Dove Reports?

[Researcher]

Lets hear some stories and see some pictures from the members who are enjoying Dove shooting this weekend!!

[Stan Hillis]

I will give a full report on this weekend, with pics, after Saturday. Lots of doves in our sunflower field last weekend. Probably 500 or more feeding at 5:00 p.m. We will have a big lunch on Saturday, then sit around under the shed, shoot pool in the shop, and watch college football until about 3:00, then go to the field.

It should be a good 'un.

It's finally SEPTEMBER !! Glory, glory !! I hope to read reports from many others, too.

SRH

[fox-admin]

Dave I wish I had something to report but New York is one of the few states that does not consider the dove a migratory game bird. In 2012 a bill was introduced to change the designation with over 70% support from outdoor types. The bill still needs a sponsor in the NY Senate so who knows what will happen in the world's most dysfunctional legislative body. The dove population seems up this year in upstate NY.
Our season for resident geese opened September 1st. The resident birds do move north in this area after molting and only start returning here in very late September. There is not a goose on our marsh in spots where there were hundreds during the spring. I plan to hunt them just before the VC.
The 1st of October is my real waterfowl opener in Quebec this year, I will close out the season in Arkansas in late January 2014.
So to all you boys south of NY enjoy our doves----maybe some day we will educate them to the hunters gun before they head south. Craig

[Silvers]

My buddies had the 20 gauge guns out on the sporting course on Sunday and were planning a couple of dove trips downstate this week. I don't hunt doves but I do grouse, woodcock and waterfowl and have been doing early scouting for them over the past week along with digging roots and looking for early mushrooms. A great berry and crabapple crop hereabouts, and a nice time of the year. There have been 20-30 geese on the neighbor's ponds over the past week, actually several flocks along with some mallards. First I saw other than a random bird or two there since May or so. Our resident geese season opened yesterday but it's too warm to hunt and besides they're much less cagey as compared with the flight birds. Like Craig I'm in on a Canadian waterfowl hunt in October; we'll be staying on a houseboat and that will be the first such setup I've ever been on. Should be interesting.

[SmithShady]

Opening day was somewhat disspointing for me, especially compared to last year. I left my family at the beach late on Sunday to come back for Opening Day (also my wedding anniversay). I hunted the fields at Beaver Pond in Snow Camp, NC again this year with my 16ga Sterlingworth. I called Alan, a fellow AHFCA member to find out what time he'd be there in the morning. He informed me that they were having severe weather with three inches of rain so far, and more to come. I'm not sure if that was the issue, but I didn't take but a few shots at birds all day. I hunted in the morning, in the field by 7:30, and killed the only bird that came close enough for me to shoot. After a few hours of sitting there, I took some pot shots at another bird that I had no business trying to hit from that far away, probably more out of boredom than anything. When it started to warm up, I headed in for lunch and spent the early afternoon shooting Five Stand. It got cloudy and I started hearing some shots from the fields around 3:00 so I packed up and headed back out. I saw more birds in the afternoon and heard more shots around me, but only a few came in close enough for me to shoot. It was extremely hot and muggy after all the rain, and I packed up about 6:15 and headed in. On the walk back up the gravel road, I passed the next closest shooter, and he asked me if I found both of the birds that I hit in the last group that came through. The last brid that I shot was in a group of three that came by and I shot at two out of the three. They were far away and I knew that I winged one of them, and without a dog, I was focused on marking it as it flew to the ground. Evidently, I must have hit the other bird as well, because he saw it go down in the next field. It could have been a double, but I'll never know because I had no idea that I might have hit the second bird. I spoke to several others on the way back to the lodge, and nobody that I talked to shot more than five or six birds. I think one person may have had 10 in the morning, but not in my field. I'm going to try to go back next Saturday and see if things are any better. Regardless, it was still great to get out with my Fox and be in the fields again.

Mike

[loggy]

I have had a truce with the doves for several years. Most years we have a lot that fly past our house in the evenings. This year there have been very few. Most of the ones I see are the Eurasian collered variety. They are legal to kill year round, but you can't shoot in the city limits. Grouse season opened last Friday. It doesn't appear that there are the large numbers that we had last year. I am waiting patiently for pheasants.

[jolly bill]

Researcher/Dave,

My wife and I drove thru your winter stomping grounds yesterday - Spokane. My wife likes to pronounce it like it looks: "spo cane", not "spo can" as it should be. I suspect you're still in Alaska?

We started out yesterday in Ephrata WA, about 150 plus miles west of Spokane, went north from there and checked out The Grand Coulee Dam and then to Spokane then north up into British Columbia - Canadian Rockies.

Very pretty plains country west of Spokane for those not fortunate enough to see it. Miles of golden colored fields looked like some of it may have been oats, Some being combined.

Didn't see any hunting activity. Maybe the season isn't open yet?

Will be back in nothern WA next Sunday and Monday. Nice country out here Dave.

Keep the dove hunting reports coming.

Jolly

[fnj682]

Morning shoot on opening day was fair. I was able to get into a good flight path for the Eurasian dove in the afternoon.
They were taken with 16 gauge Steringworths.

[blindduck2]

I set up a hunt with another fellow who assured me there would be oodles of doves to hunt. Opening day I saw three, two of which were out of range and the third fell on the third shot by the group across the field drinking beer. Hope springs eternal, next day I saw one, again out of range but I thought I'm out, it's a pleasant day, then it began to rain. I plan to check exactly what "oodles" means to these boys.

[Researcher]

These mostly tales of woe are still making me feel longingly for those hot humid miserable days in the Shenendoah Valley near Mount Jackson --



Sorry I don't have a pic with a Fox loaded in Photobucket. From 1999 and the gun is a 16-gauge KE-Grade Remington.

[eightbore]

Dave, whose property were you shooting over in Mount Jackson. Linda's daughter in law is in a many generation Mount Jackson family and still lives there. She knows everyone down there. We have a new Granddaughter and spend some time down there.

[Researcher]

I shot on Floyd Baker's farms. My Wife and I stopped and asked permission in 1977, and every year after that until 2003. Seemed like every couple of years he's bought another farm, and always said "just help yourself." He also usually put in a couple of rows of sweet corn along the edge of his cornfield and always offered sweet corn as well!!

[loggy]

Jolly, are you coming thru the great state of Idaho? John

[vaturkey]

These mostly tales of woe are still making me feel longingly for those hot humid miserable days in the Shenendoah Valley near Mount Jackson --



Sorry I don't have a pic with a Fox loaded in Photobucket. From 1999 and the gun is a 16-gauge KE-Grade Remington.

Was in Winchester on Monday. Was shooting my custom Abby Gun 12 gauge with 1 oz number 8's. I've had better shooting days and better days with more birds, but they finally came into the waterhole late in the evening and my buddy and I got our limits. Horrible day from the heat perspective. 92 degree's in the shade with high humidity and almost no wind. I think we saw about 100 birds all day, but most of what we did see buzzed by the waterhole and the about half of them were within range. Mine will end up on the bbq this weekend wrapped in bacon.

[ranmcc]

Went out about 3:30 this afternoon dove hunting with my 20ga Fox Sterlingworth. Sat under a pine tree in the shade. A few birds came in slow this afternoon, but managed to get six in a 75 acre corn field by myself and my springer spaniel. Mo Jo dove decoy helped alot. No use hunting by yourself without one. Also got a few pigeons that I am sure the farmer appreciated me getting rid of today. Birds stopped flying about 6, but stayed till 6:30 waiting on just one more. It was really hot and humid here in SC. Hope to get better weather this weekend. Love my Fox. It is a great gun shoots like a new one even though it is 80 years old, just amazing. Used RST shells.