doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Countdown to dove season opener

43 days, 5 hours, 11 minutes .............

May your skies be filled with gray



And may your larder be burdensome

Enjoy that anticipation to it's fullest extent Stan! I'm finding that it's a big part of the fun.

I am torn this year a bit. I had planned to be on the road to the North Country on the 30th of August (to service equipment and otherwise prep the grouse camp for the opener there) but...that, of course, precludes my participation in the Dove Opener here. The September 1st opener here is so-fragile in that a cold snap of even minor proportions will drive the birds too-far south for easy access. I have been invited to participate in an organized event in South-Central Colorado that would be fun to explore but...the hotel costs there are somewhat prohibitive (silly, I know). I have one other option to explore locally that might stay my departure, a lottery of sorts. If I happen to draw a slot then, well....we'll see.

I was even pondering using the .410 tubes on my little Estate BLE as an option (that would be a 1st for me). An opportunity to expand my horizons perhaps?

Stan always has the best dove posts here

Thanks Lloyd and Mike.

Here's a few more of my favorites. Eldest grandson Jackson at age 9. "They" say you shouldn't start a kid on shotguns with a .410. This was his first ever dove shoot where he was actually shooting and not just picking up for me. Stoeger Uplander .410 shortened to fit him. He's 21 now, married, and works with us on the farm. I let him shoot one while alighted, the rest were killed on the wing.

Yildiz 28" barreled .410 bought new for $349 (on sale $50 off) at Academy Sports. Did a trigger job on it myself to make it tolerable.

L C Smith FWE Field grade with HOT, 16 ga. with 32" barrels.

Winchester 42

Mike, which one of what seems like three dozen or so shotguns you shoot at doves have you chosen to start the season? Gil

Tristar Brittany 410 SXS

My middle son today decided his opening day gun will be a Fox A grade 16 gauge, my late father used at age 90, to kill 15 birds with 23 shells. Both my younger sons were there that day and watched my father's last hunt. Dad used the Fox I loaned him and I used his late brothers little Crescent .410 to take my limit. I used more than a box of shells to take my limit. Dove hunting holds a very special place in my heart and life. Hope everyone as a great opening day and gets a chance to reconnect with friends and family.

Amen, brother. Dove shooting is just part of who I am, taught and instilled in me by my Grandad, and encouraged by my Dad. This opener will "mark" my first dove shoot 64 years ago at age 8, and I remember it vividly.

A toast (black coffee) ...............to long barrels and little grey rockets.

I remember my first dove hunt as well. I may have been 8 or maybe just 6, but I recall we met up with the crowd at a honkeytonk south of Thomaston and hunted somewhere close to the Flint River. That was the first time I had ever entered a honkeytonk, but I knew what one was. The lady inside was nice to me and offered me a coke. I've noticed that women in places like that all seem to be quite nice.

I sat first with my Dad and searched in the woods until I found a dove he had shot. Then after the shoot my Granddaddy relented to my desire to shoot a real gun. He handed me his 16ga A-5 Browning and told me to aim it up in the air toward the river. He had to show me how to release the military style safety on it. I did as told and when I shot it kicked me, the gun that is, flat on my back in the middle GA red clay. It was an autoloader of course and I never saw my Grandfather move so quick when he realized I was still holding the gun and it had self loaded a second shell. No problem there, I certainly wasn't going to fire it again!

I inherited that shotgun as well as his love of dove hunting, as passed both along to one of my sons. I passed the love of dove shooting along to all three of my boys and I'm working on two sons-in law as well...Geo

I will be shooting either my 28 or 20 gauge B Rizzini. I suppose at some point that day I will bring out the 410 Perazzi

That's of course totally up to you Mike, but I find I shoot the. 410s better if I dedicate myself to it for the entire shoot. Swapping guns during a shoot doesn't work for me. But good luck! If I had a . 410 Perazzi I'd prolly just be ruint for anything else.

Hello Stan.
I thought about you this morning while scouting along the California Aqueduct in the Antelope Valley in SoCal.
While not quite Yuma, there were plenty of opportunity to bag some dove.
The most amazing thing were the coveys of Quail (big coveys of Quail) that we jumped.
Here was the last of about 2 dozen that stuck around while I fumbled my phone to snap an image.
Biggest covey maybe 4 dozen.



Opening day Dove will be great. Opening day Quail should be spectacular.
I’ll be shooting a little Browning 28 gauge.
Bismuth or steel as lead is no longer allowed on public land.

Wow!, four dozen in a covey! Those appear be Gambel's.(?) Thanks for resurrecting the thread with that picture.

I've hunted them in AZ and had a glorious time. If I lived out West I'd be an inveterate chaser of them, and the other quail species. How something with wings as little as they have can take flight and get out of range so fast is amazing. I thought wild Bobs were fast but the Gambel's take the cake.

I envy you all. I have a great place to hunt dove, but a side effect of my heart issues is a total inability to tolerate heat. And heat definitely goes with the opener in SC/NC. It’s a season I always anticipated with great pleasure. So y’all shoot one for me.

Most of what we see are Valley Quail.
Last evening in my yard

Do they sound funny Bob, like Valley Girls? 😁😁😁

18 days, 6 hrs., 12 minutes and 10 seconds to go ..........

Anticipation, eh Stan?

I'm not sure what to expect here now as we've had a few cold (er) days and nights of late. I'll likely go anyway as a tune-up for the bigger dance (at least for me) up north. The conundrum facing me is a typical 1st world problem...what gun to shoot? Like you, I don't do well with mixing guns in the field, so it'll have to be whatever I end up taking.

Ancient 12 Hammer or small-bore (very small)...on the horns of a dilemma! My subgauge M12 pumper would be fun too.

The season opens in Illinois on Sept. 1. That was always one of my favorite days of the year. This year, not so much. I'll be using my late son's 20 gauge Beretta 391. I gave him that gun for Christmas when he was about 12. He was 27 when he left us earlier this year and I miss him every single day. Hunting, shooting and lots of other things just aren't the same without him.

I’m sorry for your loss. I can’t imagine…..

I will be thinking of you from now through opening day, and will be praying for that special peace that passes understanding to embrace you and your family as you adjust to the absence of your son. May His grace and your fond memories sustain you.

Goillini, losing a hunting buddy always hurts. Losing a son who hunted with you would be a hard burden to bear...Geo

Very sorry for your loss Goillini. The mere thought of losing a child is every parents' worst nightmare.

Sorry for the loss of your son, I can't even start to imagine the pain. I just hope you find some joy in the shoot with his gun.

I have just about lost all my shooting buddies. I can't imagine losing a child. That would be unbearable. So my prayers go out to you.

We will honor him by carrying on.

I can scarcely imagine the hurt and void you are dealing with,
My son has moved back to Texas and will again be a much more frequent hunting partner now days.
He and his wife are coming for the opener, with English Cocker and Lab in tow.

I will take particular measures to treasure every moment, know that I will have you in my thoughts this season.

Condolences on the loss of your boy. I, like most fathers, I would guess, cannot imagine a more difficult path.

Best,
Ted

Goillini, sending healing prayers your way. Hope you make it afield with his gun as I know he’ll be with you each and every moment.

Some losses cannot be mended, prayers that the Lord blesses you with peace, that your memories of him become a comfort and not sorrow.

Tim

First, thank you all for your thoughts, prayers and kind words.

Second, I apologize for hijacking this thread. That was never my intention.

The dove season opens in less than a week in many parts of the country. Please continue to discuss prospects for your area, guns you'll shoot, where you'll go and who you'll go with and all the other stuff we normally talk about in this thread. I don't post a lot but I've been around this board and the old board long enough to remember the frequent discussions of JABCs and BUNIDs, the Klunkermeister, John Mann, Voutsi and lots of other guys who have either departed this earth or just don't post anymore. I've never met anyone on this board but feel like I know some of you a little bit.

All the best,

Goillini

Got our invitation and loaded up on ammo. September 7 will be here before we know it.

Spent the past weekend cleaning and polishing the "Deeks"

10 Mojos? Dang. I've found that placement is king, when setting them up. Atop a center pivot irrigation system is hard to beat. But, a 10-12 foot pole works really good if you're not near a pivot. Never used more than one Mojo, in conjunction with some inanimate decoys. Sometimes they work wonders, sometimes the doves seem to ignore them completely.

I only see two Mojo's

I like Stan's suggestions and abide by the pole method. I've also started putting out "flickers" on bare dirt around the mojo pole.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071LTC9RF/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1
Gil

Years ago I used a ten foot conduit pole with a discarded tv antenna. Placed six or eight decoys on the antenna and another half a dozen more on the ground. Worked well. Worked better if you put it in a low area of a hedge row which was a natural highway for dive. Purpose is to draw doves into the field so everybody can have a go at them.

You're correct, Mike. My bad for not looking closer.

Good morning Stan.
The countdown is now measured in hours.
We’ll leave soon for the hour long drive into the high dessert of the Antelope Valley.
Hopefully last weeks scounting will bear fruit.

As my old friend Capt Jim Lebel would say, “this is what we’ve been trained for”.
A good and safe hunt to all going out this morning.

My nephew and I walked the property today. We'll probably be out tomorrow. Doves are plentiful here. We should have a good day.