Dove Hunting Question
Question:
> This is sitting under a tree located exactly 44 yards from > a waterhole…. at a distance of 45 to 50 yards.
It takes one hell of a shotgun shot to consistently kill birds that far away. The leads are just too hard to calculate and the pattern is THIN!!! I took a limit of birds each day of the opening weekend with a .410 shooting skeet loads. The gun is bored Imp. Cyl. and Modified. If a little sign were to flip down – each time a shotgun was raised – that read, "Shotguns are short shooters," there’d be a whole lot less frustrated shotgunners. Decrease the distance, shoot better shells, and get ride of that full choke. Joel Jacobs Visit the rec.hunting and rec.hunting.dogs FAQ Home Page at: http://sportsmansweb.com/hunting/
Response:
> Ron M. asks: > I’m having a HELL of a time hitting doves this year. I don’t > know, I’m just missing one shot after another. I think I > might be shooting behind them, as we have a natural tendency > to do. I’m also curious what ammo/choke would be best for > my hunting situation.
>>>>>>>>g2<<<<<<<<<<<
Visit the rec.hunting and rec.hunting.dogs FAQ Home Page at: http://sportsmansweb.com/hunting/
Response:
Ron M. asks: I’m having a HELL of a time hitting doves this year. I don’t know, I’m just missing one shot after another. I think I might be shooting behind them, as we have a natural tendency to do. I’m also curious what ammo/choke would be best for my hunting situation. This is sitting under a tree located exactly 44 yards from a waterhole. Sometimes the dove blast over the waterhole at 50mph, other times they almost "hover" right over it, at a distance of 45 to 50 yards. I’ve tried 3 3/4 – 1 1/8 – 7 1/2’s, and 3 – 1 1/8 – 8’s, with both full and modified chokes, and still can’t hit them. It’s almost like they’re bulletproof or something. What would be your setup for the shooting situation described here? Sounds like you have a good location and setup at least. As far as being able to hit them, why not try shooting at clay targets coming from various directions and at various speeds while a friend looks over your shoulder to see where you are shooting. You might also need to pattern your gun to see if the pattern is centered about your aiming point. Your choice of shells and shot sizes seems about right. Doves are hard to hit. That’s what makes dove hunting so much fun and often frustrating at the same time. I’ve read that a good shot expends an average of 3 shots per bird. I can believe that. In the group that I dove hunt with, it’s rare for any of us to get our limits with less than a box of shells. Dave LeGrande YOU’RE PAYING TOO MUCH FOR THE INTERNET! Juno now offers FREE Internet Access! Try it today – there’s no risk! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj. Visit the rec.hunting and rec.hunting.dogs FAQ Home Page at: http://sportsmansweb.com/hunting/
