Winter clean out..... (Page 2)

My kids will run over you to get at some bacon wrapped dove breasts.

That looks So good!!  I'm jealous!

The trip got cut to only 3 days this year so the body count was not quite as high.  The quail numbers are unprecedented.......we figure 30-40 coveys per day in two days of quail hunting.  We killed over 100 quail.  The dogs worked well, but the quail in Texas run quite a bit so we had quite a few wild flushes out of range the first day.  We changed tactics the 2nd day and ground them up pretty good by blocking.

Half of us didn't hunt pigs those 2 days because we wanted to get in on the "once in a lifetime" quail hatch.....and I was not disappointed.  We hammered the pigs pretty good on day 3.....I think 40 or so....but the total for the hunt was much lower.  We never actually got a good set up with the tannerite this year so that contributed to lower numbers as well. 

This was day 2 after lunch hunt.....about 50 birds in 3 hours.  As soon as I can pick some wild mushrooms in a few months those quail will make part of a hell of a meal. 

(50quail.jpg)

Man, I don't even know how much ammo we shot in 3 days.  We took a clay pigeon thrower and a couple hundred clay birds so we shot that up too.  I know we took well over 2500 rounds of .223, .308, and other ammo and brought none back.  We set up some targets about 600 yards across a valley and spent the down time in the middle of the day working on those.  You know......typical redneck long weekend.

Originally posted by Oysterboy

Originally posted by mdg2003

Originally posted by Oysterboy Here in Florida it's dove season. They're small and no leftovers

I've got all the doves I can stand in my yard. Basteges take over the bird feeders and shove all the other birds out. I could probably limit out from my porch with a pellet gun.

I've only been out a couple of times this year but dove numbers are not great. We're having a pretty warm winter and the ol' timers tell me that is the root of the problem. OK with me, I'm more of a target shooter anyway. I use my grandpa's Browning SXS for wing shooting. It is a 16 Ga, price of shells getting mighty sporty, but 12 Ga is just too powerful for doves.

No way.  We've been killing doves with a 12 ga. forever......most people do.  It all has to do with the round you're using.......gauge has nothing to do with it.  I can buy/load a .410 round MUCH more powerful then that 16 ga. load you are shooting.

Originally posted by Oysterboy

Originally posted by Left Brain

Originally posted by Oysterboy

Originally posted by mdg2003

Originally posted by Oysterboy Here in Florida it's dove season. They're small and no leftovers

I've got all the doves I can stand in my yard. Basteges take over the bird feeders and shove all the other birds out. I could probably limit out from my porch with a pellet gun.

I've only been out a couple of times this year but dove numbers are not great. We're having a pretty warm winter and the ol' timers tell me that is the root of the problem. OK with me, I'm more of a target shooter anyway. I use my grandpa's Browning SXS for wing shooting. It is a 16 Ga, price of shells getting mighty sporty, but 12 Ga is just too powerful for doves.

No way.  We've been killing doves with a 12 ga. forever......most people do.  It all has to do with the round you're using.......gauge has nothing to do with it.  I can buy/load a .410 round MUCH more powerful then that 16 ga. load you are shooting.

I'm using an IM choke and #8 or #7.5 load. I do not have the time to reload so I just buy what wally mart has on the shelf and it is usually pretty high speed loads (lots of powder), fine for shooting targets but IMHO a bit too powerful for doves, better for quail. Of course, if you are not a great shot and only get a small bit of the bird 12 Ga might be just be what you need to do the job

Bro - I don't worry about being a good shot.......I'm a meat hunter.  Body count is all I care about.

Originally posted by Oysterboy

Originally posted by Left Brain

Originally posted by Oysterboy

Originally posted by Left Brain

Originally posted by Oysterboy

Originally posted by mdg2003

Originally posted by Oysterboy Here in Florida it's dove season. They're small and no leftovers

I've got all the doves I can stand in my yard. Basteges take over the bird feeders and shove all the other birds out. I could probably limit out from my porch with a pellet gun.

I've only been out a couple of times this year but dove numbers are not great. We're having a pretty warm winter and the ol' timers tell me that is the root of the problem. OK with me, I'm more of a target shooter anyway. I use my grandpa's Browning SXS for wing shooting. It is a 16 Ga, price of shells getting mighty sporty, but 12 Ga is just too powerful for doves.

No way.  We've been killing doves with a 12 ga. forever......most people do.  It all has to do with the round you're using.......gauge has nothing to do with it.  I can buy/load a .410 round MUCH more powerful then that 16 ga. load you are shooting.

I'm using an IM choke and #8 or #7.5 load. I do not have the time to reload so I just buy what wally mart has on the shelf and it is usually pretty high speed loads (lots of powder), fine for shooting targets but IMHO a bit too powerful for doves, better for quail. Of course, if you are not a great shot and only get a small bit of the bird 12 Ga might be just be what you need to do the job

Bro - I don't worry about being a good shot.......I'm a meat hunter.  Body count is all I care about.

Yep, I mostly target shoot, don't worry about how much I mangle clay, not on the menu.

I get it.  I don't hardly shoot any trap or skeet.  I'll target shoot all day with a pistol or rifle, but when I get a scatter gun in my hands something is dying and going on the table. LOL

Originally posted by Hook'em

Originally posted by Oysterboy

Originally posted by Left Brain

Originally posted by Oysterboy

Originally posted by mdg2003

Originally posted by Oysterboy Here in Florida it's dove season. They're small and no leftovers

I've got all the doves I can stand in my yard. Basteges take over the bird feeders and shove all the other birds out. I could probably limit out from my porch with a pellet gun.

I've only been out a couple of times this year but dove numbers are not great. We're having a pretty warm winter and the ol' timers tell me that is the root of the problem. OK with me, I'm more of a target shooter anyway. I use my grandpa's Browning SXS for wing shooting. It is a 16 Ga, price of shells getting mighty sporty, but 12 Ga is just too powerful for doves.

No way.  We've been killing doves with a 12 ga. forever......most people do.  It all has to do with the round you're using.......gauge has nothing to do with it.  I can buy/load a .410 round MUCH more powerful then that 16 ga. load you are shooting.

I'm using an IM choke and #8 or #7.5 load. I do not have the time to reload so I just buy what wally mart has on the shelf and it is usually pretty high speed loads (lots of powder), fine for shooting targets but IMHO a bit too powerful for doves, better for quail. Of course, if you are not a great shot and only get a small bit of the bird 12 Ga might be just be what you need to do the job

Agreed about the 12 Ga and dove - I much prefer my 20 Ga.  I hunt with Belgium made A5 Browning shotguns and the 20 is much lighter than the "light" 12.  I'll only use the 12 Ga for dove if there are high flying flocks of white wing.  I have an extra full choke that screws onto the end of a Cutt's Compensator making the gun at least 2 1/2" longer - it'll reach out and get 'em though.

I shoot ducks and geese with a 12ga and a 30 inch barrel with a Terror Tube extra full choke.  Since you can only shoot steel, and the shot pattern inherently doesn't spread as much as lead it's way overkill, especially with 1725 fps speed loads........but my dog doesn't have to chase many cripples.

I've been shooting the same shotgun at ducks for 35 years..;..870 Wingmaster.  Here's a pic of it apart while I'm getting ready to put the small parts in the dishwasher at the end of a season.  I know, I know.....It needs a new coat of Krylon spray paint and some new duct tape.

(duckgun.jpg)

Oh.....you're ok in my book of gun guys.  I've been carrying a Sig 1911 .45 for about 10 years at work.  As far as I'm concerned, there is the 1911, then there are all other pistols behind it somewhere.  What make 1911 do you have?