Horsefly Posted September 1, 2005 Report Share Posted September 1, 2005 What a great day! Opening day of dove season is the first hint that we might have survived another Texas summer and the other hunting seasons are close.Jerry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FC Posted September 1, 2005 Report Share Posted September 1, 2005 Where will you go Horsefly? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsefly Posted September 3, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 3, 2005 My Dad has a farm south of Lindsay Tex.,north of Era,and west of Gainesville.I may go later on out to the LBJ Grasslands north of Decature.There's not many birds at Dads this year,but as you know,that can change at anytime.There are lots of whitewings here in Keller,and 2 years ago I had never seen a whitewing.I'm going to try and go dove hunting more this year mostly to get brushed up for my muledeer hunt down on the border at Presidio.There are lots of blue quail there and I had trouble hitting them,mostly because I hadn't practiced.Jerry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emul8 Posted September 3, 2005 Report Share Posted September 3, 2005 There's supposed to be good dove hunting out near the Imperial valley of CA, but I know nothing of dove hunting...I haven't tried it. From what I understand, it's pretty tough to get those little suckers! What I like about dove season opening is exactly what Horsefly said...making it through another summer and knowing that other hunting seasons are coming up. Even though I don't currently hunt much, I do like hearing of the successes of other hunters...so I look forward to the seasons as well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FC Posted September 5, 2005 Report Share Posted September 5, 2005 Unless I get a lead on the doves right off as they fly left to right, or right to left, I can't hit them. They are fast! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FC Posted September 5, 2005 Report Share Posted September 5, 2005 I went to my brother's place to shoot. I'm glad my wife is willing to shoot. She shot a little of everything. She kind of liked black powder in my 1858 Remington revolver (I have a conversion cylinder too). This was the first time she ever shot black powder. My flintlock: http://pic5.picturetrail.com/VOL83/530097/...2/110967577.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emul8 Posted September 5, 2005 Report Share Posted September 5, 2005 Do you guys eat your doves? I don't think I would like them, I heard some people say that they taste a lot like liver, and I detest liver! The usual recipe, so I have read, for dove is to breast them out, skewer them with a slice of bacon and sliced jalapeños, and grill them. But if I am not mistaken, the real trick in eating dove is to shoot them! I watched a T. V. show where some dove hunters were in Argentina hunting, and even as seasoned as they were, they weren't hitting as many as they probably would have liked. But when they did hit them, there were a lot of doves going down...Argentina must have some high limits! I don't think that the doves were being collected to eat either, so that sort of irritated me. Aside from some obvious exclusions like armadillos and coyotes, I think that if people hunt an animal, they should eat it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FC Posted September 5, 2005 Report Share Posted September 5, 2005 They taste really good, but you don't get a lot of meat. Quail is even better! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsefly Posted September 5, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 5, 2005 Em,a guy I work with and his wife went to Argentina twice dove hunting,and the doves are gathered up and giving to the people living there.After they finish shooting,women and kids line up,they count them,and divide the birds up evenly.They shot so many that everyone got a dozen or so birds.The birds are so thick,they estimate they eat 40 percent of their grain crops.The way you described grilling the dove with japapeno's and bacon is the only way I can eat them,and they great that way.Cooked any other way,I can't do 'em.I'm not much of a fan for dark meat.Now quail is a different story.Never tried one raw,but it'd probably be good too.Jerry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emul8 Posted September 5, 2005 Report Share Posted September 5, 2005 Hey Horsefly, thanks for the info around the Argentine hunts...that makes me feel MUCH better...and, it's a good plan, letting the hunters enjoy hunting, and feeding people to boot! So, are you and FC saying that dove actually does taste like liver, or is it just really strongly-flavored dark meat? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FC Posted September 7, 2005 Report Share Posted September 7, 2005 No. The dove I ate tasted really good! It is dark meat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emul8 Posted September 7, 2005 Report Share Posted September 7, 2005 That's good to know, FC...I like dark meat very much, so maybe I would like dove. I had squab when I was a kid, but I don't remember much about the way it tasted...though, if I don't remember, it must have tasted alright...I usually only remember things that I didn't like. Like with so many things, I think that proper handling of wild game/birds after the kill makes a difference in the way the meals prepared from the meat can taste. Hmmm, maybe I will be able to get it together to go dove missing next time...I think I am too late for this part of the season, the next part is in early November. I think I just might go out and miss some doves then! LOL! I am not trying to steal y'all's Texas dove hunting thread...just wanting to contrast it and get the benefit of your advice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swamprat Posted September 8, 2005 Report Share Posted September 8, 2005 When you think you are leading a dove enough, double it, then fire! I have a birdfeeder in my front yard and there are usually 4 to 6 doves that feed there. When dove season opens they disappear and you don't see them until season is over. How they know is beyond me. But they sure hide somewhere! What is really amazing is they are safe here in the city but yet they still disappear. Swamprat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MorgansBoss Posted September 9, 2005 Report Share Posted September 9, 2005 Dove hunting is big here to. On "the shore" a lot of places still hold traditional old-style shoots where everything is formal but most hunters just stake out a spot along a chopped corn field or one of the specially planted "dove plots" some folks put out. For the last couple years one of my two best friends and I have managed a dove field at his farm - five acres of sunflowers. I discd them down last Thursday and we shot Labor day. Nobody else showed up but he and I had a great shoot. I love dove hunting - my favorite I believe. The weather is beautiful, there's not a lot of exertion, there's usually good company (even informal dove shoots are typically a "social affair") and the shooting can be furious and above all, challenging. I've never considered doves tasing like liver. Now seaducks - scotters and old squaws - THEY taste like liver. Asking for ways to cook doves would be akin to asking Forrest Gump's buddy, Bubba how to cook shrimp! One of my favorites is baked in a casserole! They are tasty little devils but the best part is shooting enough for a meal. We seldom have more than two or three dove dinners a year. Em, you ought to give it a shot! I'm not sterotyping, but in my experience a lot of women hunters really enjoy dove hunting. They are tough to learn to hit but like everything, results improve with experience and practice. Too many novice dove hunters give up too soon instead of learning to enjoy the sport... Our results from Monday? 13 between us in 2 hours. I didn't keep track of my shells but I missed way more than I hit and I didn't even get the gun up for way more than I shot at! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emul8 Posted September 10, 2005 Report Share Posted September 10, 2005 Thanks for the encouragement, MorgansBoss...I am going to consider giving dove hunting a try. As for the patience part of the equation, that's no problem, during my first hunt since being a teenager, last fall, I hunted pheasants, and when the guys who were working a dog for my hunt flushed a bird for me, it seemed like a great shot, until I realized that it was over their heads! They kept yelling for me to take the shot, but I didn't because I felt it was unsafe. At first I felt sort of stupid as I was out in the field at least twice as long as others, and the guys didn't say much to me after I refused the shot. But after I got my two birds, on the way back to the vehicle, one of the guys said that he was impressed that I didn't shoot BECAUSE it was a questionable shot, and that I basically had the sense to know that on my "first" hunt. The guy said that he and his buddy had gotten used to people just firing like crazy while hunting pheasants...I told him that he should never get used to that! The pheasant hunt I went on was a women's hunt, and it was pretty much a canned hunt, which I wasn't all that thrilled by, but since I was there anyway.... Let me tell you, I really feel that patience can pay off in a big way at times, particularly around hunting! I remember seeing a woman in the field adjacent to "mine", when her bird flushed -- not more than 10 steps into her hunt, BTW -- she brought her gun up and fired. I saw a cloud of feathers since that pheasant wasn't more than 8 feet in front of the muzzle of her gun! I thought "now THAT'S going to be some fine eating!"! LOL! I don't take your observations of women dove hunting as stereotyping at all...frankly, I can see myself dove hunting far more readily than I can see myself duck hunting...and I can almost see that! I expect to miss WAY more than I expect to hit, but if I can get in with some other hunters, I think it could be seriously fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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