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Dove hunters take aim at hard target
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Thousands of Ohio hunters have been spending time at state dove fields since the dove season opened on Sept. 1 and many are finding this is not an easy bird to hit.
The rapid-flying game bird moves quickly over the fields in an erratic flight and poses a challenge for the hunters. Some of the more experienced shooters have admitted the bird is not an easy target.
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Phil Bourjaily, a veteran sportsman writing in Peterson's Hunting Magazine, said he had a tough time trying to hit doves when he first started.
"The doves I shot at streaked by with their eyes and their throttles wide open. Experts brag about shooting a limit of doves "inside a box," taking 10, 12 or 15 doves. (One box contains 25 shells.)
"I easily bag my limit of doves 'inside a box.' Unfortunately, it was one of those big boxes that holds 10 smaller boxes," Bourjaily said.
Much of the dove hunting on opening day takes place at dove fields on state public hunting areas, such as Rush Run in Preble County, Caesar Creek and Spring Valley south of Xenia and Fallsville Wildlife Area south of Wilmington.
The fields planted with sunflower and millet are inviting to doves. Hunters who greet them generally have ample opportunities to fire away at the birds flying overhead.
One of the best dove shooters I've seen is Matt Engel of Waynesville. I've been in the field with him several times and he makes it look easy.
"How did you become such a good dove shooter?" I asked.
"When I was growing up we lived on a farm and I shot blackbirds that came to feed on our corn," he explained.
Engel doesn't need a 12-gauge shotgun, the firearm of preference for most hunters. He uses a .410 gauge, the smallest shotgun. It delivers about half as many pellets as the bigger guns.
Most dove hunters favor shells with size 7½- or 8-shot. Smaller shot size means more pellets to send in the direction of a flying dove. One pellet might be enough to bring down a bird.
According to Ohio Outdoor News, about 14,300 people hunted mourning doves in Ohio last year. Collectively, the hunters bagged 284,000 birds.
This hunting challenge has become very popular in Ohio. The first few days of the season hunters lined up at state areas where dove hunting posts were awarded by a drawing.
I was among the many who did not get drawn at Rush Run Wildlife Area, but was a late pick for hunting on Sept. 1 at Indian Creek Wildlife Area in Brown County.
Most of the hunters at Indian Creek, excluding myself, did some excellent shooting. Quite a few of them looked like they have been spending a lot of time shooting trap or skeet.
The split dove-hunting season runs to Oct. 14 and resumes from Nov. 10-25. The daily limit is 15. For information, call (937)
372-9261.
Contact Jim Robey at Dayton Daily News, 1611 S. Main St., Dayton, Ohio 45409.
