Posting the dove hunt in Larry's "Dove Opener" thread, but it was a good trip.
Edit....that thread is about their get together, so I'll back up and post my hunt report here.
So, well, I got out of town headed north after my part time job here Friday (gonna quit real soon) and got to the north side of Waco to my buddy's house about 8PM. We got up early Saturday morning and headed out, stopped for a cup of coffee at a convenience store just so I wouldn't get a headache later. They're not coffee drinkers. Hard to understand, I mean, being Texans and all. We had some mojo deeks, motorized and wind driven, that Larry's boy was swearing by. Well, I've never even used decoys hunting doves and never bothered with Mojos duck hunting, let alone dove hunting. I was all skeptical just like in a lot of my posts about such things, figuring it was a gimmick to make a company rich. Well, let me tell ya, them Mojos WORK! I'm going to get me at least a wind driven one before the south zone opens, already got a few decoys to clip to the branches.
We had the deeks set up on a fence. Danged birds flew right in on those Mojos, had to be careful not to shoot a decoy.
I was trying out my new to me Mossberg 535 just to pop some rounds through it. It's a might heavier than my 500 and Winchester 1400 and a LOT slower and heavier than my preferred dove gun, my Spartan 20 gauge coach gun. I thought it fit pretty well, but might need a little more drop. I was right on the drop, it beat up my cheek a bit. After about a box and a half of ammo, I switched to the Winchester, a gas gun that fits well. Both are 12 gauges. Now, I was sitting pretty close to the deeks with that heavy gun choked modified and those birds flying in so erratic and close had me all bumfuzzled. I wasn't shooting for squat. Hit a high bird and went out in the field to look for it away from the deeks and shot 5 for 5 while looking for the bird. The trick was to get away from where the birds were and make passing shots with the heavier gun, worked great that way. I finally gave up looking for that one I was looking for and started back to pick up my seat. The bird wasn't as far out as I'd thought, was laying in plain sight on a cow turd. Usually the way it works for me. I need another labrador. I lost a lot of birds this weekend.
So, after the morning hunt, I had 7 birds. We moved to a tank where we slayed 'em last year and I switched to my 20 gauge. I had no problem that afternoon filling my limit and sat and watched as Larry finally filled his.
His boys didn't go on the afternoon hunt, was just us. We used the Mojos and they worked just as well as they had that morning, but I was more able to keep up with 'em with the much lighter gun and the 20 saved my face from the battering. I'll shim that 535 when I get settled and get my tools out of storage. Not like I need it or anything. I have every gun I own locked up in the trailer and my van right now.
It's just a gun I bought because it was 170 bucks and my conscience wouldn't let me walk out of that pawn shop without it.
I figure, since it shoots 3.5", I might try it on geese later in the year. I usually use a H&R single shot 10 gauge fo that which shoots fantastic patterns, but I'll need to pattern the Mossy first before I take it goose hunting. That's something that'll wait, too.
So, Sunday, I was a might sore and tired from crawling in and around creeks and under fences looking for downed birds. We slept in and just hunted the afternoon. We went to one of Larry's farms before heading back to his dad's farm again. There were huge numbers of dove hanging out in trees near a tank there. There was a flock of pigeon there. I'd never shot one, AKA "rock dove", but I took 3 out of 2 shots right off, wound up with six of 'em. Pigeons don't count in the limit, but I got 6 and some doves. I also shot 2 ringneck (AKA collard) doves there which don't count toward the limit. I am going to check recipes on pigeon, but I figure to cook 'em just like doves. Breasting 'em was sorta like breasting teal. LOL
So, after hitting the pigeons, we went back to Larry's dad's tank and finished out our limits of mourning doves. No whitewings this year, but heck, the pigeons and ring necks are bigger.
I shot much better with my little light, muzzle light 20 gauge. I can hit at long range with it about as good as with my 12s, but I can't hit NEAR as good with the 12s as with the 20 up close where you almost have to point shoot the gun rather than swing, like taking shots on flushing game. I did MUCH better on my average with the 20 at any rate.
When I bought it, it was for its portability. I can carry it broken down in my backpack strapped to my motorcycle on trips. It fit in my top box of my GoldWing, but I've sold that bike. Took the car this trip, but that was a consideration when I bought the little coach gun. I had worries that it'd be too whippy for me to swing smoothly enough for those long range shots, but it has become my favorite dove gun whether I take the car or the motorcycle. It's a dove killin' machine.
