Also, , something else you can hunt for the cheap and get some shooting skills in is, CROW hunting, most states have long seasons and lots of places to hunt them, offering good practice on judging flying targets in the field!, for both speed , distance judging and sop on, over shooting at a trap/skeet range where things are more predictable!
you will also learn how to blend into the landscape and call in some smart birds as well, as crows ain;t no dummy's to hunt!

You seem oddly fascinated with what somebody else is doing (or did in the 1970s) and oddly fascinated with what they are wearing.

Life is short. Go live it and stop worrying about the little details. You'll never get into a dove field if you're waiting to dress like him and have a dog like him.

Get whatever you need to be legal and then go hunt something. I promise you'll learn along the way.

-Jake

Life advice:

Speaking authoritatively on subjects with which you have no direct experience is disingenuous, and rarely well received by those who DO have first-hand experience, or even an expertise in the subject matter.

The previous 2 posts offer excellent advice.

These questions are better. Another way to approach it is to realize that members here aren't necessarily teach you a class like like Dove Hunting 101 but could give you a lot of tips and suggestions that would help a lot. If you condensed your above questions down, you would likely get more results with a question that acknowledged you're new to dove hunting want to get started and would like to know what people suggest to get started. Jake gave you some excellent advice above.
If you did that for dove hunting in your state for instance, you would get a chance to experience dove hunting, see what other local hunters are using in your area and maybe even meet a possible hunting partner. It's ok to read books and articles but remember that a lot of the time they are trying to sell you on something.

As an example, if you read some of the "dove hunting" articles in magazines, they sound like some brochure for hunting on a private game ranch. The "author" will write about how his guide told him where to sit, set up any decoys, etc. and told him when to shoot, etc.

They will have a shotgun that costs $2-3,000, expensive camo clothing and boots and some list of their hunting gear that reads like a bunch of ads for high end hunting equipment. Most of the time, these articles will tell you little to nothing about actually hunting and if they do, it will be to pass on something their guide told them.

Now compare that with somebody who writes about a DIY hunt where they only had a weekend to hunt because of work and hunted with their grandad's pump 12 gauge, an inexpensive pair of binoculars and probably wore jeans. They tell you what worked and what didn't work for them on their hunt and you can almost see the country and how they tried to position themselves to get shot opportunities. They may mention some tip or trick that you'll think you could use where you hunt as well and you soak up their actual hunting experience instead of reading somebody's brochure on how to spend thousands of $$ that aren't necessary. Or read about some members' descriptions on here about hunts they went on and see what you can pick up.

But more importantly, get out there and hunt. Even if it's just day hunting locally, it's still hunting. Every day you're out in the field is an opportunity to learn something more. If you went dove hunting 5 times this next dove season, you would learn way more than simply reading books or magazines. You could congratulate other dove hunters who were successful and maybe learn what they did differently than you so you can adjust your tactics for the next time.

I honestly don't know other members here personally and don't really know what experience others have here personally. I never claimed to be a dove authority. I was just sharing what I've read and heard. I was also sharing how I felt about the posted video. I'm sure seasoned dove people won't listen to me for expert advice but novices might go take professional dove shooting instruction somewhere. And that's what they really should do. I'm planning myself to start with a skeet lesson.

In the interest of teaching you something you do not know - the above statement is foolish.

I think you're missing the points here and trying to parse your words. You joined this website to learn something and enjoy conversing with people who have more knowledge than you. That means you logically concluded that different people in these forums have some level of experience and/or expertise that you don't. Otherwise, why waste your time on a bunch of posers who know nothing.

So with that understanding in mind, it isn't helpful to suggest that novices "might go take professional dove shooting instruction somewhere. And that's what they really should do." If you reread those sentences, you'll see that you are advising people to do something you've obviously never done yourself. Google search dove hunting instruction sometime. With no dove hunting knowledge or experience, you're defending your posts by handing out advice. Think about it a bit.

You said it nicer than I would have.

Again.... If you really want to learn then go hunt. You don't need a professional dove shooting course. I can't imagine such a thing is even offered. Go do it and stop dreaming.

Ask questions here. Be open to learn. Experience is your best teacher.

-Jake

Although I HAVE been dove hunting in Argentina, years ago when working internationally, and although I can confirm the experience is on the verge of overwhelming, I will point out that my favorite type of dove hunting is far less exotic. Pleasure can be found in the simple things, such I thoroughly enjoy dove hunting with friends and family on small farm ponds in the fall evenings. A case of 12ga field loads, good friends, sons, daughters, wives, and some folding chairs parked in the shadow of the pond dam... dove hunting seldom gets better.

This pretty lady didn’t learn dove hunting from a book or an endorsed ad for an expensive guide service.