It would be great to also have a beginner's guide to hunting Deer, Elk, etc... It's been hard trying to get into hunting for the first time as an adult.
Super late comment and incredibly long comment but yea I agree with Aaron a lot of ppl overthink and over complicate hunting. People analyze the moon cycles and shit imo it’s just not needed. You just have to go out for hike in an area and scout it out look for sign (rubs, scrapes, scat, tracks and food/water sources) setting up game cams at food sources and water sources or on game trails that you might find while scouting an area can also help u find a pattern and see what animals are in the area and at what time they are most active. Other than that the only other thing to think about is choosing an ethical caliber for what your going after. Also remember lots of animals have a good sense of smell so keep the wind direction in mind when setting up a stand/blind or when stalking u never want the animal down wind of you. I would also recommend just watching CZcams videos of people hunting in your area or in the same climate u plan to hunt in and seeing what their strategies are. I recently moved from NY to NV and it’s a whole different style of hunting out here I’m having to learn some new tricks which is the one the greatest parts of hunting as there is always something new to learn and perfect. Hope some of this advice can help land u a trophy animal or at least punch some of your tags. However the best tip I could ever give a new hunter is find someone more experienced to go hunting with as they will keep you from making the stupid newbie mistakes we’ve all made at some point in our life.
Thank you! Too many times people don’t want to pass down any information. Then the sport fades away and goes extinct due to not enough interest or people fighting to preserve it. You win the battle but lose the war. Thank you encouraging the beginners to try.
brochacho...I know this video took a ton of time for you to make. THANK YOU so much for everything you put into this video. Really helps someone like me who wants to get into this with a comprehensive overview of everything involved. Thank you again for taking the time to do this.
As someone thats just getting into small game hunting, i really like to find a vid like this. Great generalized info to be a good starting point to start from. Thx for posting a long form vid like this.
Pop shot a model 12- 12ga full choke, mom had a model 48 Remington 16ga, mod choke, my brother had a 20ga Ithaca, full choke and I had a model 12-16ga, full choke. How did we ever shoot so many doves, pheasants, quail and ducks with all this outdated rigging? Hell, we didnt even wear fancy razzu camo clothes. Just a good ol' folding stool and a harvested safflower field around Dos Palos Ca. We had a grain business in Los Banos and enjoyed some of the finest bird hunting California had to offer. I personally liked Panoche Valley the best. Cheers and good luck!
@@jamesthegr8100 Mine is a 1958 vintage. My older brother passed it down to me in 1974 when our dad passed away. He said the 12 guage was too big for me. I was 10 he was 27.
Again, this is the best and most informative California hunting channel ever! Thank you Desert Dog! So I’ve been hunting dove (and every other type of game) every year now for 43 years. The last 26 years I upland and big game hunted with a good friend of mine that was a resident California game warden (now retired) in a certain area of the state, so talk about our “honey holes!” Few things… when hunting private land in Cali, make sure you have WRITTEN PERMISSION in your possession in California! Wardens will ask you for that and it’s in the F&G code. Avoid a ticket! Second point, when seated and waiting for dove, when you see them, SHUT UP and DONT MOVE too soon! Let them come closer to you. Countless times I’ve hunted with some other buddies that jump up right away when they see a dove approaching and/or they just don’t stop talking. This causes the dove to instantly change direction. It makes it more difficult to hunt them in that manner. Third point: Learn to identify the dove species in flight! Because the limit for white winged dove is less than mourning dove and different than Eurasian dove. An easy way my dad taught me to identify dove is look at the tail while in flight. The Mourning dove has a pointed tipped tail in flight. The white wing dove has a more squared off tail feathers and also a pretty white patch on their wings that you can see most of the time. Remember the difference with this saying: “You’ll poke your eye out and be in MOURNING with the pointed tail of a mourning dove.” The Eurasian dove is bigger and has tan colored feathers, unlike the other two types with “battleship grey” colored feathers. Also the Eurasian has a black band around its neck. 4th point: Dove decoys. They are GOLD!!! They work. I set up decoys on my own rebar fence-like stand I stick in the ground and have countless dove come in and try to land on the same piece of rebar that all my decoys are perched on. It’s like cheating! Then I’ll have one or two of the flapping wing battery operated decoys near and it really gets the dove’s attention. About chokes, personally for 12 or 20ga, I love #6 steel with a skeet choke in my bottom barrel and a Light Modified in the second (top barrel of an o/u shotgun). The wider the choke with steel, the better. Cylinder bore is too wide most times. Finally, stay HYDRATED and wear a wide brimmed hat to keep the scorching sun off of you! It can be dangerously hot! My 16 year old son started to get heat exhaustion on a Yuma dove trip once. I had to make him jump into a farmers water ditch to cool his entire body down. Gatorade is terrible! Full of sugar, use a water with electrolytes. Regular water alone won’t cut it in extreme heat. You need electrolytes (salt) in the water in that type of crazy heat.
Awesome video, really well organized and helpful for the casual hunter. Appreciate you covering stuff like the wounded bird chapter. Most hunting channels really seem to avoid topics like that even though it’s a really common situation for a newer hunter to find themselves in.
Dad bought me a 20ga when I was 10 and I've been using 20's almost 50 years. My wife tried my old Ithaca 200E sxs, lost that gun... Bought my daughter a Berretta 686 o/u, she loves it, I can't use that one either! Maybe, one day, I'll have a nice shotgun too! LOL! Great video!
I prefer a 20 to a 12 all day, everyday. Lighter recoil and less pellets to pick out of small game. Can still drop a deer with no problem. I have more than one of both, but my go to is the 20.
Amazing guide. I didn't have a dad in my life as a kid so I didn't get raised with this. Looking to begin this tradition so my boys have something to look forward to and remember me with.
Damn DD I'm an old dude and I loved this video, another one professionally and expertly done. Your never to old to learn especially with great instructors. Thank you.
I decided to expand from deer, hogs and Predator hunting this year. Prolly because I got a great deal on a good quality bird gun. Went hunting Friday night and saw lots of dove. Of course if I looked right the birds came from the left and vice versa. Did not bag any and decided to get some edumacation into the sport. Great Vid!
Excellent video. I'm not new to dove hunting, but I really enjoyed this video, and picked up several pointers that I had never even considered. I wished I had seen this years ago. Great job!
Hey brother, can't thank you enough for your video! Going out for my first time this Friday, and this helped put me at ease. This is good quality information presented in an easy-to-understand manner. Can't wait for my first dove hunt now! Going to have to try out your popper recipe also 🔥👍
Great stuff, as usual. I don't understand why you don't have at least 10 times more subs, but if that keeps your channel free of ads and BS content, so be it.
Thank you very much for such a good video. This is exactly what a new hunter needed to prepare for my first dove hunt. I could see it took a ton of work. Cheers!
My first real dove hunt in 1991, I shot roughly 35 to 1, and got 7 birds, I think my neighbor gave me one of his because I was such a horrible shot. Love the video DD.
I remember my best friend's dad getting mad when we "borrowed" some of his ammo, went out to a field near the house, and shot an entire flat of his shells and only had 9 doves between us to show for it. I swear the doves were smarter back then.
This video is great info For new beginners! Being a dove hunter my self hunting the Bakersfield area. Now living in east Texas I have found I have to school my self on the demographics of dove hunting east Texas finding the flight patterns food source and water. I don’t want to complicate this to much for new hunters or shot gunners. You made good key points to the ammunition. Add little more info with that subject to be specific. FPS is feet per second I look for 1255fps to 1300fps is best. Good luck to all new hunters and veteran hunters in 2022. IF IT FLYS IT DIES!!
Its almost dove season!!! Decided to watch this just for a refresher and prep for our opener. Enjoyed the in depth video and cant wait for a few of the dove poppers. I have a 5 month old lab, but he wont be ready for hunting season this year. Going to save the wings this year though for training purposes.
I’m super excited for my first dove hunting season here in Arizona! Thanks for the video there’s a lot of great information here! I’m in my early 20s and This will be my first hunting experience, hopefully first of many.
Excellent dove hunting video. Dove hunting is a really big event here in Alabama also. Lots of private and public hunts. Our conservation department puts on dove hunts where an adult can bring a young person and hopefully get them involved in the outdoors and hunting. And as you showed it's some good eating.
Yep, the American hunting population is getting old. I would like to see more young people get involved and absorb the wealth of knowledge that the older guys have. Guys that really have a lot of hunting wisdom are dying off with nobody to pass the knowledge on to. Seems like nowadays if you put a gun in a kids hands to teach him to hunt, people want to call child protective services.
I think this video basically covered it all. Thanks for the great info. I'm going to go try dove hunting for the first time tomorrow. Due to inexperience and lack of familiarity with the area it will probably be mostly scouting/getting an idea of what its all about, and hopefully catching a few, but either way I'm just excited its hunting season again!
My favorite dove gun is a Remington 1100 20 gauge Skeet B with, of course, a fixed skeet bore. I shoot the same reloads I use for skeet, 7/8 oz of #7.5 at 1145 fps. As far as patterns go, I got a story about that! Be sure to pattern a bunch of loads until you find the one that works with you barrel and choke, and then stick with it.
Newbie to birds here, thank you so much for making this! Iowa's season is now open and I can't wait to put this into practice! It's so hard to sift through all the information out there as an adult with limited time. Dad never hunted, and my brother taught me deer and coyote, but other than that I'm on my own out here! This just saved me so much time and gave me some good motivation too.
About 15 years ago I read an outdoor article that stated dove meat cost $11 per pound based on licensing, ammo, average shots per bird downed ( capability of the average shooter). And I complain about the cost of beef!😅
I have a good friend that runs a field spraying operation in Bakersfield CA. We have access to hundreds of thousands of acres cut, and uncut fields. He’s going on his first hunt opening day, I’m picking up a new shotgun in October. Also, a friend of his has a feral pig problem on his property… birds and bacon 👍
Didn’t realize 3 rounds was max, just started upland game so good thing I got to see this! 👍🏼 Trying to figure out Big Bears Upland birds rn. Appreciate the videos!
Always check your state regulations. Where I am, some upland birds do not require a 3 shell plug. Others do. I usually pull my plug once dove, woodcock and duck seasons end. Pheasant and grouse have no capacity requirements.
I would suggest not changing chokes. Pick one little tighter choke that will work for your maximum range and get good with it. That way you wound less bird, as you get a good hit or a clean miss.
Horrible advice. I run the choke that my ammo likes when I pattern it. If you don't do this, you are cheating yourself. There is no such thing as a "one size fits all" choke when it comes to the patterning board.
@@desertdogoutdoors1113 I use a kicks high flyer xfull in a Stoeger m3500 never had a single shell not shot straight. I average 2-3 shots per bird. The smallest choke I would use is a mod. Must people use a longer range choke I never see anyone use a skeet choke dove hunting in my life.
@@jonathancarpenter9511 If you paid attention to the video, the skeet choke was recommended for steel shot; which shoots a tighter pattern than lead ( a skeet with steel is the same as IC with lead)
I think it was Randy Wakeman who made an interesting point about dove hunting. It was basically that most people think they are going to take a bunch of shots so they buy cheap bulk ammo for doves, but using better quality shells should/would/could lead to a better percentage of hit birds per shot. Unfortunately these days we have to use what we can get.
I find the main issue is that nobody properly patterns shotguns anymore. I can usually get cheap ammo to shoot good with the right choke and the knowledge of the ammo's POA/POI. Most folks just buy a gun off the rack, buy a cheap flat of shells, put in a choke that a "buddy" recommended, and have no idea where the pattern is at their shooting distances. Most of these guys also lack fundamental shooting skills anyway. They always blame the ammo. An experienced shotgunner like Randy should be able to get cheap ammo to work.
@@desertdogoutdoors1113 Agreed 100% DD, and another point of the article was the importance of actually knowing how the combination will pattern. Unfortunately "practicing" with a shotgun these days means more piles of junk out in our hunting grounds. On the positive side, I'm seeing lots of doves around and looking forward to September.
I like and own both, and can't really complain because they are the same company. My main waterfowl gun is a Benelli M2 and that thing is built like a tank; I will never sell that gun. I also had problems with my Browning A5 and light loads. It made me realize that gas guns are probably better for light loads than inertia guns, and Beretta makes the best gas guns. I have been using my A400 for a year and it has been flawless, BUT the wife was stealing it, so I got her an A400 Upland and she is happy (NOW I want to steal her shotgun). I have since sold my A5 and Super Black Eagle.
Good information and video. You mention that dove hunting is cheap, but here in Alabama it's getting very expensive and difficult to get in on a dove hunt (and far more $$$$ for quail) if you don't own the farmland yourself. Each season being a hunter is become more and more of an elite sport that the average person is squeezed out of. I'm not sure if it's that way in every state.
We are lucky in the Western states to have huge amounts of public land everywhere. Also, many local farmers are receptive to hunters shooting doves out of their fields.
That's true,lot of farm lands have been inherited to young family members up to 60 yrs old to be sold or planted in pines...truth some folks are lazy or greedy
Is difficult to keep people for 55 minute looking a video, but this one is a very good one. Thanks for the video. What area do you recommend for hunting in northern ca?
I have never hunted dove in the northern part of the state, but any agricultural area in the central valley and most of the sierra foothills are good areas.
"They have daily routines" Like flying into my window every morning. "Well boys, we didn't make it through the invisible barrier today. We will try again tomorrow."
"No one is going to tell you there honey holes" Usually correct, but a lot of dudes will at least point you in the direction of somewhere you can get a few birds. It's definitely worth asking. I've charmed my way into fishing some pretty loaded farm ponds more than once.
This is very informative and helpful video for beginners like me. Thank you! One question, do wild doves eat the seeds of wild sunflowers? Thanks again.
YES! wild sunflower and safflower seeds are like candy to doves. When the sunflowers dry out and die, the seeds fall to the ground and the doves go crazy for it.
Got any general advice for a new dove hunter trying to get his 8 year old son into it? He's interested and excited but wondering how to keep him interested if he's not able to hit many doves, if he hits any at all! We drew a junior only hunt for opening day here in CA, so I'm hoping that helps and he sees lots of dove. Thanks so much for the video! I really learned a lot
Practice shooting clays. He must get down proper mount and lead. Proper mount is hard for young children because most shotguns do not fit them. It will be hard for an 8 year-old to understand lead at any given distance too. Most kids don't start hitting birds until they are about 11-12; and that's if they get a shotgun that fits them. #1 thing for an 8-year old to understand is safety; few children that age are safety conscious.
@@desertdogoutdoors1113 Thanks a ton. I appreciate all the advice! Good point about the safety thing. I've had him practice muzzle awareness by holding his BB gun (unloaded) and walk around with it as a way to help him constantly be thinking about it too.
Good informations on Dove hunting. What your input on hunting the ditch around the CA Aqueduct. I heard mix review on hunter trespass and public land on the ditch.
You cannot hunt inside the fence line of the Ca Aqueduct, but you can hunt outside the fence. Like stated in the video, get the onX hunting app to verify public land. As long as you are on public land, out of most city limits, shooting in a safe and legal direction, you will be fine. The problem with the California Aqueduct is that for most of it's length, it flows through private land. You cannot line up on the outside of the fence-line and shoot birds over private land. This is where people get in trouble. The aqueduct is a favorite place for game wardens because most folks are shooting over private land without permission and don't realize it.
When it comes to a choke, what if i have an autoloader that does not have a choke capability? I usually hunt pheasants with it. Its a Browning 1952 A5 light twelve. Can i effectively hunt without a choke
Your A5 has a fixed choke. On old Browning shotguns, the choke markings are usually found on the inside left of the barrel. * designates full choke (F). *- designates improved modified choke (IM). ** designates modified choke (M). **- designates improved cylinder choke (IC). **$ designates skeet (SK). *** designates cylinder bore (CYL).
Or, are doves a type of pigeon??!!!! It all boils down to language preference. But, there are key differences in our common doves and the European Rock pigeon in behavior, flying ability, diet, and taste.
The Upland has the kick-off system forward of the butt, which I think I like better than the Xplor's kick-off placement in the butt. Both function exactly the same though.
Hey desert dog. Any tips for identifying eurasians vs morning dove? I want to try hunting eurasians since they are all year in CA and I definitely don't want to shoot a morning dove out of season.
You have to be out where there are both. It will soon be easy to tell them apart. Collards are a fair bit larger, much lighter in color, wider wings with white on the underside. Their size is about halfway between a barn pigeon and a mourning dove.
So I am New dove hunting I went for my first time over the weekend. I noticed a lot and I mean alot of hawks, not very many flying doves. Is this normal or are hawks not a good sign when hunting dove ?
Hawks definitely eat doves when they can ambush them, but doves are much better fliers than hawks so it's a hard meal and most doves don't seem threatened by them.
In regards to wounded doves, I just pull their heads off. It's easy enough to do and pretty quick. Where I live, DNR doesnt like us field dressing our animals in the field. They don't like us leaving remains behind. I just take my dove home in a grocery bag, dress them in the sink, then tie up the remains in the grocery bag and put it in the outside trash. It's such a small animal that it's not that much of a burden on my to carry all the evidence of my presence out with me. It's also why I prefer to use my 10 gauge muzzeloader. No worry of losing a shell, and no wads left behind. What is left behind is biodegradable. I like knowing that come the next rain, there is very little evidence left behind to show that i was ever there.
It would be great to also have a beginner's guide to hunting Deer, Elk, etc... It's been hard trying to get into hunting for the first time as an adult.
Amen
You're overthinking things bud, stuffs not as hard as you think it is! Get out there and get after it
Networking is key
Super late comment and incredibly long comment but yea I agree with Aaron a lot of ppl overthink and over complicate hunting. People analyze the moon cycles and shit imo it’s just not needed. You just have to go out for hike in an area and scout it out look for sign (rubs, scrapes, scat, tracks and food/water sources) setting up game cams at food sources and water sources or on game trails that you might find while scouting an area can also help u find a pattern and see what animals are in the area and at what time they are most active. Other than that the only other thing to think about is choosing an ethical caliber for what your going after. Also remember lots of animals have a good sense of smell so keep the wind direction in mind when setting up a stand/blind or when stalking u never want the animal down wind of you. I would also recommend just watching CZcams videos of people hunting in your area or in the same climate u plan to hunt in and seeing what their strategies are. I recently moved from NY to NV and it’s a whole different style of hunting out here I’m having to learn some new tricks which is the one the greatest parts of hunting as there is always something new to learn and perfect. Hope some of this advice can help land u a trophy animal or at least punch some of your tags. However the best tip I could ever give a new hunter is find someone more experienced to go hunting with as they will keep you from making the stupid newbie mistakes we’ve all made at some point in our life.
Get a membership at a trap range.
Thank you! Too many times people don’t want to pass down any information. Then the sport fades away and goes extinct due to not enough interest or people fighting to preserve it. You win the battle but lose the war. Thank you encouraging the beginners to try.
brochacho...I know this video took a ton of time for you to make. THANK YOU so much for everything you put into this video. Really helps someone like me who wants to get into this with a comprehensive overview of everything involved. Thank you again for taking the time to do this.
This is the best video I’ve seen on any hunting
As someone thats just getting into small game hunting, i really like to find a vid like this. Great generalized info to be a good starting point to start from. Thx for posting a long form vid like this.
Dear Desert Dog I have been a hunter for 20 years and now bought my first shot gun. Your video was a tremendous help in getting me started.
Pop shot a model 12- 12ga full choke, mom had a model 48 Remington 16ga, mod choke, my brother had a 20ga Ithaca, full choke and I had a model 12-16ga, full choke.
How did we ever shoot so many doves, pheasants, quail and ducks with all this outdated rigging?
Hell, we didnt even wear fancy razzu camo clothes.
Just a good ol' folding stool and a harvested safflower field around Dos Palos Ca.
We had a grain business in Los Banos and enjoyed some of the finest bird hunting California had to offer. I personally liked Panoche Valley the best.
Cheers and good luck!
Awesome man. I’m heading out today to go hit some doves out here in Arizona with my 1930 model 12- 16 gauge.
@@jamesthegr8100
Mine is a 1958 vintage.
My older brother passed it down to me in 1974 when our dad passed away. He said the 12 guage was too big for me. I was 10 he was 27.
Again, this is the best and most informative California hunting channel ever! Thank you Desert Dog!
So I’ve been hunting dove (and every other type of game) every year now for 43 years. The last 26 years I upland and big game hunted with a good friend of mine that was a resident California game warden (now retired) in a certain area of the state, so talk about our “honey holes!”
Few things… when hunting private land in Cali, make sure you have WRITTEN PERMISSION in your possession in California! Wardens will ask you for that and it’s in the F&G code. Avoid a ticket!
Second point, when seated and waiting for dove, when you see them, SHUT UP and DONT MOVE too soon! Let them come closer to you. Countless times I’ve hunted with some other buddies that jump up right away when they see a dove approaching and/or they just don’t stop talking. This causes the dove to instantly change direction. It makes it more difficult to hunt them in that manner.
Third point: Learn to identify the dove species in flight! Because the limit for white winged dove is less than mourning dove and different than Eurasian dove. An easy way my dad taught me to identify dove is look at the tail while in flight. The Mourning dove has a pointed tipped tail in flight. The white wing dove has a more squared off tail feathers and also a pretty white patch on their wings that you can see most of the time. Remember the difference with this saying: “You’ll poke your eye out and be in MOURNING with the pointed tail of a mourning dove.”
The Eurasian dove is bigger and has tan colored feathers, unlike the other two types with “battleship grey” colored feathers. Also the Eurasian has a black band around its neck.
4th point: Dove decoys. They are GOLD!!! They work. I set up decoys on my own rebar fence-like stand I stick in the ground and have countless dove come in and try to land on the same piece of rebar that all my decoys are perched on. It’s like cheating! Then I’ll have one or two of the flapping wing battery operated decoys near and it really gets the dove’s attention.
About chokes, personally for 12 or 20ga, I love #6 steel with a skeet choke in my bottom barrel and a Light Modified in the second (top barrel of an o/u shotgun). The wider the choke with steel, the better. Cylinder bore is too wide most times.
Finally, stay HYDRATED and wear a wide brimmed hat to keep the scorching sun off of you! It can be dangerously hot! My 16 year old son started to get heat exhaustion on a Yuma dove trip once. I had to make him jump into a farmers water ditch to cool his entire body down. Gatorade is terrible! Full of sugar, use a water with electrolytes. Regular water alone won’t cut it in extreme heat. You need electrolytes (salt) in the water in that type of crazy heat.
Awesome video, really well organized and helpful for the casual hunter. Appreciate you covering stuff like the wounded bird chapter. Most hunting channels really seem to avoid topics like that even though it’s a really common situation for a newer hunter to find themselves in.
Dad bought me a 20ga when I was 10 and I've been using 20's almost 50 years.
My wife tried my old Ithaca 200E sxs, lost that gun...
Bought my daughter a Berretta 686 o/u, she loves it, I can't use that one either!
Maybe, one day, I'll have a nice shotgun too! LOL! Great video!
I prefer a 20 to a 12 all day, everyday. Lighter recoil and less pellets to pick out of small game. Can still drop a deer with no problem. I have more than one of both, but my go to is the 20.
Amazing guide. I didn't have a dad in my life as a kid so I didn't get raised with this. Looking to begin this tradition so my boys have something to look forward to and remember me with.
Damn DD I'm an old dude and I loved this video, another one professionally and expertly done. Your never to old to learn especially with great instructors. Thank you.
Loved this video! Thank you so much for the hard work it took to produce it! Happy hunting to you brother.
I decided to expand from deer, hogs and Predator hunting this year. Prolly because I got a great deal on a good quality bird gun. Went hunting Friday night and saw lots of dove. Of course if I looked right the birds came from the left and vice versa. Did not bag any and decided to get some edumacation into the sport. Great Vid!
Thank you for such a great video. Does a lot of good for new and seasoned hunters alike to have quality content like this.
Excellent video. I'm not new to dove hunting, but I really enjoyed this video, and picked up several pointers that I had never even considered. I wished I had seen this years ago. Great job!
I just posted a dove hunting gear video on my channel where I go into more detail about my gear. Subscribe and enjoy.
Great job with the video. Enjoyed every segment Good and informative learning tool for everyone.
Greetings from across the pond! My first look at your channel! SUPERB!!
Hey brother, can't thank you enough for your video! Going out for my first time this Friday, and this helped put me at ease. This is good quality information presented in an easy-to-understand manner. Can't wait for my first dove hunt now! Going to have to try out your popper recipe also 🔥👍
A great well-rounded introduction to dove hunting video! Thanks!
Great stuff, as usual. I don't understand why you don't have at least 10 times more subs, but if that keeps your channel free of ads and BS content, so be it.
Thank you very much for such a good video. This is exactly what a new hunter needed to prepare for my first dove hunt. I could see it took a ton of work. Cheers!
My first real dove hunt in 1991, I shot roughly 35 to 1, and got 7 birds, I think my neighbor gave me one of his because I was such a horrible shot. Love the video DD.
I remember my best friend's dad getting mad when we "borrowed" some of his ammo, went out to a field near the house, and shot an entire flat of his shells and only had 9 doves between us to show for it. I swear the doves were smarter back then.
I think a lot of dove hunters can empathize with you on that one. Tricky to down a fast flying and joining dove
You're killing it with these videos! Nice job.
Great info. Reminds me of my hunting days in the central valley around Madera. Maybe I'll get out there again in Sept. Thanks
This video is great info For new beginners! Being a dove hunter my self hunting the Bakersfield area. Now living in east Texas I have found I have to school my self on the demographics of dove hunting east Texas finding the flight patterns food source and water. I don’t want to complicate this to much for new hunters or shot gunners. You made good key points to the ammunition. Add little more info with that subject to be specific. FPS is feet per second I look for 1255fps to 1300fps is best. Good luck to all new hunters and veteran hunters in 2022. IF IT FLYS IT DIES!!
Thank you. Very helpful and awesome video!
Great tips , Thank You . I have been dove Hunting for 31 years . This video will inform many people .
Its almost dove season!!! Decided to watch this just for a refresher and prep for our opener. Enjoyed the in depth video and cant wait for a few of the dove poppers. I have a 5 month old lab, but he wont be ready for hunting season this year. Going to save the wings this year though for training purposes.
so here it is a year later and three weeks to the opener!! And this year our 1.3 year old lab Gunner is going with us!! Cant wait
Great video. Looking forward to my first hunt this Friday. Thank you!
I hope you did well. we all got easy limits on the Friday opener.
Sadly I wasn’t able to go and had to work. Glad to hear you did well.
I’m super excited for my first dove hunting season here in Arizona! Thanks for the video there’s a lot of great information here! I’m in my early 20s and This will be my first hunting experience, hopefully first of many.
Good luck this year! Arizona has some fantastic Dove hunting.
@@desertdogoutdoors1113 they are everywhere around where I live so, definitely will be doing some scouting in august, thanks for the tips!
Excellent dove hunting video. Dove hunting is a really big event here in Alabama also. Lots of private and public hunts. Our conservation department puts on dove hunts where an adult can bring a young person and hopefully get them involved in the outdoors and hunting. And as you showed it's some good eating.
Yep, the American hunting population is getting old. I would like to see more young people get involved and absorb the wealth of knowledge that the older guys have. Guys that really have a lot of hunting wisdom are dying off with nobody to pass the knowledge on to. Seems like nowadays if you put a gun in a kids hands to teach him to hunt, people want to call child protective services.
Great, informative video. Thank you!
Cant wait for my hunting license to be active:) thanks for all the content!
That's really really amazing and very much informative video
I think this video basically covered it all. Thanks for the great info. I'm going to go try dove hunting for the first time tomorrow. Due to inexperience and lack of familiarity with the area it will probably be mostly scouting/getting an idea of what its all about, and hopefully catching a few, but either way I'm just excited its hunting season again!
Gravel pits and dumps are a great spot to try if you can get permission to go hunt them lots of gravel, generally sunflowers/food, and water.
Going dove hunting for the first time next weekend, super excited and somewhat nervous
I just bought the A400 upland version in 12 GA great gun! hoping to see more dove in northern IN though!
Thank you learned a lot going for my first time this year
I'm doing a more detailed gear video now. Will post on the 23rd.
Thanks Brother.Learned a lot.
Great video! Only thing I’d add, is on those poppers marinade them in Italian dressing. I do this with my duck breast also.
Great job! Thank you Sir. Very helpful information for hunters. Waiting for new lesson Sir👍💯
I love the video! Thanks for sharing.
My favorite dove gun is a Remington 1100 20 gauge Skeet B with, of course, a fixed skeet bore. I shoot the same reloads I use for skeet, 7/8 oz of #7.5 at 1145 fps. As far as patterns go, I got a story about that! Be sure to pattern a bunch of loads until you find the one that works with you barrel and choke, and then stick with it.
Great video!... We share a few of the same hobbies!
Thanks! This is exactly what I needed. Food looks great too!
That was a super informative video!
Really good video from start to finish capturing the entire process!
Awesome video! Thank you!
Newbie to birds here, thank you so much for making this! Iowa's season is now open and I can't wait to put this into practice! It's so hard to sift through all the information out there as an adult with limited time. Dad never hunted, and my brother taught me deer and coyote, but other than that I'm on my own out here! This just saved me so much time and gave me some good motivation too.
About 15 years ago I read an outdoor article that stated dove meat cost $11 per pound based on licensing, ammo, average shots per bird downed ( capability of the average shooter). And I complain about the cost of beef!😅
Really enjoyed this video
Great video thanks very much!!!
I have a good friend that runs a field spraying operation in Bakersfield CA. We have access to hundreds of thousands of acres cut, and uncut fields. He’s going on his first hunt opening day, I’m picking up a new shotgun in October. Also, a friend of his has a feral pig problem on his property… birds and bacon 👍
Didn’t realize 3 rounds was max, just started upland game so good thing I got to see this! 👍🏼
Trying to figure out Big Bears Upland birds rn. Appreciate the videos!
Always check your state regulations. Where I am, some upland birds do not require a 3 shell plug. Others do. I usually pull my plug once dove, woodcock and duck seasons end. Pheasant and grouse have no capacity requirements.
Check you state regulations before going out hunting
This was a great introduction
Nice video
Terrific vide0-you are the best
I like all your videos but to me this is the best 👍 what a video
Thank you very much.
Great info! Thanks!
I would suggest not changing chokes. Pick one little tighter choke that will work for your maximum range and get good with it. That way you wound less bird, as you get a good hit or a clean miss.
that works as long as you pattern your shotgun every time you change ammo brands or shot sizes. find what works and stick with it.
Horrible advice. I run the choke that my ammo likes when I pattern it. If you don't do this, you are cheating yourself. There is no such thing as a "one size fits all" choke when it comes to the patterning board.
@@desertdogoutdoors1113 I use a kicks high flyer xfull in a Stoeger m3500 never had a single shell not shot straight. I average 2-3 shots per bird. The smallest choke I would use is a mod. Must people use a longer range choke I never see anyone use a skeet choke dove hunting in my life.
@@jonathancarpenter9511 If you paid attention to the video, the skeet choke was recommended for steel shot; which shoots a tighter pattern than lead ( a skeet with steel is the same as IC with lead)
Ok so I need that octopus statue you have on the shelf !!!!!!
Pretty informative video 👍🏻👌🏻
Dude I enjoy your videos great job
Some good information you got here sir.
Amazing video!!!!
Thanks for the video,
Dove hunting looks quite different there! Here in Oklahoma mesquite trees, gravel piles, and plowed fields are the ticket!
Plowed fields are dove magnets anywhere
I think it was Randy Wakeman who made an interesting point about dove hunting. It was basically that most people think they are going to take a bunch of shots so they buy cheap bulk ammo for doves, but using better quality shells should/would/could lead to a better percentage of hit birds per shot. Unfortunately these days we have to use what we can get.
I find the main issue is that nobody properly patterns shotguns anymore. I can usually get cheap ammo to shoot good with the right choke and the knowledge of the ammo's POA/POI. Most folks just buy a gun off the rack, buy a cheap flat of shells, put in a choke that a "buddy" recommended, and have no idea where the pattern is at their shooting distances. Most of these guys also lack fundamental shooting skills anyway. They always blame the ammo. An experienced shotgunner like Randy should be able to get cheap ammo to work.
@@desertdogoutdoors1113 Agreed 100% DD, and another point of the article was the importance of actually knowing how the combination will pattern. Unfortunately "practicing" with a shotgun these days means more piles of junk out in our hunting grounds. On the positive side, I'm seeing lots of doves around and looking forward to September.
@@Redevil667 Yep, the doves are thick this year.
I love dove hunts. Here in Kentucky.
Why Beretta and not Binelli? Would like to know your reasoning on your pick. Thanks for your great videos.
I like and own both, and can't really complain because they are the same company. My main waterfowl gun is a Benelli M2 and that thing is built like a tank; I will never sell that gun. I also had problems with my Browning A5 and light loads. It made me realize that gas guns are probably better for light loads than inertia guns, and Beretta makes the best gas guns. I have been using my A400 for a year and it has been flawless, BUT the wife was stealing it, so I got her an A400 Upland and she is happy (NOW I want to steal her shotgun). I have since sold my A5 and Super Black Eagle.
Good information and video. You mention that dove hunting is cheap, but here in Alabama it's getting very expensive and difficult to get in on a dove hunt (and far more $$$$ for quail) if you don't own the farmland yourself. Each season being a hunter is become more and more of an elite sport that the average person is squeezed out of. I'm not sure if it's that way in every state.
We are lucky in the Western states to have huge amounts of public land everywhere. Also, many local farmers are receptive to hunters shooting doves out of their fields.
That's true,lot of farm lands have been inherited to young family members up to 60 yrs old to be sold or planted in pines...truth some folks are lazy or greedy
Good video thanks
Is difficult to keep people for 55 minute looking a video, but this one is a very good one. Thanks for the video. What area do you recommend for hunting in northern ca?
I have never hunted dove in the northern part of the state, but any agricultural area in the central valley and most of the sierra foothills are good areas.
That looks soo delicious!!
dig the intro music
"They have daily routines"
Like flying into my window every morning.
"Well boys, we didn't make it through the invisible barrier today. We will try again tomorrow."
"No one is going to tell you there honey holes" Usually correct, but a lot of dudes will at least point you in the direction of somewhere you can get a few birds. It's definitely worth asking. I've charmed my way into fishing some pretty loaded farm ponds more than once.
thankyou for the shows dove hunting
This is very informative and helpful video for beginners like me. Thank you! One question, do wild doves eat the seeds of wild sunflowers? Thanks again.
YES! wild sunflower and safflower seeds are like candy to doves. When the sunflowers dry out and die, the seeds fall to the ground and the doves go crazy for it.
I never tell anyone where I hunt because, I had the exact senario happen to me by a trusted brother in law. Never again.👍👍👍🇺🇸😎
Got any general advice for a new dove hunter trying to get his 8 year old son into it? He's interested and excited but wondering how to keep him interested if he's not able to hit many doves, if he hits any at all! We drew a junior only hunt for opening day here in CA, so I'm hoping that helps and he sees lots of dove. Thanks so much for the video! I really learned a lot
Practice shooting clays. He must get down proper mount and lead. Proper mount is hard for young children because most shotguns do not fit them. It will be hard for an 8 year-old to understand lead at any given distance too. Most kids don't start hitting birds until they are about 11-12; and that's if they get a shotgun that fits them. #1 thing for an 8-year old to understand is safety; few children that age are safety conscious.
@@desertdogoutdoors1113 Thanks a ton. I appreciate all the advice! Good point about the safety thing. I've had him practice muzzle awareness by holding his BB gun (unloaded) and walk around with it as a way to help him constantly be thinking about it too.
Good info!
Nice video man
Very informative and educational. Thank you. Can u do a video of deer hunting
Great vid. Curious to what boot you're wearing.
Bacon wrapped dove breast yummm. If SHTF you will want to know how to do this.
My ratio in 2023 was 2.27. I shot 66 shells, came home with 29 birds.
Had that a400 in twenty. But it was too long. Nice Gun though. Hope whoever has it now enjoys it!
I’ve been trying to figure this out for years. I can get my 3rd shell in my over under…
Great hunt, also liked the quail vid you did. But I like that shotgun you got, wanna tell me what it is?
Beretta A400 Xplor 20ga
The sign of a well trained dog, is if they’ll retrieve the dove. Most will spit it out as they don’t like the taste
Sounds like you have a Brittany. Labs don't hesitate to get the doves.
Good informations on Dove hunting. What your input on hunting the ditch around the CA Aqueduct. I heard mix review on hunter trespass and public land on the ditch.
You cannot hunt inside the fence line of the Ca Aqueduct, but you can hunt outside the fence. Like stated in the video, get the onX hunting app to verify public land. As long as you are on public land, out of most city limits, shooting in a safe and legal direction, you will be fine. The problem with the California Aqueduct is that for most of it's length, it flows through private land. You cannot line up on the outside of the fence-line and shoot birds over private land. This is where people get in trouble. The aqueduct is a favorite place for game wardens because most folks are shooting over private land without permission and don't realize it.
Great video! I started dove hunting a couple years ago. I just bought two mojo's and dove flickers. What would you recommend on the decoy spread?
Subscribe to my channel and watch my video titled "Dove Hunting Gear".
When it comes to a choke, what if i have an autoloader that does not have a choke capability? I usually hunt pheasants with it. Its a Browning 1952 A5 light twelve. Can i effectively hunt without a choke
Your A5 has a fixed choke. On old Browning shotguns, the choke markings are usually found on the inside left of the barrel.
* designates full choke (F).
*- designates improved modified choke (IM).
** designates modified choke (M).
**- designates improved cylinder choke (IC).
**$ designates skeet (SK).
*** designates cylinder bore (CYL).
Pigeons are actually a type of dove too so yea, them doves did well with us.
Or, are doves a type of pigeon??!!!! It all boils down to language preference. But, there are key differences in our common doves and the European Rock pigeon in behavior, flying ability, diet, and taste.
I’m trying to decide between beretta A400 xplor action and upland. Looks like those are the two guns you have, which one do you prefer?
The Upland has the kick-off system forward of the butt, which I think I like better than the Xplor's kick-off placement in the butt. Both function exactly the same though.
Hey desert dog. Any tips for identifying eurasians vs morning dove? I want to try hunting eurasians since they are all year in CA and I definitely don't want to shoot a morning dove out of season.
Watch the August 2021 episode of "Hunt Camp Mail". At 17:02 in the video, I answer a similar question.
You have to be out where there are both. It will soon be easy to tell them apart. Collards are a fair bit larger, much lighter in color, wider wings with white on the underside. Their size is about halfway between a barn pigeon and a mourning dove.
@@dougmccoy1260 thank you both. This is really helpful!
So I am New dove hunting I went for my first time over the weekend. I noticed a lot and I mean alot of hawks, not very many flying doves. Is this normal or are hawks not a good sign when hunting dove ?
Hawks definitely eat doves when they can ambush them, but doves are much better fliers than hawks so it's a hard meal and most doves don't seem threatened by them.
Are you allowed to slot hunt like that right next to the orchards? Is that public land?
I have permission from the farmer for my wife and I to hunt there. But I also have several spots where orchards go right up to public land.
In regards to wounded doves, I just pull their heads off. It's easy enough to do and pretty quick.
Where I live, DNR doesnt like us field dressing our animals in the field. They don't like us leaving remains behind. I just take my dove home in a grocery bag, dress them in the sink, then tie up the remains in the grocery bag and put it in the outside trash. It's such a small animal that it's not that much of a burden on my to carry all the evidence of my presence out with me. It's also why I prefer to use my 10 gauge muzzeloader. No worry of losing a shell, and no wads left behind. What is left behind is biodegradable. I like knowing that come the next rain, there is very little evidence left behind to show that i was ever there.
Just snap their necks. No blood or mess, and only takes a second.