Dove hunting.....

[The Annoyed Man]

So the weekend before last, Friday 9/7 and Saturday 9/8, I went dove hunting for the first time in my life with a friend near his family ranch down in Moody. I had an absolute ball, and now I'm addicted. It really doesn't matter where I am, when I see dove flying overhead now, I automatically "draw a bead" on them with my "air shotgun." Can't wait to go try it again. And despite AndyC's best efforts to teach me to shoot skeet, I am a mediocre to average skeet shooter, and hitting a clay is nowhere near as hard as shooting a dove. Clay pigeons don't change direction. On a whim. Into the rising sun. And then dive just as you're squeezing the trigger. If skeet is like golf with shotguns, dove hunting is like trout fishing in the high sierras with shotguns.

Anyway, one of the birds I got on the second day was banded. I didn't realize if it was any kind of a big deal or anything.....in fact, I asked my host if I was in trouble for killing a banded bird. He told me that I could keep the band, and when I got home I could go to the website engraved on the band and input the band number, and they could possibly tell me something about the age of the bird and where it was banded. He also said that they might send me some kind of a certificate I could mount on my wall. So I did all that.

After I submitted all the information, their system came back with a response that they did not have any information on the bird on file, and it said that they would try to contact the bander to get the information. They also said that IF they got the information, they would send me a certificate for my wall. I was happy to provide the information to make my small contribution to wildlife management, and forgot about it.

Then yesterday, I get this attachment to an email in my inbox:


So that was my little contribution to the furthering of bird science. The dove was hatched this year, banded two months before I shot it, and flew 57 miles almost due north to where it met its demise.

My buddy told me that duck hunters get a big kick out of these things, and truthfully, I have no idea if dove hunters feel the same way....but I got a real big kick out bagging a banded bird and getting the certificate for it.

[Topbuilder]

Ahh, the smell of gunpowder and feathers falling...it doesn't get much better than that. If you add in a good bird dog and a cigar, make it about 38 degrees it's better than sex...

[Beiruty]

TAM,
How many you took home? Any special recipes for those birds?

[TxA]

Nice job TAM! Now that you've drank the cool-aid, look out. You now how another great hobby to spend time outdoors. Got to love it.

I'm going to San Antonio this weekend to hunt with my only brother and father near Hondo. Look to limit out in 30 min on big whitewing. Much easier to shoot pigeon sized birds! Nothing better than hunting with the family. Nice job on the band, I've never come across one and I've shot a lot of doves. Congrats!!!

[powerboatr]

i must have missed something on the doves...the ones we have here would take 50 to feed one person
i now know why we have so many lately in our yard (the no kill zone) they are hiding from you guys

cool about the band info,

[i8godzilla]

I know you had a great time. I must tell you, in the 20+ years of hunting dove I have never had a banded bird. It is really cool that you had the encounter on your first time out. From your certificate it looks like you were about 30ish miles east of our place.

I posted a picture of in another thread of my opening day birds. You are right about the challenge with direction changes on a whim. To me it is what makes it some much fun.

As far a recipes, we like to roll the breast around a slice of jalapeno and onion and then wrap it with peppered bacon poke a toothpick in to keep it all together. Cook it real slow on the top rack of the grill. If you have ever cooked bacon on the a grill than you can guess it takes constant attention. The bacon keeps the bird from drying out and adds a bit of flavor. A week or so ago we were also rewarded with a rabbit that hopped right over to where we were and asked to be part of our meal--we obliged and added him to the grill.

[The Annoyed Man]

I didn't get that many birds. I bagged three on Friday evening, and four more on Saturday morning. I took this picture Friday in the field we were in:



Now, here's the "you live and learn" part......

Of the three I shot Friday, I got two of them at nearly the same moment. I saw them land in the field just beyond the far bank of stock tank I was standing at. I snuck up on them and flushed them both and bagged them as they were just getting off the ground. I shot them both before they were more than three or 4 feet off the ground. BUT..... I wounded them instead of killing them outright, and they were both kind of flapping and flopping around in place. I realized that I was flustered and didn't quite know what to do about that, so stood off a little ways, aimed a little bit low and put another round into each one. I figured that if I aimed low enough, that they'd only catch a couple of pellets, just enough to put them down. You have to realize that my friend hadn't yet had a chance to teach me how to clean my birds, so it never occurred to me to just grab them and pull their heads off. Anyway, I vaporized the first one. The biggest part I found were its feet. The second one was not quite so obliterated, but the bird was badly damaged enough to be unsalvageable. I kind of feel bad about that, but there it is. I'll know better the next time.

So I really only had 5 birds to bring home. My friend's father in law was with us, and he shot 4 or 5 over the two days, and my friend killed everything in sight. Then he killed everything in the next county. He limited both days, and was going back out to hunt later on Saturday and again on Sunday, so he gave me an additional 10 birds to take home with me.

I removed the breasts from the breast bone, wrapped them around a sliver of jalapeño, and then wrapped each one in a piece of maple bacon. Then I skewered them and put them in the big green egg over hickory smoke at about 350º until the bacon was cooked. They were awesome. That was also the first time I had ever eaten dove. Can't wait to go again.

[Beiruty]

TAM,

We the hunters in Lebanon, would carry a sharp folding knife while hunting, if a bird is down and still alive, we immediately relieve the bird by 1 quick stroke at the neck, one cut will disconnect both blood and air supply to the bird's brain. It works all the time and it is very quick.

[Choctaw]

As i8godzilla said, I have been hunting doves for 30+ yrs and never shot a banded dove. There is something about hunting dove, really a great hunting experience, humbling too!

Congratulations on the band!

[texasmusic]

I like to fill the Jalapeno slice with cream cheese. It tastes better and helps stretch the dove a little bit. People seem to come out of the woodwork when dove poppers go on the grill... always the same people who head for the hills when the birds come home to be cleaned it seems.

Edit: Try out a Mojo decoy. The battery powered ones. They won't make them appear magically but the ones which fly far off will usually come closer to get a look and might try to land near them.

[powerboatr]

I didn't get that many birds. I bagged three on Friday evening, and four more on Saturday morning. I took this picture Friday in the field we were in:

[ Image ]

one question
that old rusty car begs to be a hot rod


the dove recipes sound good...may have to walk to the end of the property and dispatch a few that are not in the green zone

[The Annoyed Man]

I didn't get that many birds. I bagged three on Friday evening, and four more on Saturday morning. I took this picture Friday in the field we were in:

[ Image ]

one question
that old rusty car begs to be a hot rod


the dove recipes sound good...may have to walk to the end of the property and dispatch a few that are not in the green zone

I showed the picture to a guy who has done full rotisserie restorations on several cars, including the 1968 icecream truck he uses for his HVAC business. He wasn't interested.

[The Annoyed Man]

TAM,

We the hunters in Lebanon, would carry a sharp folding knife while hunting, if a bird is down and still alive, we immediately relieve the bird by 1 quick stroke at the neck, one cut will disconnect both blood and air supply to the bird's brain. It works all the time and it is very quick.

I actually thought of that at the time, but being a rookie, I was just kind of paralyzed into making the obvious.....and obviously wrong decision. Shooting a dove on the ground with a 12 gauge has about the same effect as dropping a daisy-cutter on a chicken. If I had to do it again, I'd just grab the bird and pop its head off. That is instantaneous also.

[brainman]

Dang. I went for my first dove hunt ever last weekend and saw a total of 4 birds all weekend. 2 were under the deer feeder (and thus illegal) and 2 flew over while I was taking a leak.

[strider67]

I removed the breasts from the breast bone, wrapped them around a sliver of jalapeño, and then wrapped each one in a piece of maple bacon. Then I skewered them and put them in the big green egg over hickory smoke at about 350º until the bacon was cooked. They were awesome. That was also the first time I had ever eaten dove. Can't wait to go again.

texasmusic kinda beat me to it, but I like to use pepper jack cheese myself...just gives it a little more "bite".