Helo hog hunting on the Texas costal plains

[txgunner00]

The vids are a bit long because my video editor sucks but here they are

You can see me clearing jams from the ammo issue I discussed in another thread. I missed a few opportunities because of it but I still had a blast. I can't wait to do it again.


Total kills for our group for the weekend was between 250-300 hogs and about 1/2 dozen coyotes. The outfitter says they will lay off this area for about 3 months and they population will be right back up where it was.

[txgunner00]

my BIL's cam

[txgunner00]

photo(6).jpg

[txgunner00]

You could tell a definite difference between the effect the 6.5 G had on the hogs vs. a .223. There were a few my BIL stitched from one end to the other and didn't put them down until he got a nervous system hit. I've killed plenty of hogs and deer with a .223 but they were well aimed shots and good hits. When you have an animal running for it's life and amped up on adrenalin it takes a bit more to shut them down quickly.

[LRRPF52]

That is fricken awesome daddeeeeeeeeeey!

Did you have the illumination on with the GRSC? Under those lighting conditions, I imagine it worked out for you.

What load were you using?

Did you have a dump bag for empty mags?

This is too cool.

[Kikn]

that is bad @$$.

Who did you go through? I haven't seen any helo hunts with the 3 gunner seat chopper.

Also what was the cost of the whole event?

How much ammo did you use?

How much time did you get to hunt up in the air?

[txgunner00]

That is fricken awesome daddeeeeeeeeeey!

Did you have the illumination on with the GRSC? Under those lighting conditions, I imagine it worked out for you.

What load were you using?

Did you have a dump bag for empty mags?

This is too cool.

I had the scope set at 1x with the illumination on. It worked great for target acquisition and engagement as it has for many jeep & foot hunts prior to this. The only down side is looking through a tube in a helicopter chasing live targets tends to stir the stomach up a bit.

I used a variety of loads ranging from 100 to 140 grain projos. I cleaned out my component drawer of all the random 6.5 bullets I had.

My range bag was between my feet for empty mags.

[txgunner00]

that is bad @$$.

Who did you go through? I haven't seen any helo hunts with the 3 gunner seat chopper.

Also what was the cost of the whole event?

How much ammo did you use?

How much time did you get to hunt up in the air?

The company that owns the helos is called Helitractors. They primarily do crop spraying but have started booking hogs hunts since the law changed last year to allow it. You pay by the hour and I believe the standard rate is $500-$550 per hour per person. We had a large group so we paid $400/h. PM me if you want the phone number to the guy that schedules the hunts. They have access to 76,000+ acres from Houston to Galveston to Matadorda.

My BIL and I went up for an hour but didn't see anything for the first 25 minutes. We saw 3, shot them, and flew for 10 minutes minutes before moving to another site. The rest we shot in the last 15 minutes or so and it was pretty intense. We counted 20-25 between the two of us. I probably shot 50-60 rounds and my BIL shot about 120.

[usmc1371]

txgunner what caliber is your grsc sited in for?

[txgunner00]

I zeroed it at 100 yds on that rifle before trip. It usually lives on my .223 SBR though.

[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.