While Emanuel Zambellakis didn't fire the weapon at the crew, who were about 60 metres away over a dam, one reported looking straight down the barrel of the weapon.

The trio had been brought in from Canada and were helping battle the bushfires which tore through the region.

They got out of the area as quickly as they could and Zambellakis was arrested and charged with five offences.

He claimed he had just been out shooting foxes during the January 17 incident and never aimed at the chopper.

The Buckland man on Thursday was found guilty of one charge of threatening the safety of an aircraft.

Prosecutor Leading Senior Constable Les Hare argued the perceived threat also meant his actions had endangered the lives of the crew.

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The officer said there was a risk they could have taken dangerous evasive action and crashed.

"If we take another scenario," he said.

"If a person was to walk out onto the Hume Highway and indiscriminately brandish a firearm, it would be fair to assume in my submissions that would place persons in danger of death or serious injury, given they are behind the wheel of a motor vehicle traveling in the vicinity of 110km/h."

While there was no evidence the gun was loaded, the officer said that didn't matter, and the crew "got out of there as quickly as they could".

"The actions of the accused ... demonstrate that his intention by his overt acts were to, for want of a better term, scare the living daylights out of the crew so they wouldn't come back and take his water."

Those on board gave evidence in Wangaratta court during a contested hearing on Thursday.

Defence lawyer Lucien Richter argued the weapon may have been inadvertently pointed at the aircraft.

He said his client had had firearms for 50 years without incident.

His five weapons were handed over to a dealer and his licence suspended.

The court heard the farmer, while supportive of the firefighting effort, was concerned his water was being used on national park rather the people's properties.

"Water is like gold," Mr Richter said.

"It's an important thing and tensions can run high, really high."

Magistrate David Faram fined Zambellakis $2000 and ordered he pay witness costs of $885.

He declined to order that the gun used in the incident be forfeited, given it was unclear exactly which of his five weapons were involved.

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