Dove Hunting
Ever since I was a child I looked forward to the opening day of dove season as much as I looked forward to Christmas. The excitement of watching a bunch of grown men getting together shooting guns and having fun was as good as it could get.
My first dove hunt was more than forty years ago and I was too young to remember much about it. I didn’t carry a gun but tagged along and was my Grandfather’s “bird dog”. Under his watchful eye I learned a lot about the outdoors. Most importantly, I learned that you can’t measure the success of a hunting trip by the number of doves in your bag. Even if we didn’t fire a shot, it was just fun to go.
For the past four decades I have spent the opening day of dove season having fun. I have come to the conclusion that it should be called “dove shooting” rather than hunting. My reason is that it is unlike any other type of hunting out there. It’s fun! Not that going after deer, ducks or turkeys isn’t fun. But “dove shooting” is different. What other kind of hunting is there that is so affordable? There are lots of farmers that will day lease their property for less than $25 - $35. Add a couple of boxes of shells and you’re at about $40. Where else can you spend that little money and have that much fun?
If you don’t know a farmer and would like to hunt, you can purchase an Annual Public Hunting Permit from the Texas Parks & Wildlife that will entitle you to hunt more than 1.4 million acres. You don’t need a lot of expensive equipment to be successful and you don’t need to have the hunting skills required for other animals. When the birds are flying well, there’s lots of action and lots of shooting. Most other hunting requires hours of patience just for a single shot.
Dove season opened on September 1st in the North Zone and on this past Friday we decided it was time to take our turn. I decided to hunt close to home in Comal County only a few miles from New Braunfels. Joining me was my wife, entire office staff and about 30 friends. We scattered along the edge of a huge grain field and the birds were flying. Our group of hunters looked different than it did when I was a child. We had a lot of women and bird dogs joining the guys. As always, some shooters just couldn’t miss while others couldn’t hit a thing. But it didn’t matter.
The temperature was in the mid 90’s around 4:30 when the birds wouldn’t stop flying. Just listening to the shooting would get you excited.
It was one of those rare days when I was on. Normally my shooting is average at best. But for some reason, the 7-1/2 shot was connecting. After my limit of birds was cleaned, I sat back and watched as my wife Debbie and our Administrative Assistant, Dawn enjoyed the shoot. Their eyes were fixed on the sky looking for the next bird. Occasionally a dragon fly would appear and I’d see them start to raise their shotguns before catching themselves. I was glad to see them do that too.
In addition to Debbie and Dawn enjoying the hunt, I noticed many men in the group had brought along a youngster. There is always concern for young ones being around so many shooters but I was glad to see that many of these people still found it a great opportunity to share a good time with their child.
The two most eager sets of eyes you will ever find in the field is a young child and a retriever. Both will gaze with absolute excitement into the sky for a glimpse of a soon-to-be-downed bird. I am not sure which is less expensive to own...but that is another article.
If you do get the opportunity this year to hunt the elusive dove, take along a new hunter. It may be the best chance you have to take someone to a hunt and experience lots of action. The average hunter hits 1 in 3 shots... how do you rate?
For more information on public hunting opportunities, contact Texas Parks & Wildlife at 800 792 1112.