Helo hog hunting on the Texas costal plains

[usmc1371]

got the same scope.i am putting it on my fal.

[JASmith]

Verrryy interesting!!!

Couldn't get a feel for how far out the hogs were. I'm guessing most were under 100 yards, but the camera made it look a lot longer.

[Whelenon]

That is just way to cool, best entertainment I've seen in a long time. I think a left handed shooter behind the pilot would be ideal. I volunteer!!! Thanks for posting that, I'm still smiling.

[hm2 clark]

It's taken me a little thought to warm up to the idea of hunting from an aircraft. But.... WAY COOL!!!!

[JASmith]

At least a few of us have done similar stuff in different venues and vehicles over the years. It is truly a lot of fun but we've got to remember that the hogs here are vermin actively destroying a lot of vegetation on ranchland and, possibly, public land.

[txgunner00]

At least a few of us have done similar stuff in different venues and vehicles over the years. It is truly a lot of fun but we've got to remember that the hogs here are vermin actively destroying a lot of vegetation on ranchland and, possibly, public land.

Absolutely. I've seen the damage across thousands of acres of Texas ranch and farm land from the ground but seeing it from the air gives you a whole new perspective.

A good friend of mine is a farmer in Lubbock area. Last year in one field alone hogs cost them $30,000 in lost crops.

[JASmith]

I had the pleasure of shooting rabbits at night from a truck on a Lubbock-area ranch in '68 and '69. The rancher and his family were excellent hosts, and I miss their company.

I guess I was too early for hogs...

[txgunner00]

I had the pleasure of shooting rabbits at night from a truck on a Lubbock-area ranch in '68 and '69. The rancher and his family were excellent hosts, and I miss their company.

I guess I was too early for hogs...

I've done that myself north of Lubbock and it's a lot of fun. You can really test your marksmanship going after the little critters with .22s.

Ferrel hogs really weren't a huge problem back then like they are now. It wasn't until last year you could legally pay for a helo hunt. Befor that it was highly restricted and the land owner usually paid for it. Most couldn't afford it so the state changed the law to try to slow the population growth.

[txgunner00]

got the same scope.i am putting it on my fal.

One guy with us was using a FAL. Put a whompin' on them for sure.

Verrryy interesting!!!

Couldn't get a feel for how far out the hogs were. I'm guessing most were under 100 yards, but the camera made it look a lot longer.

I took a few shots at 80-100 yds and connected with one or two at that range. Most were within 50 yds and we were 20'-30' off the deck.

[ss355]

What a rush that was just to watch the video. Can't imagine how much the adrenaline was pumping when actually shooting!

I'm now full of questions, so please bear with me. Like one other poster asked, at what range were most shots? It was hard to tell from the effect of the camera lens what the actual distance was.

How did you manage mags? One bag for loaded mags and one for empties? I noticed the rope attached to the gun; that makes sense.

What did your BiL report regarding target acquisition with the EOTech? I recall in another thread that you said next time you'd opt for a red dot/EOTech rather than a scope. Was that because of airspeed/target speed or because looking through the tube of the scope made for an unpleasant stomach?

Gun details--bbl length, stock? It looked like you didn't use a brass catcher. Did empties bother the pilot? Just want to nail down all the details so when (not "if") I go I'll be loaded for bear.

Thanks so much for posting the video. Sure made for a fun 20-ish minutes of entertainment even though I wasn't pulling a trigger.