Dove Hunting?

Model_70_Guy · Aug 30, 2008

Are you guy's going dove hunting Monday?

We are making our annual hunt in the El Centro area. I am taking my 4 year old grandson with me this year. My daughter said every morning for the past week when he wakes up he asks if this is the day we leave? Needless to say he is way excited and so is his Grandpa. I will pick him and my son-inlaw at the San Diego airport early Sunday morning and head out.
I was a little worried about taking him because of the heat, usually it's 110+ and year before last on the opener it was 119 but not as hot this year.. Monday forecast 105-107.
Can't wait until he gets old enough to shoot, I have a little 20ga that was my Dad's I will give him. This year should be fun.

Good luck everybody.

Jim

mod700 · Aug 30, 2008

Get plenty of gatoraide for the young'n and get some good pics., something you'll all be able to laugh at in the years to come..good luck, be safe..
Mike

sageadvice · Aug 30, 2008

HAVE GUN WILL TRAVEL...

WANTED; Info or Invite, on a possibility of decent dove shootin Monday in the North E. state area. Willing to pay, i don't think so. Willing to share expenses, certainly!

I know this is late in the game to be planning something but maybe somebody out there is going alone anyway and might could use a partner to share fuel, help keep the birds moving, or witness that, never again to be repeated super tough shot on a fast and far moving bird... i can be that guy!

I used to love a good dove hunt. I could walk across the road from my grandparents house and either sit on a small stock pond or sneak the creek branches on bull thissle and dove weed patches for jump shooting. Either way, a limit in a hour or two was the norm, not the exception. I sure do miss those days...and the good dove shooting that we always took for granted.

Joey

Califelkslayer · Sep 1, 2008

Sage, I think they all moved outta this country. Cold last night. I allow my water trough to overflow all summer to water the quail, doves, and other birds. Every night lately there were 10-15 doves roosted in the trees over the horse corral when I went down to shoot my bow. This morning I saw 3 and this evening I saw one and heard 1.

sageadvice · Sep 1, 2008

LAST EDITED ON Sep-02-08 AT 03:40AM (MST)[p]Califelkslayer, Thanks for the report! Cold last night and opener of dove season seem to go together every year. Weather can be nice and warm everyday for weeks but when the dove opener rolls around you can just about bet that it's gonna get cold. There ain't much to eat on them things anyway! For those guys wondering, just a hint of cold weather drives most of the local birds south, boom bam, a chill, they're gone. I did miss not going for them again this year. Maybe next season!!

Not my week! My local hunting buds are too full of excuses and reasons why they are too busy to go anywhere. Today, even got a cancellation from a local bud-partner who had again asked, months ago now, to go along deer hunting on the c-zone opening for a 4 day hunt. That's why i have usually gone "out of state" for muleys by myself so much, I know i'm going, it's just a lot easier in the end when you don't have or need, to depend on somebody else. If you do have a good dependable partner, don't take him for granted, they're not easy to come by.

I did get my new, to me, camper on my hunting rig today. It's a pop-up cabover camper. Gonna take some getting used to over the old full sized style. It does sit and feel way better on the rig than my old one did, not near as top heavy, once i get used to the shorter door and no upper cabnets, think i'm gonna like it just fine. The driving around i did with it, could hardly feel it was there.

Take care all! Joey

6x7 · Sep 2, 2008

I drove over 100 miles to hunt a spring that I found archery deer hunting in lassen county last year,It was very cold all night long the wind wouldnt stop blowing and it had to be down in the mid 30s by mourning.But the dove were still there I had my limit by 8:00am It wasnt as fast of action as I see in the sacramento valley but I was all by my self, I did have my kids but they dont have there licenses yet.We also found a few shed horns hiking around it was a fun trip.

Model_70_Guy · Sep 3, 2008

Well the dove hunt was one I will never forget. I have not ever seen so many birds anywhere in CA than we did this year east of Calexico. It looked more like the fields that you see in Mexico and this year we took about the same amount of whitewings as mourning dove. Best shoot I have ever had in CA hands down. I wish we would have had a larger group as there were thousands of birds that in the air on opening morning. I was all done in 10-15 minutes as were most guy's hunting in the same area as us.
The next morning I killed a limit of whitewings only just by being selective. I never shot a limit of whitewings in CA. My Grandson had a blast, I think I have a future dove hunting buddy now, My son-inlaw could not believe the sheer numbers of dove and he cannot wait until next year to do it again.
Will post a few pics whe I download them.