Story by Roy Waldrep
Dove season in Texas opens in September and outdoors writers everywhere are giving advise on how to improve your shooting odds. Take note and remember that you read it here first: Figure out how many shotgun shells you need – and then double that amount.
Even if you don’t need that many shells, your hunting partner probably will and the extra will come in handy.
I once hit 12 straight doves and almost broke my arm patting myself on the back. After that streak I also remember bragging about being born in an imaginary shooting stance. Then, I missed the next 12 shots. That is Texas dove hunting in a nutshell.
My group of wing shooters will faithfully practice on clay targets in the back pasture this month. The problem is that clay targets fly straight paths while dove juke all over the sky. This may sharpen your hand/eye coordination and help build solid shooting form but those man-made targets just keep flying at the same speed, in the same direction. There isn’t an ounce of juke in them.
Some folks talk about correctly leading a dove and I am sure there is some merit to such a formula. Being a back-to-basics type of hunter I tend to forget the advice of most experts. The longer you track a dove and carefully measure the lead the greater the chance of slowing your swing or zoning out when that dove dips and dives. Get the muzzle out in front and good things have a way of taking place.
Here is what works for me:
• Swing the shotgun from behind, right through the target, and then ahead of it in a nonstop movement. That means swing out past the bird and follow through with your swing even after the shot – don’t stop swinging when you pull the trigger or run the risk of shooting behind the target.
• A solid cheek-to-gunstock fit is critical to keep your shooting eye straight down the barrel and to avoid shooting over the bird.
• Mind boggling as it may seem, all that talk about picking out one bird instead of merely shooting into a flock is really true.
• Rather than leaping to your shooting stance while the bird is still coming, wait until the target is right on top of you before making a move. Dove flair easily.
• Hunt the grain fields in the morning, the stock ponds in the evening. It works for me.
Hunters in this country harvest about 50 million mourning doves annually and most of us miss 50 percent of the dove shots we take, meaning my best tip is still the part about bringing extra shells.
In the midst of all this fun some hunters find it acceptable to keep a cooler box of cold beer to help battle the September heat. To those folks I say (again), alcohol and gunpowder still do not mix. That is my story and I am sticking to it.
Feel free to blog in at www.sportseditionmag.com and click on “The Great Outdoors” or email roy@editionmagazines.com to talk about the Great Outdoors in general. Invite us on a hunt we will feature the action in this space.
