On my way home from work yesterday I decided it's been too long since I've seen dove feathers float softly from the sky. I stopped at the house grabbed a shotgun and whatever shells were left in my bird belt from last year and hit the road.
Normally it's a half hour drive to my favorite tank, just not this day. A car crash blocked one of the 2 eastbound lanes and I was stuck in the traffic for 30 minutes.
Once I got past the wreck I contemplated giving up and heading home. The angel on my shoulder said, "maybe it's a sign from god, if you press on something bad is sure to happen." The little devil on my other shoulder said, "F-that noise, fortune favors the bold. Step on the gas, we need fresh grilled dove breast in our belly tonight!"
Dove hunting and grilling are two of my favorite things so I pressed on. Once I turned off the highway my little Rav-4 did it's best impression of a trophy truck as we raced the setting sun to the tank.
The Rav got me there with 20 minutes to spare. I was relieved to find the water level of the tank was 4ft. lower than the two previous years which meant some of the surrounding tanks would be dry and the birds would be more likely to hit this one.
It wasn't long before birds started dipping and diving their way into the tank and my shotgun started barking. I made two beautiful long passing shots followed by lots of UGLY misses and a few easy shots.
By the time the sun slipped below the horizon and it was time to call it quits I had six mourning doves in my bag, 3 shells left in my pocket and lost half a pint of blood to the mosquitos.
I'm glad I listened to the devil on my shoulder when I was stuck in traffic, this turned out to be a great kick-off to the fall hunting season.
Normally it's a half hour drive to my favorite tank, just not this day. A car crash blocked one of the 2 eastbound lanes and I was stuck in the traffic for 30 minutes.
Once I got past the wreck I contemplated giving up and heading home. The angel on my shoulder said, "maybe it's a sign from god, if you press on something bad is sure to happen." The little devil on my other shoulder said, "F-that noise, fortune favors the bold. Step on the gas, we need fresh grilled dove breast in our belly tonight!"
Dove hunting and grilling are two of my favorite things so I pressed on. Once I turned off the highway my little Rav-4 did it's best impression of a trophy truck as we raced the setting sun to the tank.
The Rav got me there with 20 minutes to spare. I was relieved to find the water level of the tank was 4ft. lower than the two previous years which meant some of the surrounding tanks would be dry and the birds would be more likely to hit this one.
It wasn't long before birds started dipping and diving their way into the tank and my shotgun started barking. I made two beautiful long passing shots followed by lots of UGLY misses and a few easy shots.
By the time the sun slipped below the horizon and it was time to call it quits I had six mourning doves in my bag, 3 shells left in my pocket and lost half a pint of blood to the mosquitos.
I'm glad I listened to the devil on my shoulder when I was stuck in traffic, this turned out to be a great kick-off to the fall hunting season.
