PHOENIX (KSAZ) – There’s a battle over the skies of Arizona. Sports shooters are hunting down drones.
It’s a futuristic way of sports shooting that’s being developed in the valley.
“It’s just like nothing you’ve ever shot at before,” said George Ford.
“It’s a hard harder than it seems,” said Robert Maurer.
It’s called gnat warfare.
“I’ve trap shot all my life, and I can’t believe how hard it is,” said Steve Sandland.
Shooters are declaring war on drones.
“I’ve been skeet shooting before, but this is a whole different thing,” said DW Small.
Some call this the future of sports shooting, remote controlled drones dodging bullets with explosives under each wing.
The drones can fly up to 80 miles per hour, so they’re not an easy target, even the most experiences shooters had trouble.
“I couldn’t hit it,” said Steve Sandland.
It’s a scaled down version of a military target drone. “All of a sudden that thing just starts coming down, and you’re like whoa, wait a minute, wait a second,” said Small.
There are 12 targets that give off a flash bang when hit.
“It’s just a lot of fun,” said George Ford.
Valley entrepreneur George Ford first heard about gnat drones in the United Kingdom.
“I just googled it, tracked it down, and decided to get after it,” he said.
He designed his own gnat and turned it into a big business.
Requests to shoot the gnats are skyrocketing. Ford’s going rate is 4,000 per day, and he’s flying all over the country.
Booking corporate parties in Vegas and shoot outs for Navy Seal’s in Idaho.
“I’ve watched it from when it went from absolutely nothing to as big as it’s getting, it’s amazing,” said Amber Smith.
The drones are designed, so they rarely get shot down, the wings take most of the hits.
“You knick a prop, nick a fuel line, but everything else is bulletproof you might say,” said Ford.
Ford’s business, is just taking off. It has the allure of old west gunpowder and high-tech unmanned flight.
