Coyote Hunting from a Super Cub DOH!

[avbug]

Don Sheldon. Wow. There's a name that stands out. I have his book somewhere here, Wager with the Wind. Quite a man. I would like to have met him.

 

[SheGaveMeClap]

All good posts, gentlemen, on an interesting subject. Where I grew up, hunting out of an airplane with a permit was legal. Hunting and flying on the same day wasn't illegal. I can see the logic behind it, but it is legal. Maybe not the most moral thing to do, and everyone knew everyone elses airplanes. Most people just avoided flying during hunting season, didn't want to pi$$ off their neighbors who were out looking for the big bucks.

I was nothing to waste two boxes of 12 gauge shells and get one or two coyotes. Like anything, shooting out of an airplane took a lot of practice. The coyotes and fox weren't very smart at first, they'd just run in a straight line away from the airplane. That was an easy shot. Once the animals knew they were being hunted, they'd zig and zag to avoid the pellets. That's when it got tricky, but it sure did get fun!! The big thing to avoid was shooting a hole in the strut, wing, or floorboard of your airplane. Made for a miserable day if you tore a hole in your airplane.

 

[A Squared]

Don Sheldon, yeah, he was quite a guy. The most amazing part in "Wager with the Wind" is his rescue of the guys in Devil's Canyon with a floatplane. I've flown over Devil's Canyon and I can't imagine landing a floatplane there, not more than once anyway.

He also built what is arguably the most spectacular cabin on the North American continent, the "Mountain House" in the Ruth Ampitheatre by Denali. I've landed there to check it out, requires landing at about 6000' on the Ruth Glacier. The mountain house is octagonal (or is it hexagonal) with huge windows on all sides. It has a 360 degree view taking in Denali, the Ruth Ampitheatere, the "Moose's Tooth", and a lot of ice. It's still owned by Don Sheldon's widow.

regards