Waiting is the hardest part, as they say.

Heading down to Yuma, AZ to go with my dad and then perhaps some trips out around Phoenix with some friends of mine. My 20ga Browning Superposed is trembling in the case with excitment

JL,

My first ever dove hunt was in Yuma. Drove in from San Diego with some friends and had the best time I have ever had dove hunting. I'm counting down the days, doing some research on possibilities and going over my gear check list. Good luck and safe hunting!

-tlfw

As the years go by, I've come to appreciate dove hunting as just about the ultimate in hunting experiences.

Sure, I've hunted the Rocky Mountains, Canada, and Mexico, and I've hunted bobwhites over $10,000 dogs and pheasants where they were as thick as fleas. But dove hunting is something that, if you have the time, you can do every day for 60 days straight, you get to shoot your gun a lot, and just about anyone can participate. I took my son when he was seven, and my 85 year-old father-in-law when he was dying of cancer. Hunting doves was the first real hunting I ever did, and is nearly certain to be the last.

Like J.L., I'm waiting with great anticipation for Monday to get here.

Sigh. I used to have a perfect dove hunting setup. A field of wild sunflowers about 20min from work. After work, I'd drive out, meet a buddy, and harvest a few. Be home in time for dinner (of Dove, sometimes).

Then the subdivision moved too close, and hunting there is closed. Still looking for a new spot.

I'm almost ready for the opener here on the farm. Going to cut three shoats on Friday put them in the cooker around 5AM on Monday so the pigpickin' will be ready to go by 1030AM. I was finally able to get a crew into the sunflowers just yesterday and the corn today so the whole 40 acres will be ready to shoot by Monday. Have 120 shooters coming and another 62 that will be waiting to replace as the first bunch limits out. The first group are this year's invitees the second are shooters who weren't on the list this year. Looks to be a real rip, snorter of an opener.