I went out this morning at Lexington WMA. Other than some scouting I did on opening day when I happened to have gun in hand (just in case), today was my first ever dove hunt. The first field I went to I didn't see anything for about 30 minutes. I packed up and drove around a bit looking for other areas I thought might hold potential before settling on a particular field that I frequent during deer and turkey seasons.
This place was great! It was actually not your typical dove field - it had tall grass up to about my knees and was completely surrounded by large, full grown trees. I initially just walked around trying to flush any dove that might be down in the grass.
<<Side Note: I didn't really think about that kind of tactic until I was scouting the other day (in the same field) and two dove flushed right in front of me. I was caught so off guard that I didn't even get a shot off. They'd have been toast though if I had been ready - they flushed only about 10 feet ahead of me.>>
So anyway, I initially walked around trying to flush any dove that might be down in the grass. I actually did flush one after I had nearly walked the entire length of the field. It flew directly away from me and I drew my gun (Rem 700 12ga) and fired. The dove fell at about 20-30 yards out and I was thinking, "Wow..I think I got it!" I had to walk around for about 5-10 minutes to find it in the tall grass, but when I finally found it I was thrilled! This was the first time I had ever harvested an animal while hunting.
I went back to my truck to get my dove stool now that I knew this was going to be my field of choice, and set up under the shade of a large tree at the edge of the field. In the next 2 hours hours I saw at least 25-30 dove flying into and out of the large trees on the opposite side of the field. I took quite a few shots with no success until one particular dove flew out of the trees and crossed from my left to right about 40 yards out. I drew my gun, made sure to lead, and fired, watching it fall to the ground. Score 2!
I ended up leaving earlier than I'd have liked because I ran out of shells (only took one box with me), but I'll know better when I go again on Monday morning. So I came home this morning with only 2, but I was happy as a lark and my wife was really proud as well. She searched the internet for how to properly clean them while I did the dirty work.
I had a blast and can't wait to get back out on Monday morning!
I have pictures, but I cannot figure out how to attach pictures in this forum without shrinking them so small you can't see anything.
This place was great! It was actually not your typical dove field - it had tall grass up to about my knees and was completely surrounded by large, full grown trees. I initially just walked around trying to flush any dove that might be down in the grass.
<<Side Note: I didn't really think about that kind of tactic until I was scouting the other day (in the same field) and two dove flushed right in front of me. I was caught so off guard that I didn't even get a shot off. They'd have been toast though if I had been ready - they flushed only about 10 feet ahead of me.>>
So anyway, I initially walked around trying to flush any dove that might be down in the grass. I actually did flush one after I had nearly walked the entire length of the field. It flew directly away from me and I drew my gun (Rem 700 12ga) and fired. The dove fell at about 20-30 yards out and I was thinking, "Wow..I think I got it!" I had to walk around for about 5-10 minutes to find it in the tall grass, but when I finally found it I was thrilled! This was the first time I had ever harvested an animal while hunting.
I went back to my truck to get my dove stool now that I knew this was going to be my field of choice, and set up under the shade of a large tree at the edge of the field. In the next 2 hours hours I saw at least 25-30 dove flying into and out of the large trees on the opposite side of the field. I took quite a few shots with no success until one particular dove flew out of the trees and crossed from my left to right about 40 yards out. I drew my gun, made sure to lead, and fired, watching it fall to the ground. Score 2!
I ended up leaving earlier than I'd have liked because I ran out of shells (only took one box with me), but I'll know better when I go again on Monday morning. So I came home this morning with only 2, but I was happy as a lark and my wife was really proud as well. She searched the internet for how to properly clean them while I did the dirty work.
I had a blast and can't wait to get back out on Monday morning!
I have pictures, but I cannot figure out how to attach pictures in this forum without shrinking them so small you can't see anything.
