Loading for doves

[Hogtamer]

A good dove shoot is about as much fun as a fellow can have, and the fun starts next Saturday. Also a smoked dove is my all time favorite food so I'm loading for mext weekend. When powder was so hard to come by the only thing I could find was 700x so wound up with 8 lbs. Never used the stuff and was surprised that 1 1/8 oz loads in tapered hulls are pretty high pressure. Finally dug up a 19.5 grn 700x load with a W209 primer in straight wall and WAA12 wads that will do nicely. Pretty close to Win Super X and Rem Sure shot loads. Longshot is my favorite late season powder but just don't need 1450 fps recoil, about the slowest you can move 1 1/8 oz with that powder.

[6pt-sika]

700X is pretty big with trap and skeet shooters . I have a bunch of friends that use or used it , I tried it for awhile when I used an 1100 in the 12 gauge skeet event but found it a little dirty for an auto loader .

[Leslie Sapp]

I just bought a bunch of Rem gun club hulls from Elfego Baca, with the intent to load up some fast #9's for just that purpose. What shot size are you loading?

[rking22]

Man, i love a dove shoot too. We cook them on the grill with 1/2 a J pepper and a wrap of bacon !!YUM!!
I shot a lot of 700X in the 70s but don't remember the loads. Hunt with a 28ga M12 mostly now, 12 only comes out for the last season when they are hi and wild with lots of feathers! Can't wait !!!

[Hogtamer]

9's early season, 8's and 7.5's later. YES to the grill, no more done than medium though! (Still pink toward the middle.)

[Taylor]

It opens Tuesday here,hopefully everybody will be at work except me.

[MarkP]

7/8 oz of 8-1/2's with the silver/grey Claybuster wad or the Downrand PINK XXL's

[Mauser48]

Yeah I bought 4 pounds of 700x about a year ago when I started loading shotgun. It works very well for me and I have also been using it in light 30-06 and 38 special. Im using 16.5 grains in a 1 oz load with a claybuster tgt-12 replacement wad and gun club and sts hulls. Its a real nice load. I have found for me that 1-1/8 ounce loads are unnecessary. Especially because most of my shotguns are 30 inch barrel full choke. Good luck hunting!

[Mauser48]

A good dove shoot is about as much fun as a fellow can have, and the fun starts next Saturday. Also a smoked dove is my all time favorite food so I'm loading for mext weekend. When powder was so hard to come by the only thing I could find was 700x so wound up with 8 lbs. Never used the stuff and was surprised that 1 1/8 oz loads in tapered hulls are pretty high pressure. Finally dug up a 19.5 grn 700x load with a W209 primer in straight wall and WAA12 wads that will do nicely. Pretty close to Win Super X and Rem Sure shot loads. Longshot is my favorite late season powder but just don't need 1450 fps recoil, about the slowest you can move 1 1/8 oz with that powder.

What is your method for smoking the dove? That sounds great! I looked it up online and all I could find was people bacon wrapping them and bbq them. Do you just breast them? I have a big chief smoker ...

[Hogtamer]

Yes, just pop the breasts. My general purpose marinade for red meat game is (more or less according to amount): 2 ltr botle of DR . Pepper or Coca Cola; 1/3 cup salt; 2 Tbls each of granulated garlic, onion powder and black pepper; 1/4 cup each of Worsestershire and Texas Pete hot sauce. Use enough marinade to completely submerge and leave overnight in fridge if possible and begin with the ingredients room temperature and mix well so salt dissolves. This creates a brine (osmosis) that moves the flavors into the meat and the blood out. The sugars in the soda enhances the natural sweetness of the game but doesn't cover the natural flavor. You can grill it over coals to medium rare brushing with butter occasionally or smoke it slowly. Game quickly gets tough as there is no engrained fat, thus the butter or bacon as fat component to keep moist. I prefer a stuffed and bacon wrapped Jalapeno on the side as the game is so naturally flavorful it's a shame to cover it up. Deer loin or backstrap is also excellent in this fashion. NEVER overcook game till all the color is gone!!! Sound culinary principles at work here...

[Mauser48]

Thanks for the recipe! Dove season here is september 1-15 for the early season so I will definitely have to go now!

[Firebricker]

Just a few hours till dove time !
Hogtamer I think I am going to try your method this year. Makes sense and sounds good thanks for posting it. FB

[Crawdaddy]

Going out Friday through Monday. I'm headed to the Santa Theresa border crossing. Doves are usually thick there as long as there are cattle in the stock pens.

My 3 an 9 year old GSP's seem to know it is time. They see me getting everything ready. They are whining and barking, running around the yard looking for birds. The older one will be disappointed, last year was his last. Just doesn't have it in him anymore. The 3 year old is the best retriever I have ever had, that is as long as she doesn't have to swim. A natural, took me all of a day to get her to do it, and one hunting trip to understand what to do after you shoot a bird.

I had 4 pounds of Blue Dot I used with 6, 7 and 8 shot. All gone now. It has worked well for me but will probably go back to TiteWad. I loaded up 725 rounds for two of us. Ok, quit laughing, I touch a shotgun twice a year. I'm definitely better with a pistol and rifle.

One of my favorite dove recipes:

Split dove breast
Put a jalapeño in the center. Substitute green chile if you like.
Fill with cream cheese
Wrap with bacon
Pin with a tooth pick.
Bake on the gas grill. Or charcoal grill

Another is to dice up a pound of breasts and put in your favorite Chili recipe.

[runfiverun]

woah 700.
I take a box.


I like 2 different loads.
one is 1-1/16th OZ #8's pushed along to 1145 fps, and the other is
3 dram 1200 fps 1-1/8 OZ of 7-1/2's.
that's my field load for grouse and pheasants and such too.
I might break out a handful of #6 shot loads for the bigger pine and sharp tail grouse which will weigh 5-6 pounds.

when shooting rough grouse you can usually get pretty close to them so a 1-OZ load of #8's at 1100 fps will easily do the job.
doves/starlings coming into water will drop to this load quite easily and is easier for me to shoot off [left] handed when necessary.

[Crawdaddy]

woah 700.
I take a box.

.

I am hunting 200 miles from home and they are for two of us plus there will be two others coming that may or may not be prepared. It is for a four day hunt. Don't want to count on Wally World having them. Hopefully will come back with a bunch.

But the truth be told my wing shooting is sub par. I just don't practice like I need to.

I can't wait to get out there. Two more days.

[JWFilips]

Early season: I like soft & wide with a post wad if you can find them any more ...W/ # 9 shot
Two weeks & you have your full season! Good eating!

[Mauser48]

I am hunting 200 miles from home and they are for two of us plus there will be two others coming that may or may not be prepared. It is for a four day hunt. Don't want to count on Wally World having them. Hopefully will come back with a bunch.

But the truth be told my wing shooting is sub par. I just don't practice like I need to.

I can't wait to get out there. Two more days.

Given those circumstances 700 rounds isn't out of the question. If you go to Argentina for a week or a little over you bring several thousand.

[runfiverun]

I was imagining a rolling cart being pushed [snicker] through a cut wheat field...
a couple of buddies and 4 day's changes the picture considerably.

I got no room to talk about shooting skills, I missed one landing on a fence post yesterday.
[glad no one was there to see it]
made the next 6 shots without a miss then went home.....pretty good day for Idaho.

[Crawdaddy]

Sounds like a good day.

My best was 15 birds with 13 shots but that was back when I hunted every day during dove season.

I tripled on one. Only time that ever happened. Had a witness too!

Headed down south in 3 hours. Will be in the field late afternoon.

Btw I like the rolling cart idea

[Firebricker]

We did not see a lot of birds compared to normal but still got five opening day. And have zero intention of ever admitting how many time I shot LOL. FB