HERE COME THE PORK CHOPPERS 
After 4 hours of classroom training near Hobby Airport in “the first Professional Helicopter Hog Hunting Safety Course in the nation that is specific to hunters who would be hiring a helicopter service to hunt feral hogs,” reporter Sonia Smith goes out on her first aerial wild hog shoot, AR-15 in hand — near Knox City, with the same helicopter pilot who took Ted Nugent on a 30-plus pig run back in March. A new law effective September 1 allows sport hunters to rent helicopter gunner seats for hog or coyote kills, but the rush has already begun. Cedar Ridge Aviation’s Dustin Johnson tells her he’s scheduled 30 flights so far, “including one for a group of ATF agents from New York.” [Texas Monthly; course info; previously on Swamplot] Photo: Cedar Ridge Aviation
Sign up for the Newsletter
Pork!
I know these animals are very destructive but they also have a wonderful family life – large groups which travel together and look out for each other. They’re a very successful specie which eats anything and hunts snakes, btw.
Choppers!
Seductive rock-n-roll soundtrack & Texas Parks&Wildlife approval aside, annihilating hogs from the air, without dealing with the aftermath, is gross and obnoxious – Man at his worst. At least, these hunts should occur when wintering vultures are in the area to clean up the carcasses.
Although it sounds like fun, it is very difficult to shoot from a moving helicopter and it would make it very difficult to make a humane kill. Part of being a hunter is taking pride in the stalking and in a respectful kill of the game.
“wintering vultures”?
Why not let the permanent resident buzzards have the food??
In our part of Texas, buzzards not only clean up road kill but pasture dead too. The heat and drought is taking a toll on cattle out I-10 West.
Not only that, buzzards roost and raise their young in local barns and sheds. For free rent, they should earn their keep!
@xommonsense, helicopter shooting of feral hogs isn’t hunting, it’s wildlife management. And with the hogs, if you kill 6, there will be 10 next year. You really have to shoot everyone you see to keep them under control.
AR-15….not an ar-16 :/
I know it would probably cost $1.6 million per dead porker, but I think it would be awesome training for the military’s drone jockeys to pick off piggies. If I could only figure out a way to kill ’em, smoke ’em, fly ’em back and sell ’em.
@john: Fixed, thanks.
This is totally awesome. To the person that talked about humane kills when your hunting…this ain’t huntin..this here is killin. Big difference! It’s KILLIN TIME!
I would probably run with a 7.62 platform ar-10 or m1a. Kill them and let them rot. Filthy animals. Kill them all.
Yeah! This would be so fun. No wonder seats are filling up. Would be a blast to do this with some full auto set up. Like rick ross said, this aint hunting, it’s cleaning up. Who cares about some stinkin filthy pig. The only good hog is a dead hog. That’s what I say.
If only pigs could fly. Too.
But anyway, about the vultures, their population doubles in winter when the migrators come through an area.
GET SOME!!! GET SOME!!!
I saw the title about “Pork Choppers” and I thought this would be about HPD helicopter patrols getting more funding.
My bad.