Hope you don't take question wrong, I literally mean what can you get out of them? Are they good to eat and for that matter how much meat do you get? There are so small it I find it hard to think you can get anything out of them. Savag308
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Hope you don't take question wrong, I literally mean what can you get out of them? Are they good to eat and for that matter how much meat do you get? There are so small it I find it hard to think you can get anything out of them. Savag308
They are delicious! One of the tastiest game birds you'll ever eat. No there isn't much to them. I've only eaten the breast wrapped in bacon on the BBQ....yum! That's just the eating side of them. The hunting side of them is a blast. Some of the best wing shooting you'll ever do. Set up and decoy them like ducks or hunt them upland style with your dog. They are a challenge to hit. I promise you you'll go through at least a box of shells getting your 15 bird limit unless you're an exceptional shot.
That's like asking a person why they fish for perch. Small yes but very tasty. They are fun to go after and there is plenty around so finding them isn't hard but to get them can be a challenge if you want to make it a true hunt. Breast them and wrap in bacon as mentioned or wrap in tinfoil with an apple slice, abit of butter, spice to your liking and roast them up and man are you in for a surprise at how tasty they are.
Sporting, abundant and tasty. Many farmers consider them a destructive pest.
I don't know about doves, but I used to shoot pigions on the farm and they were delicious. Better than grouse.
Wish I had the skill and fields to hunt more of them! Delicious tasting and very sporting little birds!
RB
Strangely enough when I stepped out of my garage into my back yard at least 10 flew out of my skid pile and my pile of pine chunks to be spilt. They flew into a cedar tree only a few feet away. Can't shoot them here so I will have to wait to taste test the little devils. Thanks for the recipes and I promise I will definitely try each of them. A few days left isn't there? Savage308
All the responses above I agree with ... they are fun to hunt, and you need skill to hit them ... ducks will seem easy after shooting at these birds that will dodge with every shot at them. I like to stir fry them, so usually two doves will give enough meat when a full meal is prepared for one person, but when I BBQ them I would like to have 3 and eat them with rice or potatoes. I have not used the bacon, I like to roll them in cajun spice and cook medium rare.
No there isn't, dove season ended back in Nov. Nov. 12th of 2014 in the southern district , and Nov. 10th of 2014 in the central district.Quote:
Originally Posted by Savage308
Bummer! So what type of gun is generally used for dove, might as well be ready for next season. Something to look forward to doing at the very least. Savage308
I use a Rem 1100 or a O/U in 12 ga. They have dark meat and on the dry side, thus the bacon wrap.
We would make dove gumbo and that eliminates any dryness but gumbo is an art in itself.
Any shotgun and non toxic shot required.Quote:
Originally Posted by Savage308
Never shot 1 with a gun but managed to take pictures of these 2 on Saturday behind the house....must have been 50 plus in a 20x20 area...
http://i1098.photobucket.com/albums/...psqtb3y2zb.jpg
http://i1098.photobucket.com/albums/...pszviehri1.jpg
Nice Pics.Quote:
Originally Posted by JeffBondar
I don't know why the season isn't longer. There is no shortage of them around and they don't seem to migrate, at least not all of them. It should go to at least the end of the year.
Squab... that is traditional what Dove/Pigeon meat was called. (rarely called that anymore)
It's like horse and mutton, eaten around the world but largely forgotten in North America.
Here's a recipe for Pigeon Pie...sounds delicious !!!
http://www.cookitsimply.com/recipe-0010-01423j.html
Squab is a young pigeon. Never heard of a dove being called that but it's possible in some areas it is. Usually they take the squab before it has a chance to fly from the nest and before the mussels develop for flying
From Wiki....
I used to eat it as a kid, my cousin used to raise pigeons on the farm for my aunt to cookQuote:
In culinary terminology, squab is a young domestic pigeon, typically under four weeks old, or its meat. The meat is widely described as tasting like dark chicken. The term is probably of Scandinavian origin; the Swedish word skvabb means "loose, fat flesh". It formerly applied to all dove and pigeon species, such as the wood pigeon, the mourning dove, and the now-extinct passenger pigeon, and their meat. More recently, squab meat comes almost entirely from domesticated pigeons. The meat of dove and pigeon gamebirds hunted primarily for sport is rarely called squab.
By any other name..still a nice meat :)
also:Quote:
The common names pigeon and dove are often used interchangeably. In ornithology, "dove" tends to be used for smaller species and "pigeon" for larger ones. The feral domestic pigeon is often called the "rock dove": it is common in many cities.
That is what I thought, pigeon is tough, squab is not, like the milk veal of the poultry world.Quote:
Originally Posted by gooseman
Doves are delicious, did not seem as strongly flavoured as pigeon.
LOl, I just got this nasty vision of all that's left of one after a 12 gauge hit's it is a puff of feathers. Savage308
Holy smokes do I need a coffee!
Heh....that's if you can hit one!!Quote:
Originally Posted by Savage308
A 2 3/4" load of steel 7's doesn't do much damage at all. They are delicious birds, and a challenge to shoot. Lots of fun.
S.
Sinkers right, #7 out of my Rem 1100 20ga works just fine
Same here ... I won a box of Kent #7 steel at a DU dinner, used them on doves with more success than I thought.
#7's it is then! I imagine my Mossberg 500 should fit the firearms bill quite nicely. Savage
Had wanted to try hunting them last season with my young lad who had just passed the hunter safety and firearms courses. He said "the first thing I want to hunt would be doves because the look so darn delicious". "When they are sitting on the ground cooing away they even sound delicious" he said. Never go out but will definitely giver a go this season.
outback
They are a great way to get kids started in hunting too. We get lots when condtitions are right. I'll have 30 acres of winter wheat going down late summer so this should attract a little more than a few come the start of the season.
They are delicious - and very humbling to hunt - fast little suckers, you go thru a lot of shells, but it is a hoot.
It is a nice easy hunt - no decoys, no calls, just a tree line near and corn field and you'll be kept plenty busy!
I have two Doves at my bird feeder every day...we named them "Gertrude and Heathcliff" (you old guys will remember the significance of those names) I couldn't bring myself to kill them, nor could I eat a 'Pigeon Pie' made with them.
Some things even a farmer won't harvest :)
I have yet to even hunt with my shotgun, so this year for sure I want to do a few things I missed out on last year. Going to help my buddy reduce the size of two beaver ponds on his land and reduce the amount of beavers. In 3 years the amount of damage they have done is absolutely amazing. Savage308
Dove hunting is awesome! Only thing I wanted to recommend was to bring a good retriever with you. I typically hunt these birds in September. So there is still lots of green vegetation. Having a dog do the dirty work is very helpful.
Yes, they are tough to find. I like to hunt them early over cut wheat/barley and later over cut beans. A lot easier to find if you can get these conditions.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pigeoneater5000
I hunt doves throughout most of the season but I find late September into October the best. Last season I had close to 2,000 feeding on my freshly planted winter wheat most days. November can be really good too if conditions are right. I like sunny, calm days. I usually don't dove hunt in the morning, I save that for the ducks. During the day they tend to hit the grains, grasses and weeds (like ragweed). There is decent shooting but they are hard to pattern.
My favourite time for dove hunting is in the afternoon/evening. The doves on my farm fly north to south in the evening, probably heading to roost with their crops full. They stage on a series of hydro lines and then fly in intermittent waves of up to 200 doves. We just set up in flight paths and get them as they come through.
This year I will be planting 2 - 1 acre sunflower food plots. Sections will be mowed just before the opener. I also keep large areas of native grasses/weeds/etc. The doves hit these areas hard last year once the wheat went into germination. My road that runs down through these areas is a popular spot for the doves too. I also have 2 dead trees that would hold dozens of doves all season long.
Any slow duck day can be made much better with a few doves. Try them in jalapeno poppers, they are awesome.
Taz
I truly wish I had a large parcel of land like that, I know it's hard word to farm but you sure do get a few nice benefits too. Savage308