# Doves-



## catking

Hey guys and gals- I'm curious as to who out there hunts doves? How do they taste?...THE CATKING !!!


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## DaleM

If you have ever ate Quail, they taste really close. Tough bird to hunt though.


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## ShakeDown

I work with a woman who is an avid dove hunter with her husband. She says they are her favorite to hunt, and eat. Keep in mind though, I could see her biting the heads off of live chickens too, so I don't know how accurate her assessment is


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## Procraftboats21

I take the breast from the dove and cut it into several strips, then I marinate them in BBQ Sauce and grill them.


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## Crawl

I hunt them and they make great table fare! I breast them out and take a slice of jalapeno pepper with a slice of cheddar and sandwich them all together with a strip of bacon wrapped around the outside pegged with a toothpick to hold eveything together and grill the sucker! There is nothing better!

Jason


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## ShoreBoundOne

I have never done it before but intend on trying my hand at it this season...along with duck and goose.

Mitch


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## birdhunt

The jalapeno sounds good, they are dry, so I too wrap them in bacon--don't grill too long though.

Won't be long----good hunting!!!


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## WLB

My 16 year old son hunts them, I watch  Man those birds can fly fast, if you think your a good shot give these little birdies a try


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## atrkyhntr

Bring plenty of shells !!!
I learned my leason years ago LOL


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## oncearacer52

Dove hunting is one of the few true sports where the game has the advantage. They are a very smart foe that flies at 60 mph and can juke and jive with anything. I hunted them for years then kinda quit hunting anything. Now I am getting back into Dove hunting. I'm no expert shot but, I'm not a bad shot either and I usually take at least 4 boxes of shells......lol 
As far as cooking them I peel out the breast and wash them real good. Then I may dip them in a little egg and then roll them in cracker crumbs and thats it. I truly love the taste of Dove meat so I don't cover it up with anything else. The meat is very dark and has a little bity tenderloin (I think) next to the bone that is a little lighter. Also its one of the few sports that takes several hunters working together to keep the birds flying or they will just land out of range and feed.


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## catking

Wow !! Great info. I had no idea that there were so many guys that hunted these small birds. So I take it they are about as hard to hit as grouse? I hunted grouse for a few years before giving up hunting altogether. Thanks for all the replies....CATKING


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## flathunter

If Da King is going to start dove hunting, methinks the dove population is in no danger!


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## oncearacer52

9 birds with two boxes ain't bad.....lol

I used to go to Canada fishing and I would bring my .22 rifle to Grouse hunt..........I know some of you will not believe this but Grouse up there must not have any fear of man. You ease around a wooded area and spot Grouse sitting on tree limbs and just shoot them, they don't fly away, if you miss just shoot again........lol Snowshoe Rabbit and Grouse is one fine meal!!!!! 

I highly recommend having someone with a big bore rifle along for back up. BEARS..........!


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## Procraftboats21

Man I wish I could find some grouse that would sit still for a second, they usualy flush and when I shoot I wack a tree  Ive only killed 1 but last year was my first year hunting them. I went out 3 times and had 5 flushes.


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## atrkyhntr

Grouse are not around like they use to be... I know a place in Pa where a fellow can get 20-30 flushes a day !!


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## Guest

I usually go over to fallsville ever year. When that gets hunted out I go over to private land. It should not be to packed this year at Fallsville though cause they are having one of them controlled hunts. I just hope my name gets drawed though. If not I will probably head over to paint creek. The way we eat them is to fillet the breat meat and then wrap it in bacon and apple and then hook it for a short while over the grill. MMmm very good


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## Bassnpro1

My uncle has told me stories about when they went to canada that they would get a grouse or two every year with a sling shot or just throwing a rock. I saw grouse when I went but couldn't find any close rocks and then the bird ran into some thicker cover. But in ohio, I would have to say that doves are easier to hit than a flushed grouse. I can get a dove for about every 3-5 shots and with grouse its seems like I get one every 8-10 shots


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## Procraftboats21

The national average is 1 dove per 7 shots so one out of every 3-5 Isn't bad!


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## eye4neye

Hey Catking-

whats up man, 

i love to hunt these fast fliers, and they are not easy to kill. let me say it this way instead, they are not easy to hit all of the time, take plenty of shells. I have heard of study that say that an average dove hunters gets about 3-4 birds per box of shells, but not sure how accurate this is. anyway, i like to breast out the bird, and then i fry them in low heat just to sear them really, then wrap in a half peice of bacon and broil until bacon is cooked,,,,yuuuuum,mmmyyyy-----tony


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## Lil' Rob

I'll be heading to Wellington in Lorain County and/or Spencer in Medina County for the first two days. I may head to some private land mid-day and set out some goose decoys.

I will sometimes roll the dove breasts in diluted lime juice and pan fry them, but usually salt & pepper and on the grill they go. Kind of tough keeping them from falling throught the grates!


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## Tritonman

I went down to Cabela's and bought 250 rounds for tom. My neighbor just cut his wheat and the doves are thick. Like the guys have been saying to get a limit you better take 75 rounds or more. To clean a dove simply find the bottom of it's breast with your index finger grab hold of the breast then pull, you need no knife. Since you pull the skin off it is always a good practice to wrap them with bacon for cooking. Good luck tom., if they fly they die!!!!!!!!!!!
Has anybody found any sheephead mushrooms yet?


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## stumpsitter

My 2004 hunting season kicked off today with a dove hunt in Fayette County (Deer Creek). I had scouted the fields yesterday so I knew that there were a lot of doves feeding there. I got there a little late this morning, arriving at the field just at shooting time. There were 15 or so vehicles in the parking area so I knew there were already hunters in position. On the way in I noticed that there was a mowed field just before you got to the dove field. The doves were passing over this field while going to and from the dove area. I sat up there in a tree line and had 5 doves in 15 minutes. There wasn't a time when you couldn't look up and see doves flying. Knowing that I would probably limit out faster than I wanted to, I started being very selective with my shots. I ended up getting my limit of 15 while using about 45 shells...not too bad for me. I was on my way home by 9:30. I have been hunting the dove season opener every year since we began having a dove season back in the mid 90's. This is by far the most doves that I have seen while hunting. There were many limits taken, and the birds seemed just as plentiful when I was leaving. So much for hunting them to extinction like the passenger pigeon, huh?


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## Richs63Corvair

Hey Tritonman, Do you hunt doves in Wayne County ? Where at ? Thanks.......Rich


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## Procraftboats21

Hunted Highlandtown yesterday, what an awesome hunt, got my limit of 15 with 65 shells lol 4 out of 5 of us limited out.


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## Lil' Rob

Glad to hear you guys have a good and bountiful day. Despite seeing lots of birds in the area for a few weeks (and still), the doves just were not flying over the fields at Wellington or Spencer. It was very frustrating. None of the fields at these locations got turned over. In driving around during the heat of the afternoon, saw a handful of fields, posted private property, that had fattened birds all around and in them.

We only saw 10 to 20 birds total each morning and each evening. The number of hunters was very dismal as well, which only aided in those few doves being able to fly straight threw un-harassed. We only managed two birds and shot fewer than a box of shells, some of which we knew there wasn't a prayer and were just trying to push them towards each other. 

Again, very frustrating and I really don't even want to go back out there this weekend. Maybe I should try that Highlandtown or Deer Creek. Never been to either and both are at least a two hour drive for me. Any suggestions?


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## Guest

I hunted paint creek wed. and thurs. and limited out both days. I hunted fallsville yesterday and also limited out. 3 limits for 3 days not a bad average.   I think they are starting to catch on though.


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## stumpsitter

Has anyone been to Deer Creek this weekend? Usually the birds quit using the fields there after the first few days. Has anyone hunted Dillon for doves?


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## MAINAH

I'm with EYE4nEYE. Wrap the breats in bacon, I've had them cooked that way on the grill. Tasty little treat, need a lot of them for a good meal though.


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## beatsworkin

We usually make a spicy marinade, soak for about an hour and grill them quickly, dark and lean meat, don't cook well done or they are tough. We grill for about 7 to 10 minutes, meat should be slightly pink.

Other method is to split a jalapeno or other small chili pepper down one side, cover dove breast with pepper and then wrap in pepper bacon, put several on a skewer. Cook until bacon is crisp.

4 to 6 whole dove breasts and a couple of sides and a couple cold ones make a nice meal.


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## Portage Lakes

Dove hunting is a challenge and Dove taste pretty good. I'll be going out to the Grand River Wildlife Area this tuesday. I bring my dog to help retrieve and find the downed birds. Take the breast meat and marinate them in italian dressing and wrap a piece of bacon around them and use a tooth pick to hold them all together and bake them on a cookie sheet.

PL.............


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## Onion

Anybody ever use calls or decoys for dove? I have just started hunting them and wonder if using decoys or calls would increase the number of birds we see.


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## atrkyhntr

Never knew there were any calls even available... Now decoys are another subject... We used them in Pa and they seemed to work pretty good around watering holes and places where the birds got their grit... We really hunted the flyways more then anywhere else and thus did not need decoys...


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