Aerial gunnery raises difficulty level of target practice
JARED FIELDS • PICAYUNE STAFF
MARBLE FALLS — Shooters can get a different kind of target practice March 22 at Copperhead Creek Shooting Club in Marble Falls.
Most of the time, the shooter and the target are still. Maybe the target is moving and the shooter is still. For this, let’s just say the shooter is definitely moving.
“The more experience people have with hunting moving animals, the harder it is to catch on,” said Jeremy Stillman, CEO of Heli Gunner.
Stillman is talking about aerial gunnery: shooting from a helicopter.
“It’s a hard thing to get through people’s minds. They’re used to leading a target; now you have to trail it and let the bullet catch up,” Stillman said.
The March 22 opportunity at Copperhead Creek is one of a handful that Heli Gunner has done at the shooting range in the past year. Heli Gunner is based in Temple and offers helicopter hog hunts, aerial target shooting and more.
Shooters must be 18 or older, although younger shooters can participate in the aerial gunnery course with paintball guns.
Shooters will have a training session, then take 10-minute turns as a passenger in the helicopter and then as the shooter, aiming at still targets. Organizers will assign a time to participants when they sign up. The cost is $250 a person. Ammunition is extra if the shooter does not have his or her own.
“It’s a really unique location because of the hilly terrain,” Stillman said. “I like this one because of the elevation changes and everything. It’s more fun.”
The course is on the back of the Copperhead Creek property, 7030 RR 1431 east of Marble Falls.
For questions or to sign up, contact Stillman at jeremy@heligunner.com or (512) 538-8512.
jared@thepicayune.com