The week prior to opening day the doves that had been feeding around my home suddenly blew out of the area with hardly a bird in sight which left me with a less than optimistic outlook on the opening weekend of dove season and to compound the problem a cold front and rain was on the way which further pointed toward a high probability of a dismal hunt however I knew, the guys that I hunt with would make any event worthwhile with the swapping of funny stories.
Opening day collided with a middle school football game which knocked us out of the tradional opening day festivities but we had another ace in the hole with a invitation to a hunt the following Sunday in a sweet corn field that had been recently bushogged. Optimistic of a good hunt but suspecting that it would be a poor day was our line of thinking with the weather forcast calling for rain and lower temperatures; a combination of problems that ususally spells disaster for a dove hunt. As we loaded up and headed toward the field located in the northwest end of the county, the rain began and it looked like our chances for success were diminishing by the minute. I had the thought of turning around and heading back home thinking that the day was just an opportunity to stand in the rain but as we headed toward our hunting spot my mood began to change as I could hear the sound of shotguns firing in the distance with the familiar pop,........pop, pop. As we pulled up to the field we saw hunters spread out across the landscape firing at doves buzzing them like fighter pilots and when I looked at my boys smiling from ear to ear I knew this would be one of those days that I would recall while sitting in my rocking chair as a old man thinking back on the times spent with John and Jack.
After parking the truck the boys quickly got their guns and shells and loaded their guns preparing to hunt doing so in a careful and responsible manner, (something that I'm especially proud of). John eased up above me in the vicinity of one of my good friends and I kept Jack and our Boykin Spaniel, Avery, with me. I had little time to shoot and spent the majority of my day working Avery and picking up birds.
Saying that doves were everywhere does little to describe the number of birds that were flying. I have no idea how many shells were fired but I do know that some of the shooting was nothing short of spectaular. I met some guys from Warren County who were shooting high powered shells that could reach a bird in the stratosphere and they did it regularly. John and Jack held their own as well, especially John. At age 13 he continues to impress me with his wingshooting ability.
With over 20 people present at the hunt, we had the limits available to legally kill over 300 doves. We cleaned 299. A pretty good day by all accounts. I can almost smell those bacon wrapped dove breasts cooking on the grill right now.
