Doves & Dove Guns

Guns Magazine, Oct, 2001 by Holt Bodinson

How can a little gray bird be such a challenge? Millions of hunters take to the field each year to re-discover the answer to that timeless question.

Darting, ducking, boring through the air at 40 to 50 miles an hour, the mourning dove is the most actively hunted and heavily harvested game bird in the United States. He's a prolific breeder, with the estimated fall population numbering around 475 million. He's a member of the pigeon family which includes the familiar rock dove, and the common city pigeon, as well as the white-winged dove of the Southwest.

Every September, the ritual begins once again. Approximately 2.5 million shirt-sleeved dove hunters head afield to harvest an estimated 40 to 50 million birds. In the process they keep the shotgun shell loading lines of the ammunition makers humming for another year.

The dove is a humbling target. If you average two doves for every five shots, you can consider yourself a spectacular wing shot indeed. What's nice about pass-shooting doves is the relaxed atmosphere of the hunt. You're guaranteed to get in a lot of challenging wing shooting. So ease up a bit and enjoy all of the sights, sounds and scents of the unfolding morning. And really, what better opportunity is there to try a new gun, or a new gauge, or some new ammunition or handloads?

We enjoy breaking the dove season down into three distinct hunting periods. Each has its own set of challenges. Each has its own unique choice of shotguns and ammunition.

Low And Slow

First, opening morning. This is the one time when living is easy and the doves are most vulnerable. The flights are large and numerous, and the birds are inattentive and careless. No devious ducking and diving or flaring up over the trees on opening morning. No, this is the day when they fly the same straight flight lines -- fairly low and slower than they'll ever fly again that season.

This is my day for the .410 bore.

From the sounds of the faint "pop-pop-pop" one hears on opening morning, there are a lot of sportsmen out there plugging away with the diminutive .410. For sheer wing shooting artistry, nothing comes close to a fine shot who can hammer doves consistently with a .410.

We are not a great fans of the .410 for hunting. It's a fine target gauge, but it throws a very thin pattern beyond 30 yards from a full choke gun, even with the 3" shell carrying 11/16 oz. to 3/4 oz. of shot. But, for the opening day of dove season, we make an exception and break Out the Winchester 101 Quail Special and several boxes of factory 3" #7 1/2s.

The Winchester "Quail Special" was made in a very limited run chambered for the .410, 28, 20 and 12 gauges. With its straight grip stock of richly figured walnut, 25 1/2" ventilated barrels and rib, and coin-finish receiver with engraved scenes of flushing quail and pointers -- the petite Quail Special is a most elegant shotgun. Bored full and modified, it's also a .410 that can do the job. If you are willing to take your time on opening morning, and to take only doves that are within range of the cigarette sized cartridge, which means 30 yards or less, you'll have an enjoyable time just handling and looking at that svelte over/under.

Raising The Ante

For the doves that survive the opening morning barrage and the following two weeks of the early dove season, we'll swap the .410 for two 20 gauges: a Ruger Red Label and a Remington 1100 Special Field.

These 20 gauge shotguns are almost ideal dove guns. With their small, finely proportioned frames and receivers, 20 ga. guns are light, well-balanced and handy in the field. Moreover, recoil generated by 7/8 oz. or even 1 oz. loadings in the 2 3/4" shell is minimal and not distracting, considering that one may be shooting more than normal. Plus, 20 ga. patterns of #7s, #7 1/2s and #8s with an IC or IM choke are pure poison at dove-hunting ranges.

When Ruger brought out the first Ruger Red Labels in 20 gauge, we bought one immediately. Bored IC/IM with 28" barrels and sporting an especially handsome piece of walnut (as many of the early guns did), the Red Label has seen almost a quarter century of dove hunting. With their slim, shallow receivers, the 20 ga. and 28 ga. Red Labels are a joy to shoot and hunt with.

The Remington 1100 LT-20 Special Field is another great mid-season 20 ga. for doves. The LT-20 sports a lightened receiver, 23" barrel and a straight grip stock. Chambered exclusively for the 2 3/4" shell, that little Remington is quick as a cat to mount, and its gas-operated action breaks up the recoil impulse so well you'd think you were shooting a 28 ga. On the other hand, there is quite a bit of muzzle blast from the end of the 23" barrel. The regular LT-20s were offered with 26" and 28" barrels, and if you can find one, buy it with the 26" tube.

Gunning For The Aces

In the Southwest, the third phase of the dove season comes during the months of December and January. Those doves that are still left wear combat infantryman badges. These are the seasoned veterans and the ace flyers. They're wary; they're smart; they tend to fly so high you'd think they're on oxygen. On the other hand, they still have to eat and drink, so after a little bit of late-season scouting, veteran dove hunters do find the ideal ambush sites.