Casualties of War

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Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow

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While dove hunting, what have you shot, either accidentally thinking it was a dove just in kneejerk reaction when it flew by, or on purpose due to boredom/frustration..... swallows, swifts, martins, sparrows, finches, nuthatches, towhees, warblers, starlings, dragonflies, wasps, bumblebees, grasshoppers, pigeons, crows, trees, squirrels, what? C'mon now, I know there's some collateral damage in the "War on Doves" occurring out there. :) I came *this* close to wasting a dragonfly about the size of my hand on Monday, but refrained, and there's been a sparrow or two that flew by at just the wrong time in years past - unlucky for them, it was one of my few and far between decent shots (plus they are easier to hit than a dove). :scrutiny: :p
 
Never shot anything but a dove but, usually nearly jump about 10 feet into the air. At my uncle's lease (7 acres of sunflowers and millet), Pigeons and Starlings get shot if things slow down. Both have an open season and a considered pests in MO

HB
 
Not me, but opening day there was some of that. All honest mistakes when it came to species mis-identification. I have shot dragonflies when I get sick of catching them out of the corner of my eye and swing the shotgun around only to find a bug. Really, it's all in good fun as it takes quite a bit to get me angry while hunting.

The guy to my and my dad's left on opening day had problems hitting the wrong species. We both ended up getting nailed by some of his shot.
 
During dove hunting, no - not much else that really looks like a dove if you are paying attention.

When I first started duck hunting I shot a Coot - not accidentally, I intended to, although I have to admit, that I was not sure what I had just shot other than it was something that flushed off of the water and looked like a duck in the available light. Only after I had retrieved said Coot did I realize what I had just bagged. Coots were legal in Illinois but not highly desirable - at least by moi.

It was opening day of duck season, hotter than the devil, and the mosquitoes were much more plentiful than the ducks. The first and last time I hunted the Kaskaskia walk in area.
 
While duck hunting, a friend of mine pulled up and knocked down a Belted KingFisher. Watch those knee-Jerk reactions.
 
We had over 100 hunters in the field, around a sunflower field and water hole. The field sounded like popcorn from 2 or 3 until sundown. A few overzealous kids show sparrows and starlings, but there were so many doves that you got plenty of opportunities to identify them.
 
Many a flying grasshopper has fallen to my frustrations.

Sometimes I will bring a crow call/ dekes in case I don't see doves. (PS don't let your new pup go and retrieve a wounded crow:eek: that took some recovery time)
 
I have shot a starling when I had a slow deer hunt! NO! it was not flying, I'm not that good. If you have never shot a bird with a centerfire rifle, it is an interesting sight. I like to call it "high speed explosive bird seed".
 
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