Happy Birthday Rick Mulhern

[Ironramrod]

Mulhern,

And speaking of aerial hunting I've done some of that (J-3 and Super Cub) in my former life, and before federalization. For me it worked best as gunner to be in the back seat, to give full vision to the pilot. Also, I could keep better track of the strut and wheel on that side to prevent really serious mistakes. I always put 1 shell in the shotgun so the pilot would always know the gun was empty after "bang" and he could make a turn. I would tap his shoulder after reloading so he would know I was ready for another pass, if necessary. When things were working right, it was 1 fox to the pass every time. Always used a 12 ga.; pump or double barrel and #4 shot on red fox and BB's or 4 Buck on the coyotes. Never a dull moment; full throttle fun, but really cold.

I knew a pilot here in the mid-60's that flew a J-3, and did his own flying/gunning from the back seat. He would set up the approach on a red fox w/the window open and barrel out the window, put the stick between his knees, grab the gun and shoot and drop the gun in his lap and grab the stick again. He often shot about 600 red fox a year this way and never had an accident. A lot of the pilots in that era aerial hunted just for something fun to do in the winter along w/ fishing.

Personally, I liked it a lot better when a lot of this country was more of a backwater than the mainstream it is now.

Regards
IR