Is It Legal To Shoot Down A Drone On Your North Dakota Land?

Much of America remains on edge over the rash of drone sightings across the nation.

Our government seems less than transparent about the situation, which adds to the paranoia. Especially the drones flying over New Jersey the last couple of weeks, which has garnered the attention of the White House.

My friends have been beating their chest saying if a drone were to fly over their property in North Dakota they would drop it like a fly.

That got me thinking. Is it legal to shoot a drone over your land?

Can we go "Western" or "Yellowstone" and send that drone to the train station? According to NBC News, not only is it ILLEGAL, but federal officials warn it could lead to a dangerous situation. Serious injury could result if you try to test your marksmen skills.

It's a crime and the Federal Aviation Administration classifies drones as aircraft and, under the Aircraft Sabotage Act, damaging or destroying aircraft is a federal offense, even if it's hovering over your private property.

Shooting a drone down is basically looked upon the same as if you were to take out your deer rifle and shoot at a commercial airline.

That pretty much answers the question, it's illegal, and you could end up with a civil penalty. Not to mention, an unmanned aircraft hit by gunfire could crash, causing damage to personal property, it could collide with other objects in the air, or seriously hurt somebody when it comes crashing to the earth.

It's just not worth it, don't do it. If you happen to witness a suspicious drone, you are advised to contact law enforcement and not take matters into your own hands.