Advanced Marksmanship heilcopter

[Alan_H]

well i have a rifle match coming up with a stage that is firing from a chopper. now i have never even been in a chopper let alone shoot from one so.....i was wondering if anyone here has experience shooting from one on the move. the way i understand is we will be about 60ft up and 75-100yds from the target and moveing at 30 knots. the rifle will be an AR-15 but i dont know the velocity of the round as it is supplied for us. so any help on this subject woild be awesome thanks!

alan

 

[ChadTRG42]

Re: heilcopter

It totally depends on what direction you are flying and the speed in relation to the target. You will have to lead the target behind the direction you are flying. Most common is flying straight (towards the 12 o'clock position) and shooting at a target to your 9 o'clock position. You will have to apply a lead behind (or to the left) of the target. How much lead depends on how fast you are going. I'd run the ballistics for a common 223 round to get data.
We have also turned the chopper at a 90 degree angle facing the 3 o'clock position when traveling towards the 12 o'clock position. You will have to aim low, or hold under the target for a hit. Again, you can run the data on the lead. But most of the time it's figuring it out on the fly (pun intended)!

 

[JLR]

Re: heilcopter

Alan it's really just a guess when the copter is on the move as you're never going the same speed and the targets won't be the same distance from you. Take a shot, see where it hit and go from there. Chad is right though, you always need to "reverse lead" the target and let the bullet drift into it.

 

[kraigWY]

Re: heilcopter

I was a range officer when the AK NG use to do areal gunnery from Huey's. We used mostly door guns but I would take my LE Counter Sniper Rifle to play. (Rem 700 W/fixed 6X scope). I found I could do better with a M16a1 with iron sights.

As a side note, when using the door guns, you could stand on the skids with a ruck sack catching brass which would help a lot for clearing brass for the Marksmanship Unit.

Door gunners don't have to turn in brass.

 

[Guest]

Re: heilcopter

Most all leads are negative(if over taking) when shooting from a rotatory bird, unless your doing pop up's/overs, or opposite side pass's.

I've shot as little as 0 IPHY up to 60 IPHY depending target angle, bird speed, an bird height. This is something that comes more from experience.

 

[Alan_H]

Re: heilcopter

wow i totally over think this stuff... so basiclly flying twards the 12 position and shooting at the 9 you would have to shoot behind the leading edge of the target (closest edge to you)?

 

[JLR]

Re: heilcopter

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Alan_H</div><div class="ubbcode-body">wow i totally over think this stuff... so basiclly flying twards the 12 position and shooting at the 9 you would have to shoot behind the leading edge of the target (closest edge to you)?</div></div>

Well yes, the bullet will have some amount of drift in the direction you're traveling depending on the speed you're traveling at so you just aim behind or in front of the target. Quit thinking so much and just shoot...this isn't a science project with finite answers.

 

[Alan_H]

Re: heilcopter

well i cant stop thinking i so excited!...but i have to wait untill sunday i guess

 

[Pat M]

Re: heilcopter

Paint ball from the back or your truck at targets up Haye canyon

 

[Guest]

Re: heilcopter

Use the following at your own risk,........

If you can get a Train connection, it's the best way to get cheap target time. If you have canyons to shoot into, more better.

Most pick up trucks can be modified to run the rail w/o jumping the tracks, be carefull of short curves at 100 + (you don't want to know how I know this). You can also get small AC rentals to get time if you have enough dirt to play on. Caution, flying low and shooting from a AC will have issues with locals an the FAA. If you get caught, even if you own the AC an dirt your flying over there's going to be a issue.

Keep a log of speed vs lead, in knots, then when in a bird have the co-pilot do call outs.

 

[zscurlock]

Re: heilcopter

I have not shot moving at 30 mph. I have shot in a hovering or slow move at targets and animals on the move. You are in such a unstable position that I think it's better to forget about your wind hold etc. I would just see where you hit and adjust on the next shot.