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Dove hunting
Ok, so I wanna try dove hunting. I think it will be fun and somethin my wife and my kids can enjoy. I usually take my 6 year old daughter out with me to check cams and what not and she loves it. So as u can see in the picture, this is part of the farm I hunt and I was wondering if the area I circled in the middle would be decent to set up a few dove decoys and sit back. There's corn on 2 sides and soybean on the other. And the roadway is a dirt/gravel road that run between the fields. I have corn and a tree line for cover. Just curious to know if this would be worth setting up and what times of the day would be best to try.
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you'll only know if you go and check it out. Goggle maps aren't detailed enough to show game. If you want to increase your odds plant a patch of sunflowers next year.
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Not my property to plant on. And I know the maps don't show game. I plan on going out anyways. Was just looking for some advice from other who actually have experience hunting them.
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I would setup right there where the circle is...I would hide in the treeline facing North.....Put the decoys in the north field too....The treeline should provide some cover for you and a comfortable (confident) place for the birds to sit...
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I see a hydro line there and we all know doves are in love with sitting on power lines, you might be onto something. I recall reading a few articles about the real hardcore dove guys down south with dedicated dove fields would string up mock hydro lines across the property to increase the attractiveness of their field. I'd say it would be worth a shot.
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We've been hunting a tree line between two sweet corn fields with a power line running parallel to the trees. 50 birds in two mornings so far :)
Get out and give it a whirl, I prefer it to early goose:)
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I like hunting on crop/dirt edges. These are easy spots for the doves to find fallen grain and seeds. There just has to be enough room for them to land. They love the dirt for their crops. Also dead trees that stand alone are a great magnet. I planted a sunflower plot last year (black oil). It was okay but not great it seemed. The year before we had hundreds in the cut soy beans.
The best times that I've noticed (at least on my farm) are on sunny, calm evenings from 5:00pm to 6:30pm give or take. They stage up on the power lines in the back and fly in intermittent waves across the farm. Also, it seems every night is a little different. On Sunday we only saw a few dozen and last night there were hundreds.
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So small update.
I went out with the wife the other day, picked up a few decoys and headed to the farm on Tuesday. Got a late start and we were there about 11am. So not ideal time. Started walking to the area I wanted to set up, circled on the map. And jumped a couple doves on the way there. They were sitting on the ground just inside the corn field. So I stopped, loaded my gun and continued walking and jumped a couple more. Hit the first one and missed the second, mostly cause I was so mesmerized at the site of the first one falling! Had a few more jump and go but they were behind the tree line with no shot opportunity. The one downed bird suffered a lot of damage from a close shot with too big a load. Size 4 shot, as that was given to me when I asked at the store. I have since switched to #7 or 8 for the next time out. It was all a learning experience. I know im in a good area and there are birds and I can hit them. So the practice at the trap range has worked! Gonna try and get out again sunday and be there for prime time.
Thanks to you all for the advice and help!
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Good job on getting out there and finding some birds! I use #7 steel shot with either skeet or I/C choke, works well for me.
We'll see you next week.....
RB
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