Let the dove hit the ground!

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Guys I'm so pumped for dove season it's nuts this year. Add to it that my son if finally old enough to go with me this year even if it is with a cap gun and as head bird fetcher.

The way most hunters are about deer season I am about dove season. Opening day is like Christmas!

Hitting the Texas panhandle during the week and Western Oklahoma on the weekends.

I can already taste those little gems all wrapped up in bacon with onions and peppers.

[tdr6874]

how many seasons do you have in the panhandle...we get two in southeast texas September 20-November 9, 2008 and December 26, 2008-January 13, 2009

....dove is the only thing i hunt.  i love them for the easy cleaning, two hunts per day of 12 limit per hunt (24 birds a day), and the non gamey flavor like deer...i like the action because it is fast and get lots of shots when compared to sitting in cold blind waiting for a deer....usually walk around in shorts and t shirt in dove season here.

my weapon of choise is a 60's belgium browning A5 with a blonde stock...its been about 3 years since my last hunt since my brother moved to canda...he had the dog....

[FireFighter]

how many seasons do you have in the panhandle...we get two in southeast texas September 20-November 9, 2008 and December 26, 2008-January 13, 2009

....dove is the only thing i hunt.  i love them for the easy cleaning, two hunts per day of 12 limit per hunt (24 birds a day), and the non gamey flavor like deer...i like the action because it is fast and get lots of shots when compared to sitting in cold blind waiting for a deer....usually walk around in shorts and t shirt in dove season here.

my weapon of choise is a 60's belgium browning A5 with a blonde stock...its been about 3 years since my last hunt since my brother moved to canda...he had the dog....

If your deer is gamey, there is something wrong with either the processor or something else. Ours NEVER tastes gamey. Granted, immediately after it's shot, we go straight to it (that's easy, too, because my Dad who was a former Marine Expert Marksman taught me that if you shoot, you drop it where it stands. No excuses), field dress it, put it in the truck, and take it straight to the processor. At the processor's place, the deer goes immediately into a huge walk in cooler and stays that way until it gets frozen after processing. We've made all sorts of food where guests didnt even know it was venison...

But yes, dove are one of my favorite things to eat... TASTY!!! :eat:

[Rollingrock]

I too share the same for Dove Opening Day...so much so we are already camping in West Texas awaiting Monday 6:30 am.

We are in Ranger Texas, Cisco and Eastland...Central Zones and N. Zones.

What are the Dove reports like in Panhandle? 

[hwm3]

I'm ready for dove season here too. I think I'll be hunting at a buddies place this year. His pasture is between a pecan farm and a field of sunflowers. Should be a few birds around there.

[Rollingrock]

I'm ready for dove season here too. I think I'll be hunting at a buddies place this year. His pasture is between a pecan farm and a field of sunflowers. Should be a few birds around there.

Maybe we need "Dove Hunting" report thread!!

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The best I've ever seen was a little spot of CRP my x-brother in law had.* The gov. told him that he had to sew it in wheat every year to keep it in the CRP program.* But they never told him when to sew it or how deep.* So he'd set it just at dirt hight and sew it a couple days before dove season.* I've never seen so many birds in my life.* Of course without the CRP thing it would have been baiting but with the way it was worded it was agriculture instead.

My main spot in OK is the only nearby water source to both the feeding grounds and roost so if they want water they have to come visit my decoys. LOL* and it's family land so no one but me and whoever is with me can hunt there since I'm the only one in the family that hunts anymore.  Going solo opening weekend there.  Anyone want to join in?

Place in TX is the only real trees anywhere nearby and is also where the cotton gin dumps their waste (also agriculture instead of baiting) so it's full of cotton seed along with a little playa lake and a field of corn. Should be good hunting.* Although the owner is normally farming this time of year and says that he has never hunted dove before anywhere and to his knowledge it hasn't been hunted outside of pheasant season in over 30 years.* Took a few scouting trips there and it was full of dove.

[tdr6874]

decoys???? are you kidding???  these things are so thick you can prob throw a rock in the air and hit a minimum of two birds.

and as far a the gamey flavor...i guess it is because my grandpa was a butcher for 40+ years.  he had his store in conroe for many years...and his name is richard....no joke the name of his store was "dicks meat market".....but anyway i alway grew up with beef...and the rarer the better...i can taste every damn acorn a deer ate with every bite....make sausage, jerky, chili, stewed venison, what ever....i cant choke that crap down.


doves are king, and to get on lease is alot cheaper

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Or make your friends farmers so they'll let you hunt for free.   :NW:

TX places are farmer friend's places, OK is my families place.

Scouted the TX place a little today but was in the heat of the afternoon.  Still quite a few flying so morning and evening should be covered.  Raining on my little pond in OK right now.   :taz:

[FireFighter]

but anyway i alway grew up with beef...and the rarer the better..

That must be it-- I like beef but I am WAYYY too cheap to pay for it. I eat a LOT of what I shoot...(the rest my family eats)

agreed on rarer is better... if from a reputable place (or in your case fresh like that...) I dont trust 'Joes steakhouse' or something, but I'd trust a Chilis or Applebees or a good quality steakhouse...

Anywho, back to dove, Jason-- you're freaking 30 minutes from my ranch! How long are you going to be out there? I might be making a trip that way this weekend... Either respond quick/email/call me so I can figure out if we can meet up...

[Rollingrock]

but anyway i alway grew up with beef...and the rarer the better..

That must be it-- I like beef but I am WAYYY too cheap to pay for it. I eat a LOT of what I shoot...(the rest my family eats)

agreed on rarer is better... if from a reputable place (or in your case fresh like that...) I dont trust 'Joes steakhouse' or something, but I'd trust a Chilis or Applebees or a good quality steakhouse...

Anywho, back to dove, Jason-- you're freaking 30 minutes from my ranch! How long are you going to be out there? I might be making a trip that way this weekend... Either respond quick/email/call me so I can figure out if we can meet up...

We are at Lake Leon, out 20 in Ranger, exit 349, then 5 miles South of 20.  We are driving to Huckabay today to scout some of the feilds in our lease. 

Where is your ranch?

[FireFighter]

On HWY 279 between Cross Plains and Brownwood...

[Rollingrock]

Great day, lots of white wings too...

I came home with 10...but I shot poorly. We were in a good field...

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Sounds about like mine.  Lots of birds but boy was I rusty.  Ended up with 11 birds.  Though I hamburgered two of them and 3 were unrecoverable.  Lots of birds.  Was just that you really had to pick your shots in this field.  Lots of really tall grass around so you had to kinda only shoot at the ones that would land where you could get them.

I've never seen so many mosquitos and flies in my LIFE.

Good times.  This weekend in OK should be better.

[Rollingrock]

Sounds about like mine.  Lots of birds but boy was I rusty.  Ended up with 11 birds.  Though I hamburgered two of them and 3 were unrecoverable.  Lots of birds.  Was just that you really had to pick your shots in this field.  Lots of really tall grass around so you had to kinda only shoot at the ones that would land where you could get them.

I've never seen so many mosquitos and flies in my LIFE.

Good times.  This weekend in OK should be better.

What did your out of state license in OK cost you?