Dove hunting

[jawjaboy]

While flipping channels this morning I ran across an outdoor program where dove hunting was the topic. Some dude on there said that the average dove shooters kill per shells fired was 5 shots per bird on the ground(kill). I had always heard that it was 4 to 1.

Which do you think is more accurate?

[MONTEGOD7SS]

Bout a box per bird for me, lol. :)

[Brass Nazi]

5 per bird sounds good to me although I know a few guys that would say a 100:1 ratio would be doing good.

[eazylivin]

1 to 1 cuz that's how I roll...... LOL !!!!!!!!

[Jayhawker]

1 to 1 cuz that's how I roll...... LOL !!!!!!!!
1 shot, 1 miss?

[Brass Nazi]

1 shot, 1 miss?
:hunter:

[eazylivin]

Now fellers..... using an old sigle shot... every shot has to count.

[BigSlick]

5 per bird sounds good to me although I know a few guys that would say a 100:1 ratio would be doing good.


That would be me.

I never seen anything so fast in my whole life as a Texas dove when the wind comes up. I lead em a little, I lead em a lot, I shoot em straight on, I shoot em straight away, still not too many got a thing to worry about.

I follow thru with my shots too, some just too fast.

I did learn low brass cheapo shells ain't worth the time or effort.

Remington magnums get my ratio down to 99:1 ;)

[jawjaboy]

I never seen anything so fast in my whole life as a Texas dove when the wind comes up.


Dove = the feathered rocket.

[Brass Nazi]

Slick,

In my experience the more thought you put into the shot the more likely you are miss. You do not aim when dove hunting you react. Bring the gun up and swing it along the bird's flight path and let your trigger finger fire by instinct.

[jawjaboy]

Dat's all well and good JT, but what ya do do when they dip/dart/dive in nano-seconds? They a do that ya know.

[Brass Nazi]

Dat's all well and good JT, but what ya do do when they dip/dart/dive in nano-seconds? They a do that ya know.

That's why it takes five shells to get one dove:mf_chieftain:

[BoltNut]

Face glued to the wood, both eyes open and NOT trying to aim, but look at the bird with BOTH eyes...say a little prayer...fire. 5:1 sounds about "average," but 4:1 sounds more like people who know what they're doing and who practice now-and-then.

[BigSlick]

I've seen people argue about who shot one bird because one of em says he got it with one shot, the others says he got it with one shot, both of em fired 4 shells :animlol:

I just try and stick near a stock tank about 1½ hrs before legal daylight is gone. They come in like a missle and if I didn't hafta hunt with a plug I'd do a lot better :yesnod:

I'd probably look kinda unusual hunting with a 9 shot home defense gun, but, I'd have me some dove to grill ;)

[BoltNut]

Slick, that's how my big brother gets it done in Okeechobee through his cattle market buddies. They got a big feed area for the critters with silos of grain them bad-boys come into every day. When the cattle aint in town, he gets invited to go eliminate some of the over-population of gray birdies round them parts! :-D

It's all in who you know.

[CZ93X62]

Opening Day ratio is about 7:1 or 8:1, but after that the rust breaks loose and I can get near or at 4:1. Most folks use too much choke--too few pellets--and cheap, lousy shot. If you reload, use 3-3/4 dram x 1-1/4 oz 12 gauge high velocity field loads with #9 shot (good luck finding those in factory loads). Rem or WW skeet loads (#9s) with the harder shot and better wads are about as good as it gets for factory loads, the 3 dram/1-1/8 oz being the best.

[BoltNut]

CZ...you using "skeet" or "mod-imp" for choke?

[wwdavis427]

The best day I ever had hunting dove, I shot 50%. I had a Stevens side by side with open chokes, and I was hunting on a pond dam. Almost all my shots were incoming, and all you had to do was let them get close enough. There was a 12/13 year old boy with a pump .410 on the other end of the dam, and he was good for five shots every time he went for a dove, but he did get one every once in a while

As I got older, the thrill for doves sort of faded with me. One day, I was sitting in a bunch of broom sage, sweat running in my eyes and fire ants crawling all over me, and I decided that was my last dove hunt. And it was.

I sold the double barrel, and I have regretted that to this day. At least, the guy who bought it put it to good use. He did lie a lot about how many doves he killed out of a box of shells.

[MullahElRon]

Doves big as chickens on the desert right now.

[jawjaboy]

7 pound doves? :shocking:

[VN350X10]

I use my old Stevens/Savage 311 side-by in 20 ga. been shooting the same shotgun for 'most 50 yrs. (damn, I'm getting OLD !)
On a very good day, I'll do 3:1 on doves, on a bad day, 15:1 is more like it !
But it's still a lot of fun, & they grill so nice over apple wood. Marinate in white wine with a bit of garlic & a touch of fresh ground black pepper.
Low fire & not too long.........finer eating is hard to come by.

[BoltNut]

Mmmmmmmmm, now I'm hun-greeee!