We do them in the S61 sim to the water at night and its totally on numbers. Basically the same as an IFR auto.
At 200'... 20 degrees up, at 75' ...level and at 50' start the pull.
It works really well and the sim will tell you if you crashed. You can even do them on a tail rotor drive failure though it sometimes feels like it's as much about luck as it is about technique....
Not sure I would be too keen about practising them in any single engine for real over unlit terrain...even with a power recovery at 500'. If the engine doesnt respond you'll be very lucky to survive.
