Dove Hunting

[crawford23]

Anyone going Dove hunting now that the seasons opened?

To start the story off, I decided that since I only own one gun, and an old military rifle at that, it was time to get a handgun. Went down to the local Turners a few days ago to get a Glock 17 and typical to my trips to the tackle shops, ended up getting a Remington 870 shotgun as well. Pick em up on Tuesday. Now to go shooting. Next weekend its off to my buddies property in the desert for some shooting practice. So had to get ammo right? Well ended up getting much more than necessary but like tackle....is there ever too much But then a brilliant idea! Why not hunt? Looked into the regs and Dove season opened today and rabbits are open season. Damn quails and chukkers don't open til later in the year Its whats on the property. So now its a hunting trip...off to Turners for license and hunting gear next. Anyone here hunt? Done some research on the net on the topic and how to clean the kill. But any tips and pointers would be great for this noob. The obvious like, "Don't pull a Cheney" and "Safety first" is of course the most important thing but besides the obvious etiquette, anything to help the chances of bagging some doves and rabbits would be great.

[Carnivore]

Dove I have never hunted for. Rabbits I have done for years and as a kid sold the pelts at the local feed store for extra arcade money. Unless you plan on picking tons of shot out of the little guy make sure you don't shoot them on the run. Wait for a head shot. I know with a shot gun it is tough (why I would use a .22) but you can fire off a few test rounds and see how the pattern spreads. It won't take much to drop them. Watch for flee's and ticks as they will abandon a carcase real quick and you are the closest warm body.

Congrats on the glock I love mine and have several different calibers. Worth every penny and have never had one fail. Let me know how the 870 works for ya I have been looking in to one as a shark stopper.

[mglindo]

Don't forget, you must have a firearm safety course certificate before they will give you a hunting license! At least that is what I had to get many years ago. Good hunting!

[crawford23]

Originally Posted by Carnivore

Dove I have never hunted for. Rabbits I have done for years and as a kid sold the pelts at the local feed store for extra arcade money. Unless you plan on picking tons of shot out of the little guy make sure you don't shoot them on the run. Wait for a head shot. I know with a shot gun it is tough (why I would use a .22) but you can fire off a few test rounds and see how the pattern spreads. It won't take much to drop them. Watch for flee's and ticks as they will abandon a carcase real quick and you are the closest warm body.

Congrats on the glock I love mine and have several different calibers. Worth every penny and have never had one fail. Let me know how the 870 works for ya I have been looking in to one as a shark stopper.

Carni, we'll also have .22's on hand as well to use so we'll be using them too. Thanks for the heads up. My friends dad used to shoot rabbits weekly as a kid and gave us the same warning about the ticks so we'll be on the lookout.

About the glock 17, it became my first option really quick. My buddy has one and I've fired it and loved. He's shot thousands of rounds through it without ever having it jam and it can take the dirtiest of ammo as well. Next month, due to California's draconian gun laws, I'll get a Glock 17 subcompact to supplement the standard. The only problem I have about them, and its not with Glock but with the State of California, is that it is not "legal" to use the 17 or 33 round magazines...even though the 10 and 17 round mags are the same physical size.

As for the 870, I'll let you know how I like it once I use it but from my research it appears to be the "Old Faithful" of shotguns for a good price. Hopefully it lives up to its billing and doesn't have any jamming problems, etc...

Mglindo...thanks for the heads up.

[Carnivore]

Ya don't get me started on the gun issues this state has. I bought all my mags before 2000 so I have tons of high capacity mags. I have two 17s that have over 100,000 rounds through them with out a problem. I did replace on barrel because the rifling was starting to go. If you want to get into modifying then try out Welcome to Aro-Tek- Number One in Glock Accessories. The place that replaced my slide rails is out of business but the stock ones will out last most peoples ability to afford bullets for the gun.

[mightymatty61]

ya man i am actually on my way off to dove hunt right now lol that funny. but no really i am the doves are really easy to clean alls you do is turn the bird up so your looking at its belly then pull the feathers and skin off the chest brests and it will come to a point at the bottom well dig one finger under that and put your thumb at the top were it makes a v turn the bird up side down and with the other hand pull the wings and he head and the brest meat and bones come right off. and for the hunting regs a new one came out this year make sure your not in a california condor area and using lead shot unless you want all your stuff to get sezed. make sure you check on that. Were are you at in ca

[TheWind]

When I was in NC at FT Bragg I used to hunt Dove..I bought a 6 acre plot outside of mCcamon and walked across the street to snag my limit. One day I was on federal land with my choke modified..lol I saw the warden standing by my truck..I was in an old fox hole..damm he just stood there..must of been a hour, finally I got out of the hole and got my ticket..roflol those were the days..

[Non fishin fool]

Rabbits are easy too. If you don't plan on keeping the pelts all you have to do is make a slice across the back of the bunny big enough to get a couple of fingers from each hand in. Then pull apart. Once the pelt gets to the base of the skull you just lop Peter's head off, do the same for the feet. Most of the time the thin skin around the stomach area opens up and the innards just have to be scooped out. But you may have to cut into the belly, be careful when doing this so you don't slice into the stomach or intestines. Then it's time to stew em. Good luck.