Is a red dot sight like the C-More useful on a Dove gun? It's not a big gawky sight like a one of the scope style red dots and it does not magnify but I'm not sure it would be useful.

Sight, what the heck are you talking about....Just lead them and if they are not falling......lead them a little more until they do....No need for a sight......

If you're talking about the red insert beads - they stink. They show up one way in the shade and another way [glowing] in the sun .I got rid of mine after the first hunt !!! BTW, with shotgun you focus on the target not the sight.

Adding a "sight" to a dove gun will tend to reduce your ability to be successfull. The reason being is that you will need to concentrate on the sight and the target will become the secondary focus. Pattern your shotgun and adjust the "fit" so that it (the shotgun) shoots where you are pointing it, and then remember to keep on swinging after pulling the trigger and your hit percentage will increase.

Years ago I heard a fellow describe wingshooting with a shotgun as a "controlled miss." What he meant was that you should should swing through the target and learn to shoot some distance in front of the bird based upon the speed and distance.
You don't need a bead on your sight to do this properly.
By the way, things look good for the first dove season this year. I was checking one of my fields yesterday and it had a load of birds in it. I just hope they'll hold there for a few more weeks.

Vic, it's good to hear the birds are there, we'll be in Albany opening day and I hope they're still around. I'm still (re-)learning this shotgun thing and my eyes aren't what they used to be so I was looking for something that would help in that area. I use an 1100 with a fiber optic front sight in 3 gun competition and that helps pick up on the targets but they're not moving (as fast).

Looking at a "sight" is a sure way to miss with a shotgun. If you are consciously seeing the barrel you are missing. Focus is on the target period. A shotgun that fits is one that when mounted without fussing or adjusting your face is pointed where you are looking. A shotgun swing like a golf swing is a rotation of the torso from the hips up, not just the arms, moving just the arms/shoulders restricts the swing and makes it choppy in nature. That and keep the gun moving.

Kend,
Dove right now are in the recently picked corn fields. Whether they are still there come the time you hunt in September will depend on whether or not the farmers are pulling peanuts. At that point, there is feed everywhere and the birds can really be dispersed.
By the end of the season in December and January, it's hard to legally concentrate birds, even after the migratory birds have moved down, which is why so many hunts that take place then are baited. The DNR is always on the lookout for hunts like that, but many places still take that risk.
I had some milo planted across a picked corn field earlier this week that I hope will make before the first freeze. It needs 90 days, so we have a good shot at that. If it all works out, the milo should make for a good late season hunt.

NV30378 has it exactly right. A shotgun is pointed - not "aimed". All the talk in the world about "fitting" a shotgun to oneself has possible application to trap and skeet shooting -but in the field while shooting at a live bird whose speed does NOT decrease (as a "bird" from the machine does) and whose angle of flight can change unpredictably (clay birds only drop) what NV30378 said is what rules. (His answer was blunt. That doesn't make it less true.I'm just more longwinded in saying the same thing) "Gadgets" on firearms, whether "beads" or "dots" or whatever else don't improve what you have to do in the field. The old rules still apply. Just my thoughts.

The only sights on my shotguns are Bradley White Beads and gold center beads....have no use for anything else. Tried the ones they used to put on Ithaca's years ago....what an abomination those were.

The best thing to do is spend about $50 to $100 on a sporting clays shooting lesson, or maybe even a dove shooting clinic in your area. I've been shooting scatterguns for about 30 years now, shoot competive sporting clays and vintager shoots, and a quick "tune up" lesson always does me good...

quote:

Originally posted by gerrys375:
All the talk in the world about "fitting" a shotgun to oneself has possible application to trap and skeet shooting

It has application in any type of shotgun work. If your shotgun does not shoot where you are looking you will not be a successful shotgunner no matter what discipline you choose. I am a former Califonia state champion trap shooter and trust me....fit is critical.

quote:

It has application in any type of shotgun work. If your shotgun does not shoot where you are looking you will not be a successful shotgunner no matter what discipline you choose. I am a former Califonia state champion trap shooter and trust me....fit is critical.

Ahem, brother. If a scattergun doesn't fit you, you really don't have much to work with.

Yesterday was the IL dove opener, and it was a dandy. We limited out in short order:



My nephew, Jack, youngest brother Keith, and myself.

In front, Kelsey the Golden, and Rocky the GPS.

I got a new shotgun earlier this year and the first thing I wanted to do was put a smaller, less visible bead on it. The last thing you want is something distracting you from your target.

SH

Regarding gun fit, I wonder if THIS gun has been fitted to the shooter.

SH

quote:

Originally posted by Snipe Hunter:
Regarding gun fit, I wonder if THIS gun has been fitted to the shooter.

SH

Obviously an exhibition shooter is an exception to the rule. He stated in the demo that he shoots that thing as much in a day as the average shotgunner would in a year. It's like shooting a .45. If you have any talent at all the more you shoot it the better you become. Jim

I agree that for most there is no substitute for rounds fired and I also believe there is a certain level of natural ability (or lack of it) that can't be overcome. I believe that is more pronounced in field shooting than in the repetitive clays games.

SH

I sure hope the dog on the right is a GSP, and not a GPS.... although if it finds birds as well as my German Shorthair... maybe it does have gps...