Here in Texas, and many other parts of the country, we’ve experienced an incredible drought; consequently this has affected the dove -to some degree. If the farmers can’t water their fields or keep their tanks or ponds full with water, there’s not much reason for the dove to stick around.
In spite of this, the dove must continue onward with their migration and, in parts of the state, hunters have been successfully getting their limits. In fact, on opening morning I heard several reports that hunters limited-out quickly.
The affects of the drought was a little more evident in West Texas. Some of us did come home with a partial limit, but not enough to feed our party of 30 guests –hence the jalapeño poppers and baby-back ribs to help fill our bellies!
What I love the most about hunting dove is that everyone feels like they can participate; even the best hunters miss a dove, or two, or twenty, but by seeing these missed shots gives women and children confidence to at least try. There were many couples in the field last weekend and I was happy to see the ladies taking a crack at shooting dove (I just refrain from making them rip their heads off!)!
I’ve said it a million times; hunting is not about killing! Hunting is about the camaraderie shared in the field with friends, attempts at crazy and random shots, missing and taking the heat from your comrades and sharing in triumphs together at day’s end.
