What does the newbie need to know about dove hunting in TX?

Some of these private hunting places charge $200 or more a day just to toss lead at these measly little birds
and if you are lucky you can take a limit. With a 15 mourning dove limit at 2 oz./breast average that's about $106/pound for dove breast

Ideally, I would like to figure out how to hunt doves on a budget. It's not Maine lobster tail, it's dove. They are actually

considered a pest in some places.

There are some places in OK and IN that charge only $100/day to shoot doves and that's OK with me.
That's only about $53/pound for dove breast if one can limit out.


I'd prefer to hunt weekend mornings at first legal shooting hours and try to take a limit before it gets too hot outside.

I'd also prefer to have my well-trained retriever with me.

If you're going to put a price of hunting by the amount of groceries you're going to get, take up another hobby. You would never be able to justify the cost. BTW, it's skimpy but TX does have public land hunts and that's a $48 add on to your license.

Lots of good dove hunting just across the river here in TX from Lawton.....advise get out to coffee shops and talk to locals...be very friendly...and when you find place to shoot take lots of shells

I want to first get good with a shotgun at the skeet field.
It's nice to be able to take limit of doves with only one box of shells,
but I'd have four boxes on my first outing just to be prudent.

Doves are the nastiest targets in the world for patterns/shot strings to connect with.
These birds seem endowed by mother nature with some magic force field that just repels shotgun pellets
like two magnets of like poles....or....doves have invisible holes in their bodies that the shot just pass right through to miss the birds.
Like the baseball analogy of having a hole in the bat or GLOVE.

Incoming bird....stand up off of stool...while mounting gun...while swinging...lead dove's bill...pull trigger...BANG!
Dove flies on....dang it, Bubba, hole in the DOVE again!

You could probably find hunts cheaper after opening weekend, which starts September 1st. I wouldn't go to putting a price on it though, if doing that a steak at the grocery store would be more cost effective.

I hope this doesn't end up like your post in the Deer Hunting section. But, since you stated (in the deer hunting thread) you still have a few years to figure things out, why are you even concerned with hunting doves in Texas, right now?

Sorry, but using economics to justify hunting is not really the point and won't ever work - whether dove, deer, hogs, or any other animal. Same applies to fishing - during his fishing heyday, my dad once tried to calculate the cost of each pound of filet he placed in the freezer. He determined he spent several hundred dollars per pound when including expenses for his boat, insurance, tackle, fuel, licenses, etc. BUT - he loves fishing! Dove hunting is, to me, the Daytona 500 of my season. It kicks off the Fall and is tons of fun. Can't wait!

He's a troll. He was shut down on the Gun Dog Forum months ago.

Look at his post history here. Posted 40+ times in two days...and it's all bullcrap.

Hopefully the Gun Dog Forum won't mind me forwarding one of his earlier posts. Following is how you build/design a dog run. He was in Boise, ID when he posted this, so looks like he's moved to a warmer climate. I never opened link, so do so at your own risk.



Here are some ideas I have about designing dog enclosures.
Unread post by JonBailey � Wed Sep 12, 2018 10:36 pm

1. six foot-tall chain link fence with a tube that runs along the bottom to anchor the mesh so the dog doesn't push underneath in a yard about 10 feet wide by 25 feet long
2. at least one gate to the enclosure
3. a canopy about 20 feet long and as wide as the enclosure to shade more than half of it
4. a wading pool with custom drain: here is a link on how to home-roll one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhFxZ9YX9bE

5. a large galvanized water bucket with a fastener to anchor it to the chain link fence so the dogs don't tip it over: better yet have two such vessels in case one leaks
6. a insulated dog house with a thermostatically controlled radiator electric space heater inside: a thermometer on the inner wall to gauge the interior temperature: the heater should be partitioned with heavy wire mesh from where the dogs lie down so they can't touch it
7. enclosure flooring: the lightest shade of green K9Grass available for the most summertime coolness, concrete optional, both are rather expensive if you pay a contractor per square foot: in my dog yard you are looking at 250 square feet of ground cover so please do the math, this will be more expensive than the chain-link fencing job by a contractor most likely
8. electronic sonic-activated dog bark controller, battery-operated, water-proof
9. Doggie Dooley septic system
10. a 4 x 5 foot wooden sandbox to train dogs to use rather than soil their turf: this box can go over a bare ground corner of your dog run with no astro turf underneath: you might have heavy wire mesh on the bottom of the sandbox for pee to trickle through into the ground: pea gravel might work better than sand for a toilet area???
11. a fire hydrant urinal for male dogs in the toilet box

Ideally the whole enclosure should be disassemblable and transportable with no permanent posts in the ground. The astro turf should anchor to the fence at the base. This especially important if you are renting a home.

Because I just like to learn things and shoot the bull for the time being. Hunting is not within my budget right now. I just want to learn all I can until that day.

I want to hear of other's experiences. I am just expressing interest here, no crime. I like to plan well in the advance for the future. I'm not one for nasty surprises.

I have this hankering to grab a gun and go for the game but the money situation is now tight. Yes, true American wannabe here.

I'm just full of curiosity like the fabled cat that was killed by it.

Don't pay 16ga any mind.

If you feel lonely or need to chat, THF now has a 24/7 help-desk:

1-800-OXNERED

If you are looking for a low cost per pound of meat hunt, migratory bird is not for you. Maybe hog hunting on public land is a better option for you.

YES! THAT IS THE PERFECT ANALOGY!! NAILED IT!!!

Yeah me too. I hunt dove open weekend and I’m done with dove, switch to earl teal and then scouting for regular duck season.

Guy, you pick up your Teal tags yet?

Oh yeah, I’m always first in line for those, I camp out and beat all the Barneys.

I have a collection of old ones I put with my Duck Stamp collection. It was a sad day when they changed it to just an endorsement.

What kind of amateur doesn’t fill all his cinnamon tags?

I bet I hunt dove 15-20 days each year. Can't get enough of it. The best is when we do dove/teal combo hunts. I think its the social aspect of it I love so much. I did some metal roofing for Wally Marshal (Mr. Crappie) and we were talking about our passions....his is dove no contest.

I bought some off eBay a couple years ago for cheap. Still haven't used them all.

I use a stool that keeps my knees above my rear so it is easy to stand or semi stand for the first shot. Makes you much more flexible for the shot.

The post I was replying to is gone! Still good advice!

At my ranch in North West Texas I charge $75 a gun a day.
As far as recommendations on what to do
first is be safe
Second have fun
Third shoot some skeet I have 2 throwers and a bunch of skeet
Forth play around with chokes and different shots to see what you and your gun likes best.
Lastly again have fun.
Good luck to ya sir

On my leases, there are no clay shoots allowed and i am all for that.

I never understood yahoos shooting hundreds and hundreds of rounds over milo “when the birds aint flying from noon till 3 pm”

Well, duuuhhhh, they aint flying cauz it sounds like a freakin warzone.

Last year, i shot more doves during that supposably “no fly time hour” slot.

SJ do you still noodle for Teal runners if they try to escape?