Log on. Zoom in. Bang.

 

 

It sounds like something from a science fiction movie.

 

Creepy as the concept might be, someone actually built an Internet-controlled network of web-accessible cameras and shotguns aimed into a food plot on a Georgia Power Company right-of-way last fall.

 

A utility contractor encountered the setup, snapped a few photos and reported the odd apparatus to the Georgia Wildlife Resources Division, which in turn notified the U.S. Office of Homeland Security

 

By the time officers returned to the south Georgia site, however, the equipment had been removed.

 

According to a bulletin from the Georgia Information Sharing & Analysis Center, "three shotguns were set up on a platform and linked to a web-accessible camera system that allows the guns to be fired via an internet connection."

 

A second, identical system was found on the other side of the right-of-way, for a total of six shotguns.

 

The expensive Benelli shotguns appear to be chambered for 3-inch shells and fitted with magazine extension tubes that increase their capacity from five to as many as eight rounds. Such a system, if fully operational, could direct substantial - and deadly - firepower

 

The bulletin, circulated by the Office of Homeland Security, went on to say that the guns were trained toward a food plot, and that their likely intent was for hunting in an area known to be infested with feral hogs.

 

"At this time there is no evidence to suggest that such equipment was established for any purpose other than illegal hunting activity," the bulletin said. "However, the apparatus could be used for more nefarious activity that would be of direct concern to the Law Enforcement and Public Safety communities.

 

As you might suspect, there is more to this unusual story, first reported this week by Georgia Outdoor News.

 

You can read the complete account - and the updated results of the investigation - in our outdoors column, coming Sunday in The Augusta Chronicle.

 

My link

High tech poachers..I am betting who ever took the pics was seen by survalance cameras and when they left the rednecks swooped in and removed the equipment..

wow, I feel bad for saying this, But that's pretty friggin cool.

Yeah that is pretty cool but effin dangerous. You should attach a poll to see how members would have reacted. I think I may have disassembled, unloaded the guns, and taken them to PD or called PD. Just in case any kids came upon them.

Yeah that is pretty cool but effin dangerous. You should attach a poll to see how members would have reacted. I think I may have disassembled, unloaded the guns, and taken them to PD or called PD. Just in case any kids came upon them.

 

screw that. My first thought would be "where is this guy" and un-a*s the kill zone. Live ordinance under improvised command control is not the place for "Duddly Do-Rights," it the place for the FBI.

 

A big plus one for the guy taking pictures though. Without those no one would have ever believed it.

6 Benelli's, web-cams, shooting sleds, tables, etc. I guess someone has a big beef, or should I say pork against these hogs. Now they are going to have Fed's looking investigating this and all sorts of new 'terrorist' charges pending. For a tenth or twentieth of the cost, how about a couple leg traps and web cams to let you know you caught something. Then finish the job with a round or two to the head? Poaching yes, but certainly not going to be bringing Federal charges against your dumb / intelligent country asss.

 

These country boys may not make great decisions by US law standards. But do not discount that country intelligence. Moonshiners and these guys that grow insane amounts of weed on Federal land are not stupid and have been working outside of the revenuers for generations. I am amazed at some of the operations these guys come up with.

 

It would be funny to take home these shotguns that you found and see if the owner every reports them. What are they going to do, call the PD?

 

Hello Mayberry PD

Ah yea, I left 6 shotguns wired for poaching in the woods and someone took them.

 

 

Kinda like when dope dealers call the PD to report that they were robbed.

I'd be curious to know how they managed to get a wireless connection in such a rural area. And then there would be the matter of remotely activating the firing mechanism, which would need it's own ip address to connect to. That means there should have been some type of computer hardware left behind and the means to power it, which I'm assuming is under that black box with all the wires coming out of it. It looks pretty small though so I'm guessing a stripped netbook motherboard which has wireless and ethernet built in. Or, they hacked the web camera hardware so that if they sent a pan or zoom command via the internet it pulled the triggers instead. Interesting....

 

Anyway the contractor at the very least should have taken pictures (which he did), started snipping wires, and secured the shotguns. If he had removed anything that looked like a pc it would be golden as the data contained in it could be helpful...unless the computer guy decided to use a non-Microstink OS and hardened it with encryption.

All they have to do is login and look for GA gun forums, look for a hunter who complains about going out at 5am to go hunt (kind of like Matt)... and voila. =)

 

But that is super cool though.

I'd be curious to know how they managed to get a wireless connection in such a rural area. And then there would be the matter of remotely activating the firing mechanism, which would need it's own ip address to connect to. That means there should have been some type of computer hardware left behind and the means to power it, which I'm assuming is under that black box with all the wires coming out of it. It looks pretty small though so I'm guessing a stripped netbook motherboard which has wireless and ethernet built in. Or, they hacked the web camera hardware so that if they sent a pan or zoom command via the internet it pulled the triggers instead. Interesting....

 

Anyway the contractor at the very least should have taken pictures (which he did), started snipping wires, and secured the shotguns. If he had removed anything that looked like a pc it would be golden as the data contained in it could be helpful...unless the computer guy decided to use a non-Microstink OS and hardened it with encryption.

 

 

well I don't want to sound like I am soapboxing about this, but my feeling is that these guys were not all that far away. Would you leave that stuff out like that to do what it appears it was made to do without concealing it in some way? They obviously have enough brains to build the device so where is the camo? So there you are out there taking someone's benelli's, all alone with a guy or guys that may or may not care about the law, or is so fully aware of it that he doesn't want you calling the police on him.

 

As with IED's, leave the area and call for a cordon (the police). Thats my story and I'm sticking with it

well I don't want to sound like I am soapboxing about this, but my feeling is that these guys were not all that far away. Would you leave that stuff out like that to do what it appears it was made to do without concealing it in some way? They obviously have enough brains to build the device so where is the camo? So there you are out there taking someone's benelli's, all alone with a guy or guys that may or may not care about the law, or is so fully aware of it that he doesn't want you calling the police on him.

 

As with IED's, leave the area and call for a cordon (the police). Thats my story and I'm sticking with it

 

It's a pretty big leap from poacher to murderer. For myself, I'm not leaving an unattended weapon (or weapons) unsecured. But now that I think about it, I wonder if there were serial numbers on those Benellis? The contractor should have gotten those too. Anyway, he did what he did, and I'd do what I'd do....more than one way to deal with a situation.

 

Also, I only ever "found" two IED's on two separate missions. The first one detonated early in front of my vehicles, the second detonated late and set our tail vehicle on fire. I worked in a city and there was no way other than sheer luck that anyone was going to see one before it went off. We did find an IED on a truck containing our turkey dinners for Thanksgiving, or rather, our bomb dogs did. We ended up blowing several hundred pounds of turkey meat to kingdom come. The stray dogs ate well that night.

It's a pretty big leap from poacher to murderer

 

but "criminal" to "attacker" is not.

 

Also, I only ever "found" two IED's on two separate missions. The first one detonated early in front of my vehicles, the second detonated late and set our tail vehicle on fire. I worked in a city and there was no way other than sheer luck that anyone was going to see one before it went off. We did find an IED on a truck containing our turkey dinners for Thanksgiving, or rather, our bomb dogs did. We ended up blowing several hundred pounds of turkey meat to kingdom come. The stray dogs ate well that night.

 

Ah, our relationships with them are quite different. The record on one of our convoys was eight, mosly those "speedbumps," with the last one being three howitzer rounds. Scout vehicle really earned their pay, and kept themselves alive on that one. The first one we found was 2 months in after seeing nothing since we got there, then blammo. Gunner took half an EFP to the back of the skull.

 

Three was the norm. In our area it seemed 90% were pretty weak - Tire and axle killers. Then we would hear about some poor family an Opel getting literally vaporized by something that was meant for us but missed.

One of our guys got hit 3 times in his tour.

 

 

Good times, good times...

We ended up blowing several hundred pounds of turkey meat to kingdom come. The stray dogs ate well that night.

 

I am ASSuming that this is the Turkey Roll that we used to get served. It had dark and white meat combined in a bologna type of tube. The colors kinda look like a Ying-Yang. Officers get turkey, enlisted get turkey meat.

actually it isn't too bad. On some private game reserves they offer this as an option for the handicapped. They use a internet connection and "hunt" from home. When they take the shot, someone from the reserve goes and collects the game cleans it and packages it to be shipped back to the "hunter." I had to ask some of the cajuns that I work with about this. They said " people been doin that for years, aint nuttin new." So I did a bunch of digging around on the net and got the info about the handicapped.