Dove hunting tips and tricks

Dove hunting is a fun-filled activity that ought to be practiced by just about every other person. It basically entails shooting doves using hunting rifles and rubber bullets.

Doves are generally very swift, agile, and light in weight. They easily detect and evade any incoming obstacles and as such are very difficult to shoot down.

It is this evasiveness that provides the incentive and thrill to engage in this activity.

In the discussions that follow, you will get to know of the various dove hunting tips and tricks that may guarantee you success in your dove hunting quest.

COMMON DOVE HUNTING TIPS AND TRICKS

Open the choke

The choke is the tapered construction of a gun’s barrel bore towards its muzzle end. It is used to spread the shots for greater accuracy and better range.

For more effective dove hunting, you will have to use an improved cylinder choke tube. That’s because the wide pattern exuded by it simplifies the hitting of targets.

It also prevents the birds from being destroyed unnecessarily in a hunting session.

Upsize your pellets

Pellets are the ‘bullets’ of the hunting guns. For a successful dove hunting, you will have to upsize your pellets i.e. use pellets that have larger sizes.

That’s because they have longer range and are more effective in hitting their targets.

Exaggerate your lead

They say, ‘aim the sun, reach the moon’. While shooting the doves, make every effort to exceed the target rather than merely hitting it.

You should, in fact, aim at exceeding the target by six feet or more. To do this, position your barrel at a distance of around 6 inches ahead of and along the trajectory the targeted dove.

(As a general rule, an inch of barrel movement is equivalent to a foot of the targeted dove’s flight distance).

Stay flat-footed

Your stance i.e. the way in which you stand while shooting your targeted dove matters a lot. It is generally important that your feet be flat-footed i.e. as horizontal to the ground as possible.

That’s because any deviation from the perfectly horizontal elevation may often interfere with the direction of the pellet movements.

You may, therefore, have to level the area beneath your feet on which you are standing to achieve the perfectly horizontal position.

Focus on gun mount

Ensure that you position your gun correctly and in the perfect direction. While positioning it, be sure to shoulder the gun in such a way as to place your cheek on the gun’s stock.

This is to prevent you from overshooting and in so doing and missing the target.

Shoot while sitting

In case you intended to spend longer hours in hunting the doves, you will have to consider sitting.

This is to minimize fatigue, enabling you to focus more on your gun mount, and help you maintain a good form at all times.

It is even strongly recommended that you practice shooting several days before the actual hunting session.

Going away

For birds that originate from behind and pass right in front of you, you will have to utilize the front lead to hit them.

This means you will have to aim a few inches below it in order to shoot right in front of it. (Imagine balancing the bird on your barrel just before pressing the trigger).

Pick a bird

For those birds that approach you as or travel in a group, you are strongly advised to pick one, aim at it, and shoot it alone.

Do not be tempted to shoot aimlessly as you may get distracted and hence waste your time, miss the target, and the pellets.

Coming in

For those birds that are coming in i.e. those that approach you from the front, wait till they begin their descent.

Pull the trigger at that point when the gun barrel begins blocking them from sight. It is only in this way that you won’t miss to hit it.

Try decoys

Decoys are imitations of real life birds. They are used to attract birds by giving them false illusions of reality.

Place them at strategic locations throughout a field and practice shooting them days before the actual hunting. This will greatly improve your chances of hitting your target.

CONCLUSION

Hunting is a very meticulous undertaking. In order to succeed in it, you will have to acquire the right equipment, and practice regularly before the actual hunting.

You may also consider engaging an expert to help you out over and above mastering the aforementioned tricks.