My pastor and his wife had lunch with my wife and I today after church. He told me about seeing a couple guys on a dove shoot last year using store bought loads that were a mixture of 7 1/2s and 9s. He asked me who marketed them. I told him I didn't know but would find out.
A bit of searching resulted in my finding "Winchester Heavy Dove" loads. They are 1 1/4 oz. loads of 7 1/2 and 9 shot, at 1400 fps!!!!
What????
I've shot tens of thousands of doves in the last 68 years and have determined pretty well what it takes to get the job done. No less than 80%, probably more, of the doves I've taken have been with 7/8 oz. loads of 7 1/2s or 8s. This at ranges out to and exceedingly 50 yards, even out to 65 yards.
Once in Argentina I was placed on a stand where approaching doves were gaining altitude to clear very tall eucalyptus trees. My bird boy, who had me 7/8 oz. twenty gauge loads every previous shoot, had brought out 1 oz. loads. I immediately noticed it and told him to take them back and bring me 7/8 oz. loads.
I put light-modified and modified chokes in my O/U and proceeded to wipe some very high doves down. The bird boy was clearly surprised, and he did this everyday.
This "obsession " with magnum and super high velocity loads has reached the extreme, IMO. They are, for 99% of hunting, unnecessary, and the recoil only serves to hurt most people's shooting anyway.
Question for you Stan, How Many of those friendly ''SONG BIRDS'' , I mean Doves, did you ''EAT'', OR DID YOU JUST THROW THEM AWAY ?
Dirty Harry
