Opening Day
Mistakes
By Ray Sasser
By Ray Sasser
For Lone Star Outdoor News Most Texas dove hunters go afield about three times a season, usually in September. It’s been awhile since last September, and here are some tips from dove hunting pros on how to have a better opening day hunt. Mike Hopkins advises dove hunters to dress for success. Hopkins’ business, Hopkins Outdoors LLC, has dove leases surrounding DFW and he observes hundreds of hunters each season. Hopkins said he’s even seen a trend the last few seasons of more hunters dressing in blaze orange. “Safety is of the utmost importance,” Hopkins said, “but you should stay safe by staying beyond shotgun range of other hunters in the field, knowing where other hunters are located and not shooting at low-flying birds. Wear camouflage or at least a drab color that blends in with your surroundings. Find some shade to stand in. You’ll be more comfortable and it’s harder for birds to see you in the shade.” Hopkins is convinced that doves shy away from hunters dressed in bright colors. The birds have extraordinary eyesight and a lofty vantage point from which to use it. Doves also key on movement said Keith Boone. He manages Dallas businessman Boone Pickens’ Mesa Vista Ranch in the Panhandle. Pickens entertains hundreds of friends and business associates during dove season. His legendary dove hunts are as organized as a military expedition and Keith Boone is in charge of every hunt. Boone loads hunters onto the Mesa Vista bus and puts them out at predetermined hunting positions. Each spot has a dovehunting bucket containing extra shells and drinking water. The buckets have swivel tops and are designed to sit on. Each hunter also has one or two spinning-wing dove decoys placed nearby. Boone’s crew plants a variety of food to attract doves. Some of it grows in stalks 6 feet high. Before hunting season, he mows strips in the fields, creating a virtual banquet for birds. The strips are about 20 yards wide, thus any bird flying over the strip is within shotgun range.
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HUNTING TEXAS ANNUAL 2017
“The best thing any hunter can do is keep a low profile by placing a bucket back a little ways into the cover and sit on it,” Boone said. “Don’t even move until a bird is close enough to shoot. Only then do you mount your gun and take the shot.” Speaking of shot, most dove hunters favor No. 8 for the dense patterns this size produces, though No. 7 1/2 shot works better for larger white-winged doves or Eurasian collared doves. Whichever shot size you choose, Roy Wilson advises that you don’t try to save money with bargain basement shells. Wilson’s Texas Best Outfitters has put thousands of hunters on limits in more than 30 years of hunting dove. “There’s a reason those shells are cheap,” Wilson said. “If you shoot an autoloader, you need a shotgun shell with enough power to cycle the action and load another shell in the barrel. Otherwise, you’re hunting with an expensive single shot. Doves are hard enough to hit without complicating it by wondering whether you shotgun will shoot more than once. “When one of my hunters asks me for a cleaning kit and says his autoloader is not working, he invariably is shooting cheap shells. For most hunters, shotgun shells are the cheapest part of the hunt.” According to Shaun Oldenburger, dove program leader for Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the average Texas mourning dove hunters bagged about 22 doves during the 2015-2016 season. Mourning doves are among the most difficult game birds to shoot. Studies have concluded that it takes the average hunter five shots per bird bagged. That’s just over four boxes of shells per season, on the average. Buying cheap shells will save about $8 per season. Also, said Wilson, don’t put too much pressure on a productive field. Doves will relocate when they’re not allowed to feed. Wilson tells his hunters to hunt the edges and shoot the doves as they come and go from the field. Leave the middle of the field for birds to feed in peace and they’re more likely to return the next day. If there are multiple fields available, he said, avoid hunting the same field on consecutive days. Spread the hunting pressure around.
Lone Star Outdoor News