Dove Hunt #2

We’re back to the dove lodge with a new group of folks from Texas, St. Louis, and Jamaica. What a great experience. Everyone jelled perfectly.

The Jamaicans had been there a day, so they had already begun their hunt. They were amazed at the amounts of birds, as everyone is when they get here.

The next day brought the same amazement to the rest of the group. Gil and I started at opposite ends and met in the middle to help everyone with their shooting.

Dove Hunting Tips

What did we learn in these three days?

Most people don’t look far enough in front for the birds, so their move on the birds is behind. They wait until the bird gets close to the gun to make their move. Instead, we had them start their move a lot earlier, and then they could cut the bird off when they matched the speed of the bird.

Start early, stay in front and wait until the bird picks a line. It’s too hard to kill the bird when they are over you and they are dipping and diving. Shoot them further out when they are moving in a straight line. Once they see you, they are moving in all different directions.

Another lesson was to not be afraid of the modified or full choke. Put it in and then you can shoot further out.

The third lesson is to practice your gun mount. There were way too many bruised arms and chins that didn’t need to happen.

Also, pick your shots. There are so many birds, so practice on one trajectory and ingrain it before you go to a different one (if possible, of course). We had a lot of wind for most of the hunts.