Up on a Stump

from 2022 Sept_Oct TTHA Issue

Blast from the Past

TEXAS DOVES: TOPS FOR WINGSHOOTING

By The Old Dove Hunter

Texas hunters like to smell gun powder, and there’s a lot of difference in how much you’ll shoot at various species. If you look at everything that’s available in Texas—deer, turkey, exotics, rabbits and squirrels, waterfowl, doves, or even turtles in the pond—you can visualize how

According to the author, if hunters want to get a lot of action at difficult targets, they have to hunt birds, and doves are the best bet for your money in Texas.

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much shooting you’ll get. For fall shooting fun, dove hunting beats them all.

When I look back at all the deer, turkey, exotics, and even rabbits and squirrels I’ve bagged through the years, I could’ve killed most of them with a single-shot rifle or shotgun. There’s just not much shooting with all that I’ve named—usually one shot. If hunters want to get a lot of action at difficult targets, they have to hunt birds, and doves are the best bet for your money in Texas.

I’ve had some good duck and goose hunts, and occasionally I might shoot six to 10 shells per hunt and bag the limit—all 12-gauge with 3-inch shells—but no chance for a favorite .410 or 20-gauge. So, if you want to get the most shooting with a variety of shotguns, the answer is doves.

Each season, some 400,000 dove hunters go to the fields and water holes, hunt about three times, shoot about 15 million shells in a variety of shotguns, and bag about five- to six-million doves. The weather has a lot to do with doves, but it would be safe to say that Texas has the best—and the most—dove hunting in the U.S.A. After the hunt, Texans fry, broil, stew, bake, and fricassee doves to the delight of the dove-loving crowd.

Texans have several reasons why they like dove hunting. It’s the first season of the year, it can be a family affair, the weather is usually warm—sometimes hot, the hunts are usually comfortable, you can use your good retriever, and doves are easy to carry and dress for the table. The average dove hunter gets a lot of shooting, with at least three shots per bird, which means a limit of 15 doves will take about 45 to 50 shells. When you sum it up, dove hunting is hard to beat for action. And doves wrapped in bacon with a slice of jalapeño or bell pepper and onion are yummy!

The hunting scene usually picks up steam during the last week of August. Shotguns get checked and cleaned, and hunters start looking for the best bargain in shotshells. A few phone

calls will be made to old friends who have good dove hunting—the ones you haven’t called since last dove season.

The objective is to be ready for Sept. 1 in the North Zone, which is most of Texas north of I-10. The South Zone opens about three weeks later, and the same hustle and bustle takes place with hunters coming from far-away places to shoot Texas’ “gray ghosts” in grain fields and at stock tanks. If you wonder about the season dates and number of hunting days, it’s all set by the migratory bird treaty with Canada and Mexico.

Texas dove hunts can be had in small or large packages. Hardly anybody hunts alone, and hunts can involve two or three people, or the crowd may be 50 to 100 hunters on some big social dove hunts. I have hunted in small groups of four or five, and in large gatherings of up to 75 or more hunters. More often than not, dove hunting is a social event, with a lot of shooting and visiting. The usually hot weather means having a lot of Lone Star longnecks, or an occasional margarita at the end of the hunt.

Some big social affairs last two or three days, with a Sunday morning skeet shoot and a big cookout of hundreds of doves, big skillets of cream gravy, and hot biscuits served at brunch time, or maybe a broiled dove lunch. This is sometimes

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the best part of the hunt, with a lot of bragging, lying, and comparing shotguns and shells. Bobby Schmidt has a big dove shoot at Creedmoor I have attended many times. And some big hunts are held annually at Abilene, Brackettville, Brownwood, Cotulla, Karnes City, Pearsall, and Uvalde, to name a few.

The Abilene affair is the annual Legends Dove Hunt, which raises money for the Hendrick Children’s Hospital. During the last 17 years, Lanny Vinson and his team have raised $3.7 million for the children’s hospital facility. Local supporters, volunteers, celebrities, and hunters have made the Legends Dove Hunt a huge success, and the biggest genuine dove hunt in Texas, with 400-500 participants.

The Karnes City hunt is associated with the annual Lonesome Dove Fest, held each year on the opening weekend of the South Zone. It’s a big wingding, hosted by Benny Lyssy and his team, which will celebrate 30 years in 2022. Thousands of dove hunters and friends come to the Youth Livestock Barn between Karnes City and Kenedy to celebrate the opening of dove season, enjoy competitive shooting, do a little visiting, and more. On Saturday evening, many hunters go to the dove fields, and after dark, the party begins. All the money goes to county school scholarships.

Texas dove hunters use a lot of field etiquette, picking up cans, shell hulls, and other trash after the hunts are over. Many hunters take a case of shotgun shells or a liberal number of ready-to-cook doves to their landowner host. They may invite the family to dinner as appreciation for the dove hunt. Through the years, most hunters have learned that keeping in good with the host helps to get a dove hunt next year.

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Bobby Schmidt of Niederwald laughingly sums it up.

“I have big dove hunts each year at Creedmoor and Pilot Knob, and my hunting friends show with their guns and ice boxes from everywhere. We have a good cook-out and plenty of shooting. And it’s about the only time I ever see some of them!”

Gov. Rick Perry, Gen. Leroy Sisco and I have joined those elite hunters many times.

A good dog makes for a better hunt. However, hunters should get permission to bring a retriever to the hunt, and make sure the dog is under complete control. I have used good Labs for years, and I wouldn’t want to hunt without a dog. A good retriever, or even the family schnauzer can find a lot of lost birds and make the hunt more satisfying.

Hunters in New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and even Louisiana enjoy dove hunting. Through the years, I’ve seen many hunters from these states at Abilene, Brownwood, Goldthwaite, Junction, Karnes City, Laredo, and Pearsall. There’s something about Texas dove hunting that lures out-of-state hunters every year. It might be the good hunting, the partying, or just coming to Texas, but whatever it is, hunters come and join their friends to enjoy one of the best wing-shooting sports in America, Texas dove hunting.