Dove Season

[mr surveyor]

Dove Season is right around the corner. My little group (at least 4 of the original six) have been making the trip out to the Sweetwater area for a 4-5 day "visit" for some ten years. We actually alternate our roost in a couple different of small West Texas towns for our "camp". Both "motels" are the nice old type with gravel parking lots, but they do have indoor plumbing and semi-functional a/c. As soon as we get checked in, the camp kitchen gets set up in the parking lot ... two grills, a propane stove, 8' table, shade tarp, etc., and we make ourselves right at home. We generally limit out fairly easily so we often grill some doves at the camp and still manage to bring home a legal limit for 3-4 cook-outs every year. So, we'll be trying to finish off last years frozen birds next weekend to make room for this year's season. I sure do love them stuffed grilled doves.

I really hope I can add to this in about a month so it can be considered a hunting story. We've had one trip hunting over a freshly harvested milo field where it was just like being in a hornets nest. One of our guys hit his 15 bird daily limit in under an hour and the other 7 of us in that trip were done within three hours. That was a "once in a lifetime event" from what I hear, but wondering if it would be possible to do that nine lives cat thing for something like this.

Oh ... did I mention DOVE SEASON?


JD

[akuser47]

Sounds like a good ol time with some good ol guys.

[rman]

Sounds like a good ol time with some good ol guys.

Yup - those kind of trips are fun, even if the hunting doesn't turn out good.

[Ranch Dog]

You have to love an annual hunt! You would be my hero if you bought a Rio Grande 410 and hulled them out with a levergun!

No doubt, for me, the best part of the year is rapidly approach. Texas Youth Hunting has the hunt on my ranch listed for the last weekend of October and from there I will start hunting with my dad until he takes his buck. I haven't decided which Rossi will get the first honors this year as I start to hunt. With the continued drought, the hogs have been thin. I saw about twenty five Wednesday evening but I left them alone as I want the kids on the youth hunt to have some fast and furious shooting.

Put in for the typical State hunts: pronghorn, desert mule deer, and desert bighorn. Haven't had any luck with these over the years but I keep plugging away. Also send off my NWR applications for nilgai which I've been getting every year.

[justchecking]

Today was opening day of dove season in Ohio. My daughter and I were picked for a spot in one of the Ohio DNR fields.

My daughter is 14. She would text, look up, shoot, text, look up, shoot. Maybe more texting than shooting. I think she had fun, though. Not as many doves this year. They seem to have hit the other fields first and when they came by us they were high and fast. Ok, if we had shot better...

We got 10, and she and I had an assembly line breasting them out. We will make dove poppers tomorrow. (Split a canned jalapeno in half, scrape out the seeds, fill with cream cheese, wrap a dove breast around that, then a bacon strip around the whole thing, secure with a tooth pick and grill). They are GREAT.

My 11 year old daughter tonight declared she is going vegetarian.

In addition to my daughter it was nice to see some more women in the field and also at least two more youths.

Mike

[Steelbanger]

My son and I had a dove hunt yesterday. The temp was in the low eighties but with very high humidity making it quite uncomfortable out in the sun. Uncomfortable that is, until the doves began to fly. It seems they were flying constantly. We bagged 10 each which we field dressed after the action slowed. Ten used to be the old limit but now it's 15 birds so no limits here. Lunch today will be marinated breast strips which are filets from the breast. We used to hunt these doves every year then for some reason we got away from doing that. I hope now we can resume these annual hunts.

Highlight of the day was a fly-over by a bald eagle. This bird has been sighted at my son's place a few times throughout the summer. Mike has a picture of it, taken at a distance, on the ground, eating a groundhog.

I will close with a legality question. Would the Rio Grande 410 need to be plugged to a three shot max capacity when hunting migratory birds? Seems to me that the fed regulations specified that requirement years ago but I really haven't kept up with the fine points. Yesterday I used a CZ 20 ga. sxs but if we get out again either this year or next my Rem 1100 will be joining me in the hunt. I grew up shooting doubles but after 40 years with the semi I find that I prefer them to the old double barrel.

[Ranch Dog]

I will close with a legality question. Would the Rio Grande 410 need to be plugged to a three shot max capacity when hunting migratory birds? Seems to me that the fed regulations specified that requirement years ago but I really haven't kept up with the fine points.

I thought Rossi offered a plug for the RG410 but I can't find the part now. They include one with the CJ4510...

CJ_mag_plug.jpg

[Rooster59]

I believe the restriction is still in effect. You could cut a wooden dowel or piece of pvc pipe the length of the number of shells to be omitted and insert it inside the mag tube plug/cap to take up the room. I wouldn't put it next to the follower, put it in last. After the follower and spring so you don't take a chance that the dowel would snag on something.

[akuser47]

At least for ohio it is. Like said above you can cut dow rod to make one. From what I understand even our deer hunting with pistol caliber rifles must have mag. Limiters installed.

[mr surveyor]

been to the bird camp many a time when one of our fold had to hurriedly whittle a mesquite limb plug for his gun