Comments on: Dove hunting – For or against it?

By: Ret. Sgt.

Ret. Sgt. — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:40:57 +0000

For game birds, there isn’t much on them so you need to be a decent shot and it will still cost a bit. I am not that good of a wing shot so I might use a box of shells to get a few birds that wouldn’t stuff my belly.

It is really a good sport though with the benefit of some good eating especially if you are a good shot.

The state will make money on it with license fees and plenty on ammo sales.

By: wologopher56

wologopher56 — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:23:22 +0000

Dove hunting does actually provide food to eat-you just have to bag a sufficient quantity of them, which is fine because they’ll just repopulate next year and there will still be thousands of the things.

By: Slim W

Slim W — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 02:11:16 +0000

Doves have a seasonal migration patterns and require population like any other game animal..
My state does allow hunting during the migration period.

If they weren’t hunted populations would skyrocket and disease would ensue.

They are great sport, hard to hit on the fly, and a tasty morsel in the crock pot. On a good day you can limit on doves and have a good meal for the family. Generally I only take the breast meat and leave the rest for the coyotes.

By: Scotticus maximus

Scotticus maximus — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 19:30:50 +0000

Simple answer
Doves are fun to shoot and they are good to eat.

By: atexx2

atexx2 — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 15:33:27 +0000

shoot them for food, it is illegal to waste them, now if you don’t want them after you shoot them , they can always be donated to a needy family.

By: Josh T

Josh T — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:00:52 +0000

Yes dove hunting is ok. I have ate dove and its not to bad. I take the breast and wrap in bacon and season with lemon peper or whatever wanted put tooth pick through to hold bacon in place and put pineapple chunks on the ends. Take quit a few to have a meal though, but its good.
I dont know what state you live in but maybe ad another deer season to the year or something like that. Like muzzleload or handgun. Or maybe allow all hunter to be able to have a crossbow and make it be a seperate type of tag from the bow tag. It might draw in more money possibly. Our sate also in the spring and fall lets trout loose in certain ponds etcc so everyone can have a chance at trout. We have to buy a trout stamp to take them though.

By: t_town.roadhunter

t_town.roadhunter — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:14:32 +0000

I have personally never encountered anyone who did NOT eat the doves they killed. With a daily limit of 15 and a group of 4 hunters, dove breasts with fried eggs and hot sauce makes more than a meal for everyone and their families.

Doves are now the most numerous bird in North America. That’s right…more than sparrows, blackbirds, and starlings. It is estimated that 70% of doves die each year of natural causes, and that hunting, therefore, has no measurable effect on future dove population numbers.

That is, it’s a scientific fact that most of the doves that are shot each year would have died that winter from natural causes anyway.
When you combine this with their rapid reproduction cycle (normally 2-3 broods per year) you have an animal that can be hunted with no discernible environmental impact.

The one and only reason I have heard that could be construed as a valid argument for NOT shooting doves is that by doing so in the fall, hunters are reducing the number of prey birds available for predators, such as Cooper’s Hawks and Bobcats.

By: Tennessee

Tennessee — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 20:47:26 +0000

Doves are great. They are rather simple to clean just pull the skin from their breasts and then cut each breast out. Then cut each breast in half if they are good sized birds and wrap with bacon and a jalapeno and grill. This is some of the best dark meat poultry you can eat.

We eat every bird we harvest.

By: armysapper87th

armysapper87th — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 06:59:05 +0000

Ive hunted dove plenty of time and always take them home to eat they are really easy to defeather and clean so I love it. Plus those little suckers are fun to try and shoot.

By: MR. T.

MR. T. — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 10:29:39 +0000

I am for it, and our state allows it. I have come to the conclusion that Dove hunting is the most fun you can have with a shotgun. It really gets you practiced up for the other bird hunts that follow. YES I eat them too. It’s not as bad as you think about the cleaning part either.
I fillet the breast off the bone and get 2 nice bite sized pieces of meat per bird. Our limit is 15 so that makes 30 pieces of meat if you limit out. plenty for a meal. They can be fixed many ways, but I like them flour battered and fried the best.