Sitting Dove shot?

So a dove or two land on a fence, in a tree, or on a highline....shoot or don't shoot?

Depends on how hungry I am and how good the birds are flying.

In range their done ✅

In my younger days Skillet Shots were not in my vocabulary!

Definitely depends on how difficult limits are to get that day.

Take a few steps, line em up, and pull the trigger every time. Likewise I have no problem with shooting ducks on the water.

Heck no, always flying. I will let my kiddos do it though.

Flying for me.

If my kiddo or a younger hunter/my wife was there I would absolutely let them at it. If not I would absolutely blast them myself. Sooner I get my limit of dove the sooner I can just enjoy a cold one and conversation with friends/family.

Growing up, The men I hunted with believed it was bad form to shoot one unless it was flying. I continue to subscribe to that belief.

To me hunting is not a sport, it is a way of life and a way to collect your own food. The difficulty of the shot is moot to me.

boom

Gotta practice for turkey season somehow.

I never get close enough to shoot them while on a limb. They always fly first. Maybe that's because I run at them screaming "die you miserable bird, die!" but I'm not sure. It could be my lack of magnetic personality.

flush them up then shoot them while flying.

Same for me. When my son got big enough to join us, I passed the same along to him. Along with the understanding if he did not posses the prowess to take them on the wing, I would help him work on his game.

Never on a highline.

Last year the only time I got to go I had one dove land in a liveoak about 40 yards out. He was the only dove I saw in ~3 hours. He actually stayed about 30 minutes before taking off. I was hoping he would call and attract some others but it was nasty hot and nothing was flying. For some reason he got a pass but that is rare.

"highline" as in power line? I thought we weren't supposed to shoot power lines.

Absolutely not! That is like fishing with electricity.

haven't had to resort to skillet shooting yet. Unlike redchevy, its all for fun to me.

As long as its legal, I got no problem with anyone doing it.

If its legal and safe go for it. A limit is a limit.

No sense in letting the ice melt first... If he is sitting in range, I have already missed 3 times! Time to die and wrap with bacon.

But no on power lines since I have known a few to get popped so those get a scare first. Rancher without power ain't happy!!

With rare exception....on the wing.

That is actually what I do instead of the skillet shot. I want my dog(s) to see the flush.

Yep same here, taught on the fly. But i have noticed, cant taste the difference between em!!

fence/tree yes I will sometimes shoot them. Power line no as that is considered private property and power companies and phone companies do not give permission to shoot there. if you do not believe me ask a game warden. I actually had wondered about that and learned the law on it at Hunters Ed instructor training.

sitting in a tree or in a fence that is on property you have the rights to hunt on without the shot going onto other property just like a bullet when shot t a deer

Sitting, with a BB gun
On the wing, with a shotgun

I like to line up 15 and get a limit with one shot.

One yahoo, 5 yrs ago, on my lease, shot doves from what he believed was a power line, a fiber optic line, across the road to top it off. The whole hood lost the cowboys game. Thank God he is no longer on the lease

I have to say that I'm surprised by the poll results thus far.

X2

Agree. I was always under the impression that it was illegal to shoot a stationary migratory bird.

When I started the poll I expected a 70/30 split against....

Uh no, just off a utility if you bust it. Well maybe not illegal, but very expensive. Ducks on the water..

I remember early on in my hunting days I have these thoughts of only shooting dove on the wing. 25 shots later you only have a bird or two. One lands on the fence next to you. Convinced your barrel is bent you raise the muzzle and nail him. Then you are convinced you really just suck!! Always good to set the record straight sometimes.

99% of the time I will scare it first though.

You should never ever shoot a duck swimming on the water. I always wait until they stop moving and then shoot.

My late uncle didn't think a dove was worth a single shotgun shell unless you lined at least 5 up on a fence and skillet shot them!

Makes no difference to me, on a fence, in a tree or on the ground. Quail are no different, the less shots fired the better. Pop and I would go out with one box of shells between us, whoever had the most birds at 12 rounds got the extra round. I was the dove stalker, 7 in one shot was my best. 8 in one was my best on quail. Sneaking over tank dams and popping ducks was another favorite.

I shoot'um flying...but have taken an extra shot while they're on the ground. Sometimes, it's too dang hot to chase a cripple across the field!