Ate some texas poppers today..YUM!

[superior]

I had the opportunity to dine on some excellent dove today. It was the first time I'd ever eaten dove and I must say, it was excellent. A friend shot them and his girlfriend smoked them over a mesquite fire, wrapped in bacon, with a jalepeno and cream cheese stuffed inside. WOW! Now I know why there are so many dove hunters around these parts. Not only are they a blast (literally) to shoot, but that had to be some of the tasties wild game, I've ever had.
I just had to tell somebody !! My hat's off to all you dove hunters out there!
I'll be joining you very soon!

[JeffinNZ]

I hear from a friend in CA that hunts in AZ that those lil guys are FAST.

[superior]

Yes they are! They dart through the air with the skill of a stunt-pilot and are very challenging to hit. I'm told to bring an ample supply of shells, as most shots will be misses.

[x101airborne]

I shoot skeet a lot and also some trap and I still only hit about 65%. The one thing that has helped me hit more is only allowing one shot per pass. It allows me to concentrate more on cheek weld, leade, sight picture, squeeze, and follow through. If you can follow that dove all the way to the ground after shooting, you are ready for multiple shots. Until then, winchester appreciates the business!!

And that is the ONLY way to cook dove!! Enjoy!

[EMC45]

I have went twice. I stink at it! It is huge here in GA though.

[HodakaGA]

Superior, that does sound good! We usually just wrap in bacon and grill or fry 'em up then make milk gravy with the drippins and eat with white rice. Makes FINE gravy.

[W.R.Buchanan]

It took me 4 years to get my first dove 35 years ago and it was on a wire. As soon as that happened I started hitting them and the last time I went hunting I got my limit with 11 shots.

Now I shoot skeet now and they don't have a chance. However they are one of the hardest birds to hit there is. I have friends who shoot .410's and limit with 10 shells, but a 12 or a 20 is better unless the birds are real close.

Once you get the hang of dove shooting everything else is easy, and after shooting doves you'll never miss another Pheasant as long as you live! Dove hunting is usually not "hunting" it is more like "shooting", and it is alot of fun when there is alot of birds. My last real good shott there was 12 of us in an Avocado orchard, and everyone had their limits before 7:30 AM on opening day. They were all cooked and eaten by 10:30 am, and then we went out and did the same thing in the evening, and all of those birds were eaten by 6:30. It was a great day!

Nothing better than a good day hunting with friends!

Usually 2-4 bites on each one. Tastes like the richest Fillet Mignon you ever ate.

You must cook slow and keep them completely slathered in butter or some other kind of grease or they dry out and are useless. Do NOT over cook, as there is absolutely no fat on a dove whatsoever. They absorb other flavors well, and many wrap in bacon like Fillet Mignon for the same reason. I do garlic butter and bacon, keep salt off them until you eat them as salt makes them dry out too.

There will be big ones and small ones and you ahve to keep the small ones on the edge of the fire. You have to watch them very close because the difference bewteen success and complete failure is about 3 minutes. The meat is blood red so you can't rely on it changing colors as a measure of doneness, just temp.

Keep em' greasy and you'll eat like Kings!

Over cook, and feed em to the dogs.

Randy