I don't know (and don't want to know) how many shots I fired on opening day to limit out on doves a few years ago. I hadn't dove hunted in awhile and was hunting with a new tight choked double. There was literally a sea of shells in my bag...

The first day of dove season is always a little trying. Anyway...if I can get a limit of 12 doves with 25-30 shots..that's good for me. I was told that the average is 7 shots per dove. (not sure where that info came from)

What's your average when your shooting good?

Way too many for what I bring home!!

I've heard about the same stat regarding 7 shots for very dove taken.

Course, it always gets better as the season or day moves on. Got to calibrate yourself a bit.

i shot 5 boxes of shells on opening day of dove season

I killed one dove with the first box. It took an aditional box and a half to get my limit! My last shot was a dove DOA(dead on air) at 45 paces! Hopefully, this weekend, I will do better.

I can get a limit out of a box -- if I'm (1) having a really good day, (2) am very picky about which shots I take, and (3) there are enough doves flying to be picky.

More typically I'll shoot a couple of boxes or more per limit, simply because I like taking the more challenging shots and don't mind missing in exchage for a chance at a high, fast, or unexpected bird -- and I also can't resist trying for a double on the second bird.

I don't go dove hunting for the purpose of seeing how few times I can shoot my gun!

I shot 10 boxes of shells loaded with hot #7.5 shot & I got 3 birds. When I shot you could see the hits and the feathers fly but the birds would not drop. I don't beleive I was out of range but I have never been good on guessing distance anyway.

Next day I switched to #6 shot and limited out with the first box.

One of the biggest problems with doves is judging range as they pass by. If they are withing range, I can kill 10 with 15 shots. Years ago I was standing at the edge of some milo with combined wheat on the other side, missed 10 straight, couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong, then I scratched one down, walked out to him, took 55 steps to get back and I was shooting a 20 ga. IC & Mod. I changed my stand and killed a limit in about 10 minutes. In an open field it's hard to tell 30 yard birds from 45 yard birds, but there's sure a difference in hitting them.

73 shots for 15 birds (Ohio limit)!!! And I was damn glad it only took 73!!!Course we had 20 to 30 mile an hour winds and it was like trying to shoot bottle rockets! This one one of the funnest days I've ever had shooting doves and I shoot a lot of doves!
To put that in perspective I got my limit the day before with 23 shells and had 2 doubles!!!(I almost had 3 doubles but the one bird got it's wings back and made it to the trees)Some days just seem better than others, but let me tell you one thing, go dove hunting on a real windy day and you won't care how many shells you shoot, you will have a blast, I guarantee it!Joe

quote:

tell you one thing, go dove hunting on a real windy day and you won't care how many shells you shoot, you will have a blast, I guarantee it!Joe

Wind can be frustrating, but when you're "on" on a windy day, it almost makes you want to giggle when you fold an incoming bird and it lands fifty yards behind you! Like I said earlier, I don't go dove hunting to see how FEW shells I can shoot!

My best day was 2 years ago using my Ruger O/U. I killed my 15 bird limit with 18 shots. I was picking my shots and using Modified and IC chokes. My average the past 5 years is a bit under 3 shots per bird.

Perry

I average 5 or 6 shots per bird. Not good, but lots of fun. Glad the limit is 12.

You guys must be joking ha?

I gave up shooting doves with any of the larger shotguns, and settled on the 410, and rarely needed more than 12 shots for a limit!

We used to shoot seaguls on the trash dump with rifles, as they were flying too high for shotguns. My best day was 18 birds with 40 shots using a 222 Remington.

Walter, who was part of the German Olympic Skeet team, was shooting with me. But, although he was very good with a shotgun, he never managed to kill single bird with a rifle!

The two years I shot trap, I averaged 99% the first year, and 99.5% the second. Which made me scratch my head. Those targets were so easy to break, but, sometimes I let my guard down and one flies through!

Note to self:

If you ever invite Saeed on a dove hunt...poke him in both eyes before heading to the field.

Perry

Saeed,

I used to find that when I shot olympic trap while living in Cyprus I would miss winged game in front unless it was really shifting. Did you ever find the same?

I was never as good as you but regularly shot 85% which was OK for a school kid. I just wish I hadn't have given it up as I did and still do think it is the best clay discipline ever.

Rgds, FB

This is different story, I have 3 good friends, brothers, two of them was in our national shotgun team, one on skeet and second on trap. Third is simply hunter.

On the duck hunt, there should be about 15 shooters including me and them. 80% of all ducks is done by that three, they are fast you can't imagine, especially that one shooting skeet (he won years ago competion of young olympic talents or so) . . .

When we shoot together pigeons, he is simply super shooter, sometimes, he is waiting for crossing two pigeons in air and shoot two on one shot. Next him I feel simply poor . . .
The same with rifle shooting, deer at 300m with his cheap VZ-24 in .308win with buschnell 7x50 from kneel, aiming 2 seconds and one shot kill.

I asked him I have chance to be good shotgun shooter, he said yes, after first 100 000rounds on skeet range ;-)

Jiri

The dove hunt is my favorite hunt of the year. It used to be 1 shot -- 1 bird, I went blind in my right eye, thank god I'm left handed. I missed the first 4 birds, felt bad.
Dad had given me a Beretta Citori a few years ago and I've not been hitting to good since then. After missing the first 4, I pulled out my old 870,when I say old, the Wingmaster doesn't have much blueing left and it's just a 28" tube with a modified choke. The next 6 birds, 6 shots, felt really good again. I sold the Beretta on Gunbroker a few weeks ago. I just couldn't get use to it. And I found out being blind, didn't bother me as much as I thought, a little harder to judge distance, but after being back in the sadle, I had a ball. Only problem is, it ruins my eye for the duck hunt?

I have a hunting buddy that I have shot with literally hundreds of times over the last 55 years. I always thought we shot about the same. After two dove shoots in Argentina we both shot 51% and each killed about 3000 doves. He killed 4 more than I did. He always said he was better and I guess he was right!!!