Hog Hunting....Texas Style!

[Helo-Pilot]

SAS, I re-read my last couple of posts and realized how crappy I sounded. I apologize, it was not intended to be that way.
There are no FAA regulations on hog hunting from the helicopters. YET.

As for training, there is at least one company in Texas that is doing aerial platform training specific to animal depredation. I have taken that class, and was not impressed.

The complete first half day of the class was a lecture on the hog problem in Texas. What the laws require as far as permits and hunting licenses. General safety around helicopters. And there was about 30 minutes of the instructor sweeping the muzzle of his AR15 across the students while trying to sound professional in explaining why you should ONLY do this their way.

The morning was followed by a short lunch, then about an 1.5 hr drive to the ‘range’ where we all stood around and waited for our chance to fly and shoot our allotted 60 rounds at a stationary target.

In my opinion, it was not worth the cost of the course.

Usually, I talk to our shooters, discuss clearing the weapon, the rotor disk, and a short discussion on the ‘just in cases’. I make sure that they know that I, as the pilot, will stop a hunt if I see anything being done that goes against our previous discussion. No questions asked.