Posted on 11/19/2004 5:22:51 AM PST by new cruelty
A Texas-based Web site is promising hunters worldwide the chance to shoot deer and antelope with the click of a mouse.
At live-shot.com, subscribers can already shoot paper targets with a .22-caliber rifle mounted to a camera. Virtual hunters aim the camera and click a button to fire. Ten shots and 20 minutes cost $5.95.
The service plans to expand soon to allow hunters in the comfort of their homes to kill live animals. Greg Stevens, a partner in the site, said it will appeal to disabled hunters who can't venture into the wild and those who can't afford a trip to Texas.
Stevens and his partner, John Lockwood, own about 330 acres in southwest Texas. They hope to erect a fence on the ranch and stock it with exotic animals -- aoudad sheep, blackbuck antelope, wild hogs, fallow deer -- for the shooting pleasure of online customers.
'If you just had a gun for that'
The men developed the idea while using fantasyhunt.com, a Web site that allows users to photograph wild animals using wireless solar-powered cameras.
"We were looking at a beautiful whitetail buck and my friend said, 'If you just had a gun for that,'" Mr. Lockwood said. "A little light bulb went off in my head."
A supervisor will oversee the hunt to ensure the camera does not malfunction. The staffer will also finish the job if the hunter's bullet does not kill the animal. The carcass could then be stuffed by a taxidermist and mailed to the hunter.
Stevens estimates it will cost about $1,500 to shoot a blackbuck antelope online.
Texas wildlife officials, animal rights groups and hunting associations are following their plans closely. Most hunters say the idea of virtual hunting is abhorrent, said Kirby Brown, executive vice president of the Texas Wildlife Association.
"It's not hunting," Brown said from San Antonio. "Hunting is an ethical experience that involves being there. You have to be a part of the sights, the sounds."
Say what?
I think they mean to shoot the mouse out of a gun at high velocity. The mouse is probably carrying a blade of some sort.
Um...and how exactly does the camera get the deer into the back of the truck, and cut into venison steaks?
Well, if he is saying what I think he is saying, I agree. Whenever I hunted it was for the purpose of killing and animal so I could eat it.
venison steaks... yummmm...
Apparently if you shoot the animal you just get to keep its corpse as a trophy.
Texas Officials Wary of Plan to Hunt by Internet ..Another article
Wow...What do you want to bet me that someone will soon be trying to figure out how to duplicate this in his backyard...with rabbits...or maybe cats...
thats good and stupid,lazy hunting for idiots
and I deerhunt
Last time I read Texas hunting laws a .22 rimfire is illegal. Did they mean a .223? Typical wire story always gets the facts wrong. Most hunting in Texas is with .30 cal guns. Buy the "Deerhunter" CD video game and save a bundle.
Yup.
Like riding the automatic pony in front of the grocery store and calling yourself a cowboy.
I love it, if only because it will push some of these animal rights activists over the edge.Now if we could only get these sniper cams into Falluja or Sadr city, man talk about your "first person shooters"
You mean I'm not?
There are virtual-controlled forklifts and shredders for that. ;-)
"If this guy can get Osama bin Laden within range, he's got a deal."
Roger that. I'm a trophy hunter too. All I want is the head. He can feed the rest to the wild.
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