Thursday, September 02, 2010
Here's how to increase your dove shooting skills
Bill Cochran
Recent columns
Let’s face it, doves aren’t an easy target and most of us could benefit from some wing-shooting tips prior to the Sept. 4 opening day.
With that in mind, I asked shooting coach Doug Erck of Mechanicsville to respond to questions on equipment choice and shooting fundamentals. Here are his thoughts:
Q. What is a good choice for a dove gun?
A. Dove hunting is not overly specialized, so just about any type of action in a 12- or 20-gauge is sufficient. A modified choke will be adequate 90 percent of the time. The key is to have enough gun to do the job under the conditions. If you are in a sunflower patch where the birds are coming to feed, a 20-gauge with skeet or improved cylinder choke might suffice, but on the edge of the filed in front of a high tree line, a 12-gauge with modified or full choke might be in order.
Q. What shells do you recommend?
A. Dove hunting is very forgiving, so shell loads of 1 ounce to 1 1/8 ounces in No. 8 or No. 7-1/2 shot is fine. You might try a “light target” load of 1-1/8 ounce No. 8s in the early season then scale up to No. 7-1/2 later in the year when shots will be a little longer range.
Q. Is it OK to buy the cheap shells that often are on sale this time of the year?
A. Absolutely. These shells will take doves. However, it has been my experience that these shells have maximum powder charge and maximum payload and inexpensive components, and as such they often return maximum recoil -- OUCH! So if you have a young or inexperienced shooter, go with a quality name brand in a “light target” powder charge with an ounce payload of No. 8s.
Q. Is there anything a dove hunter can do to improve his shooting skills?
A. Gosh, where do I start? First, get the gun in your hands and practice your gun mount at home. Perform 30 to 50 repetitions every evening. This costs nothing. Second, take a formal lesson from a certified instructor, or an informal lesson from an accomplished wing-shooting friend with the goal of reviewing your fundamentals and tweaking them as necessary. If you practice without sound fundamentals in place you will groove in bad habits that will need to be reworked later. Finally, go out and practice. A skeet field is an excellent place to groove in the basics as all the targets represent dove flight patterns.
Q. Doves are reputed to be one of hunting’s most difficult wing shots. Do you agree?
A. Yes, doves can be tough. In addition to being small, they are fast flyers and can turn on a dime at full throttle.
Q. What would you say is the toughest shot in dove hunting?
A. The high overhead going away shot can be tough because there isn’t much room for error and you aren’t getting any advantage from the length of the shot cloud. Second to that is the hard 90-degree rising and crossing bird that comes past you after being shot at and missed by five other guns. I meant that bird is smoking and dancing.
Q. What is the major mistake hunters make when shooting doves?
A. For accomplished shooters, the most common mistake is not keeping focus on the dove throughout the shot. You must keep your eye on the ball and let the natural eye-hand coordination skills take care of the details.
Q. If you could pick just one thing to improve a dove hunter’s score, what would that be?
A. Only mount the gun when it is time to take the shot. Don’t mount the gun and chase the bird across the sky trying to see, guess or calculate forward allowance. Keep focused on the bird and as it comes into range slowly begin to mount your gun, which is what you have practiced, and as the bird enters gun range, complete your mount and pull the trigger the instant the gun touches your shoulder.
Q. How about some hunting tips once you are in the field.
A. If you are not confined to a designated shooting station, watch the flight pattern of the birds and if necessary move to a more advantageous location. Decoys hanging on dead tree limbs or fences can be very effective. Camouflage helps, but isn’t necessary, but your clothes should be natural or drab colors to blend into the terrain. Move slowly as you prepare to take your shots.
Doug Erck's website is wingshootinginstruction.com. In photo below, Erck (straw hat) teaching fundamentals.
