doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Opening Day-- and 50 year anniversary

This is a report on opening day of dove season in my little corner of the world, which may hold some interest for those who cannot get out and participate anymore, and for those who love it as much as I and just like hearing about others' hunts.

Saturday was opening day of the first dove season here in Jawja, and we opened it on a sunflower field that I planted for the owner. We have planted the same field for doves for several years now, and it just seems to get better each year. It is about 21 acres of planted sunflower and corn, maybe 26 acres total field size, and last year we shot it six times taking over 1000 doves there.

The owner had invited about 35 people, a few more than I would have planned for on a field this size, figuring that maybe two thirds of them would show. Well, all showed up, and the afternoon began with a Low Country boil for lunch. For those of you not blessed to have partaken of such a sumptuous repast, it consists of boiled jumbo shrimp, half ears of sweet corn, thin sliced pieces of pork sausage, some quartered new potatoes, onions, and enough seasoning to make it "jes right". Each ingredient is cooked separately, ideally, and then when done all are combined in a very large serving pan and eaten all together.

While this was being prepared and consumed the host was regularly checking the field, which was about 1/2 mile away, to see if the birds had begun feeding. A good host takes pride in knowing, as near as possible, what time the birds are feeding so as not to make the guests sit in the 90-sumpin' degree heat and 900% humidity any longer than necessary to garner a limit of fifteen doves.

About 3:00 or 3:30 he gathered the group together, welcomed everyone, made a short talk on safety, stressing most of all that no low birds be tried, asked that when the limit was gathered up each gun leave the field so that the ones in less than ideal stands could move to a "hotter" location, and wished us all well. We drove to the field, parked in the woods on the approach road, and spread out into the mowed strips for some action.

The birds were already flying and shooting began immediately. I was in a location I had shot in previous years and did not get much shooting for about the first half hour to forty-five minutes. I was not concerned, though, knowing that the doves would begin coming over a hedgerow of oaks a bit later in the afternoon. They did precisely that, and I soon had my eight year old grandson busy retrieving downed birds. My Lab, Fowler, was hit by a car in front of my house last November and grandson No. 1 has taken over retrieving duties until a new pup is ready. I was using my "stand-by" dove gun, a Beretta 687 SP II Sporting, with a light modified choke in the first barrel and an improved cylinder in the second, and 7/8 oz. of 7 1/2's. I like this set-up so that I can take the first bird, on incomers, way out there then take the second bird closer with the IC barrel. I got my limit after awhile and moved to the shade to BS with the others who had limited or, for some other reason, left the field.

The field of guns, 35 were actually shooting (the host spent the afternoon with a couple of helpers taking cold drinks to those desiring refreshment and otherwise seeing to their every need), took over 500 doves Saturday afternoon and were out of the field in plenty of time for the birds to feed before going to roost. All in all a grand day, and one that I give thanks to my Maker for allowing me to live another year to enjoy. As a bonus, I realized after leaving the field with my limit that, this day marked my fifty year anniversary of shooting doves. I began at the tender age of eight, with my revered Grandaddy, using a J. C Higgins .410 S x S. After all these years I still get the same thrill out of it I did in 1959 on a field of brown-top millet. Grandaddy is long gone, but not really. He lives on in me, just as I will live on in my 8 year old grandson Jackson. It is a grand cycle of dove seasons and lives of wide-eyed little boys and seasoned old men. May it last many, many more lifetimes, and may many, many more shooters be thrilled and humbled by the little grey rocket we call the Mourning Dove.

Stan

A great day indeed! Thanks for sharing it w/us. May your every wish prove true.

All the best, tw

Nice stuff, Stan. Happy Anniversary. TT

Stan, i got you beat on years! 62 seasons for me and i am feeling it tonight after another great shoot today Labor Day.Saturday i was shot in the right arm near elbow with one shot that looked like a number 6 and felt like a buckshot!Luckily it went about 1/8th of an inch or so under the skin and i mashed it back out the entrance hole.I bleed like a stuffed pig and hollered and told the shooters i had been hit and to quit shooting low birds.Did little good as all the birds were coming in low! The Mojo decoys were bringing them in.I got limit both hunts shooting my 16 Sterlingworth Saturday and 20 gauge 32" ejector field grade LC Smith today. Boy was it hot out there around 4 pm today.Thank the Good Lord i am still able to get out there. Bobby

Bobby, glad ya'll had good shoots, too. I'll bet that 32" Elsie is a sweetie. You know how much I love those long barrels. Congratulations on your 62 years!!

Your getting shot was unfortunate, but those early birds are bad about flying low, aren't they? Reminds me of the time I was hit at forty yards with a 1 1/4 oz. load, dead on. Our host and his son, who shot me, always used pigeon loads. I knew it was stupid even at that young age. I was about 13 years old, and we were shooting a waterhole under some huge old pines. We each backed up to one and all the birds were incomers. A low bird flew between two of us and the other guy swung on him and touched it off directly towards me. One hit me in the cheek and had to be dug out at the doctor, one pierced my earlobe completely, several penetrated the skin on my left hand where I instinctively covered my eyes an instant before he shot and many more "patterned on me" down to about my thigh. A nausea came over me and I nearly retched, but held it back in the face of the older men there, most importantly Grandaddy. Then, after feeling a bit better, got back up and resumed shooting. Certainly glad you were not hurt any worse than you were. That is a dead-on reason for always wearing shooting glasses on a bird field, eh?

Stan

Wonderful story! Because my wife has been so sick the last few years, I've had to drastically curtail my hunting. I really miss it and loved vicariously joining you on your hunt.
Thank you.
Steve

Good story, Stan. Thanks for sharing.

Stan,You were so fortunate taking that hit and not losing an eye or something! A lot of people would have given up dove hunting after that! Bobby

Southern dove shooting over the Labor Day Weekend is one of our biggest social occasions. I was lucky to go on three stem-winders this weekend. Plenty of birds and great bar-b-que at all three shoots.

One thing I noticed is that everybody has a 'robo-dove' spinning wing decoy now; I almost got dizzy at one shoot looking at all those things. I don't like the way the robos keep the doves diving close to the ground...Geo

Stan, that shoot sounds very civilized.

We were in Yuma for the opener, and stayed through the weekend. Birds were scarcer that usual, but most of us managed limits just about every day. Temp was 119 on Friday, and we were walking up birds to fill out the limits. Damn near killed me. Even the CA game wardens who checked us coming back across the border said all reports were of slow hunting in most areas.