“HOW TO DECOY AND CALL DOVES”
Dove Hunting
 EDITOR'S
NOTE: Decoying and calling doves makes dove hunting
an exciting, fun-filled sport. It also allows the land-bound
hunter to experience the thrills of waterfowl-type hunting,
calling and decoying, while actually hunting doves.
It makes the sport of doveing on the same level as good
waterfowling without the inclement weather. Dove season
will open soon all across the U.S. This week we’ll
give you tips and information to help you enjoy better
dove hunting this fall.
As doves poured into the field, the shooting became
fast and furious. On the horizon, we could see gray
specks falling from the sky like snowflakes. Off to
our right, one of  the
hunters spotted a pair of birds coming toward him --
skirting the edge of the field and darting in and out
of the treeline. The hunter easily could make this shot,
and if he got lucky, he could double-up on this pair
of birds. But as he watched the birds come in, he saw
movement in the sky slightly off to his left. Another
dove flew straight for the tree under which he sat.
Looking at that bird and then turning swiftly to face
the two incoming birds, the hunter calculated that the
three doves would pass by his shooting position at approximately
the same time. So, his brain began to work overtime
trying to figure out his distance from the birds and
which bird he should take a  shot
at first. But according to hunter, the pea-sized computer
between his ears became overloaded with information
and failed to give him an accurate answer as to which
bird to shoot first. He had no time for recalculations,
because the doves had flown well within gun range. He
had to shoot rapidly or miss his opportunity.
Instinctively, the hunter swung to try and take the
lead bird of the pair of doves off to his right. Just
as he squeezed the trigger, the bird that had come in
straight in front of him dove across his sight plane
and broke his concentration as the gun  fired.
Although he missed, he recovered quickly to try to take
the trailing dove of the twosome that had flown in from
his right. His second shot missed too. However, just
as the last bird slipped over a small beech tree on
the edge of the field, he fired again. A cloud of feathers
indicated that he finally had corrected his aim.
Opening day of dove season often can result in a frustrating
frenzy of fast shooting, plenty of birds and much-spent
powder. But after opening day, the wild and timid surviving
doves know how to dodge hunters. Dove shooting then
becomes dove hunting -- an altogether different sport.
TOMORROW: DOVE HUNTING AFTER
OPENING DAY
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