AlongCameJones

I'm just so impressed by the above video that I have to share it here. I wish I could
do what that man is doing. I envy that beautiful and smart retriever too.

My impressions: Smart late-summer clothing, smart late-summer gear and smart retriever. Dog well watered.
MOJOS set up early in the morning before legal shoot time. Tries to limited out before the sun
beats him and his dog to death.

Is your dove gear anything like like the man's in the video?
Can your dog do a double dove retrieve as shown in the vid?

Bocajnala

Do you hunt dove? Tell us about your last dove hunt.

-Jake

Oldtimr

All his posts sound like a travelogue.

AlongCameJones

I haven't hunted dove yet. It's something I'm interested in trying. That video seems to be a great inspiration to me. I'm very well read on the subject though. From what I've read, thin camo clothing is essential as well a 12 ga. shotgun and a dog who is good at dove retrieves. I just ordered my new Mossberg 500 with a field barrel for that purpose.I seem to like all the gear that man has at his dove station. I even own a dove-hunting book I've read cover to cover several times. Dove Hunting [Dickey, Charley, 1976].

I wrote this thread maybe to get some more knowledge on dove-hunting gear. Hunting is pretty much done until Sept. 1 now that summer is upon us. I have a hunch many veteran and up-and-coming dove hunters will be practicing their shotgun skills at skeet fields before September. Those who do own gun dogs will probably getting them practiced as well. I don't yet own a gun dog but I could probably enter the sport dog-less.

mrbb

if you want to hunt doves, the place to go is Argentina
back when I went it was nothing to shoot a 1,000+ rounds a day and most outfitters there provide the a ammo and guns, you stay in first class resort like settings


you'll come back with the itch for hunting doves scratched and then some!

look up some videos on hunting there, you'll be amazed!

AlongCameJones

There are a few public areas in Oklahoma to hunt dove and a few paid outfitters. I would try the public areas first. I don't personally know any rural landowners or hunters here. I would have to take the on-my-own approach. One of the dove outfitters requires a two-hunter minimum but I have no partner. I read at this source :

https://www.oklahoman.com/article/32...ng-in-oklahoma


that Ok dove hunting can be iffy because of the crappy climate here. August rains sometimes rain on local dove hunters' parades, so to speak. I don't care to spend money and time to travel to Argentina. I want to learn to hunt on my own American soil nearest to my hometown as possible. Texas is next door to Oklahoma and is a hunting haven for many. I consistently have read that pre-season scouting is the key to success. Oklahoma weather is fickle so Sooner State hunting can be a crap-shoot from one season to the next. I do know that mourning doves are now cooing like crazy all over my Lawton neighborhood now.

I live in SW Ok so these I will check into:

In Southwest Oklahoma (my neck of Sooner woods) the following are open to the public:

1, Hackberry Flat — Oklahoma's premier dove shoot. On good years, it's crammed with doves and dove hunters (many people, EEEK!).

2, Mountain Park — Near Snyder, contains native sunflower fields and managed agricultural fields.(sounds promising)

3, Sandy Sanders — Watering holes and crop fields normally provide good dove hunting, but habitat problems this year has opening day looking iffy (HUMMMM.....).

4, Waurika — Runs hot and cold. Agricultural fields on west side provide the best hunting.(GOOD when that area is running hot)

mrbb

well Hate to tell you this, as much as texas is a great state, it has almost ZERO public hunting lands and accessing private lands, GOOD lands, can be super costly
so a heads up on that !

and I can fully appreciate wanting to learn to hunt on your own
its what I did
I only mentioned Argentina , as if your into dove hunting, its the place to be, and honestly prices are still pretty good
all the more so when you consider how much ammo many of them will provide and current ammo prices in the USA being so nuts!
get in down there with a good outfitters and its a absolute blast(literally, me and buddies were know to fire 5,000+ rounds in a week or less, and very glad they load guns for you
it was more like a vacation /hunt, than a more traditional hunt for us/
just food for thought!

as for finding a place by you to hunt therm, I think you will find gaining permission to hunt doves a LOT easier than trying to get access to hunt deer
as a lot less folks hunt doves or place a lot of value on them as to deer

so if you have time to drive about your local area's, and find farms that have good habitat for doves, this isn;t a bad time of yr to be asking in advance and getting to maybe know some land owners!
could open doors to making some good friends

I know over my yrs, I have gained access by doing so, and as the yrs passed, many land owners ended up becoming great friends I have in many states now!.
like they say, never know till you try and you tend to get back what you put forth into efforts to get things!

another tip I have used for yrs, was talking to local game wardens in areas I liked, be amazed how helpful some wardens can be, as they tend to know there area's super well as well as many of the land owners in there area's and others

some times can give leads to some land owners that allow hunters, or have higher odds of maybe gaining access!
or just advice on area's game is in higher numbers

I have always found most wardens to be good folks to get to know if nothing else!

elkman30

If you have questions ask them. People are willing to answer questions. When you post information as if you already know the answers, people are less likely to answer any questions. It's great to read stuff (we all do) but consider the source and date. One of your links above is for 2008 article on dove hunting areas. Things have almost certainly changed in 13 years. Also, just because a dove hunting area is crowded doesn't mean you can't use it to your advantage. Sometimes those other hunters end up pushing doves towards you.

AlongCameJones

I really didn't intend this thread to be a question-asking session, but more of a conversation piece that others can chime in on however they feel. But I will cut to the chase and start posing some questions now if elkman thinks I should do that:

Does anybody here like the clothing and gear of the man in the dove video posted?
What do you think of his decoy setup, his dog blind and the game bags he's wearing?
How might you dove hunt differently in terms of gear?
Is there more up-to-date dove-hunting information in books, videos, magazines and online articles that you recommend?
Is there anything at you could give as helpful advise to a noobie interested in going for dove?

I just meant that I was impressed with that man's dove setup though I have yet to achieve any hands-on dove-shooting experience. All my knowledge is theoretical, I'm afraid. The video seems to indicate that that man is very successful the way he is going about his dove shoot. His dog's performance is spot on. That pretty red Golden retriever looks like something of the Holy Grail to me for a serious wing-shooter. I would like to dress like that man if I was to get into doves unless somebody here thinks there is something even better. I ordered my new Mossy 500 as a combo. It sports a tactical barrel for home security and field barrel in case I should get into feathered game. It's a bird gun and an anti-burglar gun in one. Feathered game is just something I've been pondering over getting into lately. Doves, I've read, are the most challenging to hit. My new shotgun is a 12 ga. which is what Mr. Dickey in his dove book recommends for dove greenhorns. I still have to go to a skeet field and practice too. Doves, however, can be hunted fairly on the cheap especially on public lands. Mr. Dickey says dove hunting doesn't require a bunch of fancy or expensive equipment to get going to boot.

I know something by what I've read so far but I don't claim to know everything about dove. Mr. Dickey's book came out 45 years ago. There were game regulations then and there are now. You had to scout for birds then and you do now. You had to ask landowners for permission then and you still do now. I think the hunting skills, retriever training methods and scouting skills are more or less the same. I don't think doves have evolved to have gotten much cagier or cleverer and tougher to hit than in 1976. Mr. Dickey strongly recommends dogs to prevent unrecovered game and waste. The only thing that might have changed the most over 45 years is: guns, loads, chokes, clothing, decoys and other dove gear. Mr. Dickey mentioned camo clothing even in 1976. But there is probably expensive unnecessary stuff on today's market. I don't see a departure from wearing camo by the current dove videos I watch on on YouTube.

mrbb

camo IMO< is something that in all honesty I think make a person FEEL more like a hunter than it maybe really helps hide us from game
as we honestly;y don;t know what game animals see when they look about!
some claim they can see UV some colors , some color blind and so on
its all guessing games of sorts, so the camo, honestly tends to make a HUMAN feel more like there outwitting a animal, based on how WE See !~
and camo makers have suckers a lot of wallets to open with there claims and materials and patterns!
Hunters are suckers for wanting a EDGE they can buy fast, over skills they have to earn! in time

!MO< movement and noise is a bigger issue to worry about, and well trying to blend into the landscape so not to stick out like a sore thumb!

One thing I think you maybe missed or don't know about(I have no clue what you know or don't, so no bash here)

is Doves in a lot of places don't migrate anymore, or for not as long a time spans as they used too!
we have more resident doves now than ever, same as with geese and other critters ,
they have found ways to stay put in one place all yr, or again almost all yr as to yrs back when most all migrated and left for seasonal travels!

so, the fact many stay put can help one find places that have higher numbers maybe or just more steady populations of them to target for hunting them

a dog is great, but not all dogs are great at doves
like anything a dog is a tool in hunting and the tool has to work for the task at hand
and in dogs, its a combination of genetic's and training and the individual dogs drive to do so!
Bird dog ownership is also a dying thing in the USA, if not the world
so few folks have them anymore as to 20-30 yrs ago
most HUNTING breeds have been adapted into house pets than hunting companions
changing of the times
and also, making it harder to get GOOD blood lines of proven hunting dogs
also dying , is the skills to train a good bird dog

those still willing to do the work, are a dying breed of hunters sadly!
game bird populations are decreasing and thus why, bird hunters and dogs are going out of style!