kill in hunting? I think people are just afraid of what they don't understand. Hunting is a primal activity, and it's something we have instincts for. To deny a basic part of us to me is insanity. You can't keep nature bottled up. A good "hunt" is cathartic, a good outlet for stress. But with that said, some people shouldn't be out hunting with anything more than a Nerf Bat, they are dangerous to themselves and others armed with anything else. Not everyone is a "natural" for it.

    --
    Take the Red Pill.
  77. Re:'Kill shot' cameras by jaymemaurice · · Score: 1

    I just wanted to point out it is your view (not fact) that the deer must be shot in order to prevent 10's of thousands of deaths... while it has been proven effective in other countries that do not allow firearms that propely designed and fenced motorways prevent the deaths as well. They also last for generations.

    Now to dilute my point, I recognize venison is good... and animals need to die for me to eat meat.

    --
    120 characters ought to be enough for anyone
  78. Re:'Kill shot' cameras by The+Evil+Atheist · · Score: 1

    Who cares if you're sick of the sentiment? Bottom line is - you kill. I could care less about the difference between the thrill of the kill and the thrill of the hunt. If it was just the thrill of the hunt, why not use non-lethal guns, like paint ball guns? The mark of paint is a sign you've hit it - no need for killing. The fact that you're so deep into it that you can't see a sane alternative suggests there is something about the act of killing that you do enjoy. You don't know anyone who enjoys the killing, but then why mortally wound the animal in the first place?

    --
    Those who do not learn from commit history are doomed to regress it.
  79. Re:Prior Art by Erbo · · Score: 1

    Wasn't Edison Carter's portable camera unit (in the old Max Headroom TV series) referred to as a "camera gun"? There's another example of prior art.

    --
    Be who you are...and be it in style!
  80. Bush Hawk by wilper · · Score: 1

    Another option would be the Bush Hawk product line. It's a grip with trigger, and you mount your SLR camera on it. It doesn't look much like a gun, but if the resulting photos are the goal, rather than the "shooting", it might be an interesting alternative.

    http://www.bushhawk.com/

  81. Fucktard by tehcyder · · Score: 1

    From TFS "Think of how great this would be at sporting events or family reunions!"

    Any idiot who brought something that looked like a hunting rifle to my family reunion and started pointing it at my kids would soon be getting the good news from my good friend Mr Cricket Bat

    Guns are for killing things. If you want to take photos use a fucking camera, long lens and tripod rather than acting out your childish Ernest Hemingway fantasies.

    --
    To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
  82. Great fun ... by Rambo+Tribble · · Score: 1

    ... until the SWAT team mistakenly takes you down.

  83. Re:'Kill shot' cameras by Bob+the+Super+Hamste · · Score: 1

    All of the hunters I know don't relish the death part of hunting it is a necessary part of hunting for food but it isn't something we enjoy seeing. What I do enjoy is the eating part, I don't take pictures of the kill. Personally every time I loose a shot at an animal I hope it is the nice clean kill shot right through the vitals, but fear that I just wounded the animal. I don't want the animal to suffer unnecessarily, just be injured, have its jaw shot off (this is why I don't attempt head shots) and starve, or go try and track it down following a blood trail that is a few drops here or there. I practice shooting, about 18,000 shots a year mostly from my target air rifle but a few hundred each from my hunting rifle and shotgun, and like to think I am a good shot and so far every shot has been a clean kill. I also use the correct type of ammunition for the game I am hunting to maximize the probability of a clean kill instead of just wounding it. I go to great lengths to ensure that I get a good shot off and have not taken a number of shot that I probably could have gotten but were questionable, as in all you see is deer head and it is twitchy because of all the hunting.

    --
    Time to offend someone
  84. Re:'Kill shot' cameras by ClioCJS · · Score: 1
    Given the traffic problem around here, the last thing we need is road development slowed down by increasing the cost by having to have a huge deer-fence around every tiny road out there, just so that there can be more deer alive that we need to stop, and more peoples' personal gardens eaten (yea yea, we should all get fences, fences everywhere!)

    But wait. It's actually illegal to put a fence up that is high enough to stop deer from jumping over here in VA. They're supposed to be allowed to go where they want. Great, huh?

    --
    -Clio
    Karma: Bad (mostly from not giving a fuck)
    Blog: http://clintjcl.wordpress.com
  85. Re:'Kill shot' cameras by Bob+the+Super+Hamste · · Score: 1

    Funny story, one of my friend's brothers children asked their dad what plants different meat grows on. My friend and I had a good laugh at that one because it does show just how far removed people have gotten from their food.

    As far a factory farming goes I have steered clear of it, I either get my meat from hunting or from friends of the family who raise cattle or bison. I have been out to their farms, small operations with few animals on 40 or 80 acres. The animals aren't in the feed lot environment, aren't pumped full of antibiotics and hormones, aren't fed bits of other animals, are free to wander about on the land, and are fed a good varied diet of grasses, alfalfa, and some grain (wheat, barley, corn). The one who raises cattle has only lost 1 animal in the 27 years they have been raising cattle and that was one that froze to death in the bitter cold of 1996 when we had record cold (temps dropping well below -40 in places), and the one who raises bison hasn't lost an animal in the 12 years they have be doing it.

    --
    Time to offend someone
  86. Re:'Kill shot' cameras by Bob+the+Super+Hamste · · Score: 1

    As far as poachers are concerned I think there are more poachers out there just blasting away than people who are illegally taking animals to feed their family. Just about every year I find a poacher and turn them in. Last year was the most egregious instance I have run across. Kept hearing shots (sounded like pray and spray) from a spot north of where I was hunting during the week (some well before legal hours). On the last Sunday I decided I would go and see if I could find this hot spot and see if I could fill another tag. After searching for a while I found it but wouldn't want to hunt it as it had been used by a poacher. There were 5 gut piles (this area is a 2 deer limit) that I found, piles of corn and apples, beer cans and other trash every where, an illegal permanent stand (covered with camo netting to conceal it), and 6 empty 50# sacks of corn in the stand. I went back to camp to get my vehicle so I could drive back out the main road to get a cell signal to call the DNR. They came out and wanted to see the find which I showed them and also pointed out the atv tracks leading out. The DNR conservation officer followed the tracks back to the guy's cabin and found the guy as well as the deer none of which were tagged. The guy lost his ATV, truck, trailer, and gun, as well as his stand getting destroyed (that was fun).

    --
    Time to offend someone
  87. Re:'Kill shot' cameras by Bob+the+Super+Hamste · · Score: 1

    One key is quick field dressing and quick proper processing, as well as getting a clean kill so they don't run all over the place while dying. My deer last season took 3 hours from the time it was shot until it was a the meat processor. This included immediate field dressing, dragging it the half mile out of the woods to the vehicle, stopping in the nearest town to buy some ice to put into the carcass to get it cooled as quickly as possible as well as getting another doe tag so our party had one, dropping the doe tag off with my uncle, and the 1.5 hours drive to the processor.

    --
    Time to offend someone
  88. Re: killing other living things by DogDude · · Score: 1

    You just sound like someone who doesn't want to think about where his dinner came from.

    That's a straw man argument. I acknowledged the need to kill things. I don't debate that. I said that getting enjoyment from it is sick.

    --
    I don't respond to AC's.
  89. Re:'Kill shot' cameras by lexsird · · Score: 1

    You are pretty proud of snitching someone out for wanting to eat. May you get what you deserve.

    --
    Take the Red Pill.
  90. Re:'Kill shot' cameras by holmedog · · Score: 1

    Probably won't read this since it's yesterday's story, but no. I would not consider blkmajik a hunter (at least not in his shooting of varmints). That is blood sport and not hunting. I'm sure someone, somewhere kills varmints because of a necessity, and we might consider that person a hunter.

  91. Re:'Kill shot' cameras by Anguirel · · Score: 1

    That doesn't change the fact that there's something wrong with a person who enjoys killing other living things.

    Yeah. Crazy Gardeners, all happy about pulling up weeds and chomping on plant babies...

    --
    ~Anguirel (lit. Living Star-Iron)
    QA: The art of telling someone that their baby is ugly without getting punched.
  92. Re:'Kill shot' cameras by Nux'd · · Score: 1

    I appreciate your response and can also see your point of view. I understand that, for you, a hunter is more than a person who hunts: he must also hunt for the right reasons.

    I can imagine a lot, perhaps most people who hunt to live, do so without any pleasure for the actual killing. I can't fault those people. The moral grey area comes with those who hunt for sport, since already the aim is enjoyment and taking satisfaction in the creatures death could easily be part of it.

    To be clear, I'm not talking about the satisfaction of a job well done: I'm talking about taking pleasure in extinguishing life, for it's own sake. This is what disgusts me personally, and I think it does you too.

    So if that's how you feel, I'm glad we agree. Just don't assume that everyone who hunts, does so for the same reasons as you. And don't assume that everyone's definition of 'hunter' is the same as yours.

  93. Re:'Kill shot' cameras by Anonymous+Freak · · Score: 1

    There is a bento place nearby that serves both Buffalo (Bison, dammit! But they call it Buffalo,) and Elk. The Elk is *VERY* hit-and-miss. Even the best I've had, I didn't like.

    And, no offense to my wife, but she sucks at preparing meat dishes - and while I can do a decent job on meat dishes, I have tried once (my grandfather was an avid hunter-for-food, and gave me a frozen chunk,) and did a horrible job on Elk. Even my grandmother's preparation was "iffy".

    But there are a few other meat types that I just don't like the taste of, that others love (turkey, for example.) So it's probably a combination of iffy preparation and just plain dislike.

    --
    Another non-functioning site was "uncertainty.microsoft.com."
    The purpose of that site was not known.
  94. Re:'Kill shot' cameras by galanom · · Score: 1

    Pedophiles or rapists also do the same. They don't rape small children in order to reproduce. They want the thrill, the fulfillment, to see their prey trying to escape, they want to see it crying. That predator instinct, the murderous instinct. It is also the serial killers fulfillment. Most, if not all, serial killers do not know personally their victims and do not have something to gain from. But they like the fulfillment of the murder.

    It is exactly as sick as what you feel.

    ps: I love Doom2 and DN3D. But I don't confuse them with actual life.

  95. Re:'Kill shot' cameras by jaymemaurice · · Score: 1

    Again, that traffic/development/law problem has also been dealt with in other countries...
    It will never happen in North America... but I'll always think its lame to use the "think of the children" excuse for gun ownership. I am sure most Americans use their handguns to cull the deer so that their tulips don't get eaten and their children don't die in deer collisions.
    Why not just say f&%# you, I want to be able to shoot my guns instead of poping up with excuses for gun ownership and political excuses for all sorts of things that actually do not make sense.

    --
    120 characters ought to be enough for anyone
  96. Re:'Kill shot' cameras by ClioCJS · · Score: 1
    Why not just say that? Because that's not what I was talking about. You invented your own version of what the conversation really was. I was responding to the statement "I guess I'm old fashioned when I say that one should only kill another animal if it is wounded and will die (mercy killing)", which has nothing to do with gun control or guns, but is a generality about killing.

    So next time you correct someone for not saying what you think they should say, maybe you should read the conversation more carefully and not presume it is about what you declare it is about. That is actually decided by the people having the conversation.

    --
    -Clio
    Karma: Bad (mostly from not giving a fuck)
    Blog: http://clintjcl.wordpress.com
  97. Re:'Kill shot' cameras by jaymemaurice · · Score: 1

    I did misunderstand. I went off on the seperate topic on the justification of guns when I mis-interpreted you advocate killing the deer (with guns) as a nescesity to save lives. In fairness, this article he is commenting about is about guns and your comments were about need to thin deer population. I did not mean it to be personal and was just expressing my thoughts.

    --
    120 characters ought to be enough for anyone
  98. a replica-gun shooting pictures instead of animals by KingBenny · · Score: 1

    that's actually a great idea, i was already worked up over the title because it would be a very humane idea to take a picture of what you're about to remove from existence forever ... some kind of morbid preservation urge when it comes to the past they've wasted? but this sounds great, how it will come down with people kicking on the feeling of power they get somehow from pulling that trigger from i dunno how far away against a defenseless animal for sport, i don't know. But it is a great idea if ever there should be a ban on weapons it should be hunting weapons. There's way less wildlife to spare than humans if i may be so bland as to explain it in a few words

    --
    Free speech was meant to be free for all... how can anyone grow up in a nanny state ?