A perishable skill.

I had a pretty serious injury to my right arm back in October (two surgeries to reattach my triceps tendon) and as of such haven't done any shooting with a rifle since then.

Yesterday I spotted an evil Asian collared dove pecking in my garden so I grabbed my .22 rifle. I carefully line up on the evil vermin at 50 yards and gracefully yanked the trigger back in a classic flinching miss.

Man oh man I need to get out and do some shooting!! But my arm is T.U. until at least September for the bog stuff. Time to break out the .22's and get tuned up for hunting season!:)

I certainly feel for you! Back in '68, I broke my RT forearm while aboard ship in the Navy, its still not 100%. Once the original parts are damaged, things aren't ever the same, with screws and a plate installed, range of motion is good, but will not ever be the same. I can shoot and still hunt, but it was quite an adjustment, was 18 then, now 63.

I have had to reattach biceps tendons on both arms. First hunting seasons after each surgery (7 years apart) were pretty scary for me. Now everything works great and I shoot without hesitation.

Well, .22s are fun to shoot. Could be worse, I reckon. :D I have a .22 mag that is good practice, shoots 1.5 MOA, and I don't have to save the brass with it. That's a fun rifle to play with if I don't wanna break out the centerfires. :D

I'm guessing bow hunting is out of the question....ouch.

I had a pretty serious injury to my right arm back in October (two surgeries to reattach my triceps tendon) and as of such haven't done any shooting with a rifle since then.

Yesterday I spotted an evil Asian collared dove pecking in my garden so I grabbed my .22 rifle. I carefully line up on the evil vermin at 50 yards and gracefully yanked the trigger back in a classic flinching miss.

Man oh man I need to get out and do some shooting!! But my arm is T.U. until at least September for the bog stuff. Time to break out the .22's and get tuned up for hunting season!:)
Shooting skills degrade "very very quickly!" What will/would help you immensely, is if you could have managed to shoulder the rifle without firing it during your rehab.

H&H, time to get back to the basics again my friend. DRY FIRE, DRY FIRE, DRY FIRE and when you think you have got your form back down,,,DRY FIRE SOME MORE!!!! Then get back on the .22 and work up from there. Dealt with a few shoulder injuries over the years (stupid things young men do) and that is what always got me back on track.

I'll give you $300 for that 470NE. You are getting too old and brittle for that big ol rifle so think of it as an extra $300 for 22 ammo. ;)

Add another 0 to that and you can have mine Robert :D

I'll give you $300 for that 470NE.

Hmmmm.. Mighty tempting. I'll have my people call your people and we'll do lunch.:)

Add another 0 to that and you can have mine Robert


Done!

0.300

You didn't say where. ;)

lmao smarty britches!

Well H&H we should at least do lunch.

Wow, checked and found out you can legally shoot doves in CO in May! I might have to move there! KY cuts us off the same time as mourning doves...

Wow, checked and found out you can legally shoot doves in CO in May!

Just for clarification so nobody gets in trouble you can legally shoot Asian Collared Doves in Colorado year round as they are classified as a vermin.

You CAN NOT SHOOT morning doves except during dove season.

...you can legally shoot Asian Collared Doves in Colorado year round as they are classified as a vermin.
How do they taste?

How do they taste?
Like dove wrapped in bacon with a slice of jalapeno cooked over a charcoal fire. In other words, great!

My problems were on the other end. I have genetic problem that progressed to the point I could hardly walk, but with 3 major surgeries, I can now walk OK. The attached pic is the first pheasant I shot after the surgeries. As with all of us it seems, the goal of hunting and shooting is a powerful motivation to overcome all kinds of obstacles. Notice the big smile.
My feet problems is what lead me to rifles and prairie dogs since I don't need to walk much. Love those rifles.

Does that mean I have a chance to outshoot you this year?

(Not likely.) :D

We're going to Whittington in a couple of weeks, so I'll make sure and shoot LOTS of five stand and sporting clays as a tune up.

Hey H&H sorry to hear about the injury. If you don't mind my asking, what happened?
Hope you recover ok.

If you don't mind my asking, what happened?

Long story short. I got pushed into a concrete wall backwards while teaching a self defense class. I instinctively slammed my arms back to break the impact and fractured my right elbow right where the triceps tendon attaches. So it fractured the bone and tore the tendon. Two surgeries and 8 months later and I'm on the way to a full recovery.

Ok Talking about Aisian Collared Doves and seeing a Pic of a pheasant made me think you guys were shining me on. I had to search and find that there are two different species.
Historically Pheasants are an introduced species and could be considered invasive if you were going to go all hard line about it.
I found myself somewhat incredulous that Pheasants were considered vermin in CO. Glad I looked it up.

Alrighty then I'm glad that I posted this as it seems to be a educational tool for those who aren't familiar with a new and devastating invasive species of bird the Eurasian Collared Dove is tough it's aggressive and it's wiping out native morning doves.

The Colorado Division of Wildlife has announced new regulations for taking of Eurasian Collared Doves. From the Sunday July 11, 2010 Denver Post, Outdoors section "Effective September 01, 2010 hunters may shoot the collared doves year-round". "No bag or possession limits apply, but the doves must remain fully feathered while hunters are in the field or transporting the doves".

The collared dove is one tough, reproducing bird. They stay in my area of the state year round, the coldest of winter temps do not seem to bother them much. Habitat preference seems a little different from Mourning Doves, both town and rural, with a particular liking for large, narley trees, with family units grouped together on the same trees.

Further reference material.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurasian_Collared_Dove

http://projectfeederwatch.wordpress.com/2011/01/17/eurasian-collared-doves-conquering-america/

They are bigger than morning doves too. They look like grey pigeons. Easy to spot.

Yep, they're all over the place in town here, but I never see them when I'm out hunting.

Think I'm gonna airgun/slingshot the ones I'm seeing in my yard.

Long story short. I got pushed into a concrete wall backwards while teaching a self defense class. I instinctively slammed my arms back to break the impact and fractured my right elbow right where the triceps tendon attaches. So it fractured the bone and tore the tendon.

Man that must of hurt. Hang in there dude. Just dream of Africa and be patient. Hopefully it will all be good soon.

Man that must of hurt.

Readyrod.

I know how it feels when you bump your "funny" bone. The funny bone (part of it anyway) is the Olecranon.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olecranon. The bump on the point of the elbow. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gray329.pngWhen I hit the wall it snapped my "funny" bone off. I've got no point on my right elbow anymore.

And it wasn't very humorous at the time!

I am remiss in not stating this in my first post H&Hhunter, I took a long time off after my heart surgery a few years ago and haven't really shot the same since. I am getting better shooting, and feel fine physically.
Like I said get well soon and thanks for the information.

Yes lack of practice will make your skills go down hill. I used to shoot several times a week now due to arthritis its rare and only for short periods of time (pain & lack of hand strength) I used to love to shoot large hand guns, 44 super blackhawk was my favorite, now a cylinder full is about all I can handle before the pain causes me to flinch badly. Rifle isn't too bad yet but I sure do miss my pistols.

You have those things in Colorado too? I'm seeing more and more in northern AZ. I'm thinking about putting a bird feeder in my backyard and shooting them with a pellet gun from inside my house.

Bummer about the injury, good luck healing.

I hit the wall it snapped my "funny" bone off. I've got no point on my right elbow anymore.

And it wasn't very humorous at the time!

No kidding!!!! Well anyways hope you recover soon. It would be good to hear some Africa stories.

Btw, have you taken your kids to Africa yet? I'm curious cause when my sons are old enough I want to take them there and I was wondering?

I don't shoot as much as I used to either, but enough to know what my capabilities are. At this point in my life if I can't get close enough for my skill it doesn't bother me at all to just let it walk.

Btw, have you taken your kids to Africa yet? I'm curious cause when my sons are old enough I want to take them there and I was wondering?

Readyrod,

Yes they've both been to Africa I took them in 2003 and am planning on taking them again next summer if everything works out as planned. They were 6 and 3 years old the first time so they really don't remember to much.

Want to adopt me? I eat a lot, am rather grumpy and not really house broken.

Want to adopt me? I eat a lot, am rather grumpy and not really house broken.

Only if you agree to wear the training collar.

planning on taking them again next summer if everything works out as planned.
Just out of curiosity (ok jealousy) where are you going?

Only if you agree to wear the training collar.
Ok. You know it is not the strangest thing I have ever worn. ;)

I just sort of stumbled on this thread. We have that same Dove in NC Texas. I didn't realize it was so destructive.

I shall now check the sighting on my pellet guns and start dispatching them w/o prejudice.

Good luck on you African adventures H&H. If you would use those large bore rifles for pest control, they will be more familiar.

If you can only imagine that ring necked dove as a charging Buff at 5 yards ....

Ron