- SAN ANTONIO -- Forget about
PlayStation 2 - a Texas entrepreneur wants to kick computer gaming up to
the next level by offering players a chance at some real-live killing via
mouse and modem.
-
- John Lockwood, who's already hooked up guns to the
Internet
to let faraway users shoot targets on his Texas ranch, is set to let fans
shoot live game through his Web site, live-shot.com.
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- "I've gotten hate mail calling me a sick, despicable
redneck," said Lockwood, 39, a lifelong hunter. "But the
technology
for hunters keeps evolving, from bowhunting to high-powered rifles.
-
- "This is just another step forward, another tactical
advantage."
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- The idea appeals to some city people who'd rather not
dirty up their boots in the Texas woods.
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- "It's an intriguing idea for someone in the
city,"
said a 26-year-old Bronx man who works for a financial-services company
- adding that Lockwood's idea also appealed to him as a computer-gaming
fan.
-
- The gamer, who asked not to be named, said the buzz had
been high among his 100 co-workers. But Lockwood's proposal raises ethical
questions among hunters.
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- "Sitting remotely and pushing a button to kill
another
animal is nothing but perverse 21st-century slaughter," said Kevin
Armstrong of upstate Naples, president of the New York Bowhunters
Association.
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- Of Lockwood's proposal, Armstrong said: "This should
never be confused with real hunting."
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- Lockwood's device is simple: a .22-caliber rifle mounted
on a "pan and tilt" mechanism of the type used to mount security
cameras. Attached to the rifle are cables and wires that connect it to
a computer.
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- Two cameras are also hooked to the device. One pans the
ground in the rifle's firing field; the other is attached to the rifle
itself and lets users aim and fire.
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- Since Lockwood's start-up business began appearing in
news reports recently, his Web site has re ceived 226,000 visits.
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- Lockwood - who charges less than $20 for his shooting
service - intends to have the remote hunts set to go by the beginning of
next year.
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- The price will range from $60 to $75 an hour, with the
camera and rifle pointed at a game feeder set up to attract animals.
Deposits
are also required for dressing and taxidermy services.
-
- Killing something will cost extra. "A feral hog
might go for $500, a black buck or axis deer for $1,500 to $2,000,"
Lockwood said. "But there's nothing additional if they don't take
a shot. I can't guarantee that an animal will come by during their
time."
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- Texas authorities haven't decided yet what to make of
Lockwood's proposal. The state Parks and Wildlife Department is studying
whether new regulations are needed for online hunting.
-
- Lockwood points out that new hunting technology has
always
led some hunters to gripe that the sport has lost its purity. "Some
members of the hunting community believe that hunting with high-powered
rifles is not real hunting," he said.
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