Remote-Operated Shotgun Firing System Found In Georgia Woods

In early November, utility company contractors inspecting a right-of-way on private property in southwest Georgia stumbled upon two systems aimed at food plots and designed to fire shotguns unmanned.

According to a bulletin from the Georgia Information Sharing and Analysis Center, the systems were linked to a web-accessible camera system that would allow the weapons to be fired via an Internet connection. The systems were set up on either side of the right-of-way with a total of six 12-gauge shotguns.

The find was reported to DNR Law Enforcement, but by the time conservation rangers arrived on the scene, the systems had been removed.

Sgt. Ellis Wynn, with Region 5 Law Enforcement, said there are a lot of unknowns surrounding the ongoing investigation because the only evidence they have to go on is a photograph. He said the systems may have been rigged for remote firing via Internet or another remote source, or they may have been designed to fire via an on-sight triggering mechanism like a pressure or motion sensor.

“What you’re looking at is $10,000 to $20,000 worth of equipment easily, including the shotguns,” he said. “This is not something somebody threw together in the backyard. It’s a little more intensive than that.”

These shotguns, which appear to be high-dollar Benelli 12-gauges perhaps chambered for 3 1/2-inch shells, were found in the southwest Georgia woods. They were rigged to be fired unmanned, either from a remote source or by an on-sight triggering mechanism.

Because of hog problems in the area, Wynn speculated the devices were probably set up for feral hog control. He would not say whether or not law enforcement has any suspects in the investigation or exactly where the systems were found.

Wynn went on to say that systems like these are illegal and very dangerous, but he doesn’t think their use is widespread.

“We don’t even know how long it was out there,” he said. “They may have just been test firing the thing.”

If you have any information regarding these or similar remote-operated firing systems, contact the Region 5 DNR Law Enforcement office in Albany at (229) 430-4252.