Dove hunting - why?

[9mmguy]

Please understand that I don't mean to attack anyone here - I am really interested in people's experience.

I just came across a website where someone went to Argentina for dove hunting and claims to have killed over a thousand birds during the event. Now, I get the idea of hunting for food or pest control, and I get the idea of hunting for sport at least to some degree. I personally wouldn't kill an animal without need, but that's just my personal choice.

What I don't get is why someone would go and kill a thousand birds. Or a couple of dozens. Dove hunters don't eat those birds, do they? So what's the appeal? Is it the challenge? Doesn't seem like a big challenge if some kid can take down a thousand on a weekend. Do people just really hate pigeons and want to get back at their cousins? Enlighten me, please.

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[samuelm16]

i know people eat them, dont know how you could eat a thousand though haha, when i lived in AZ along the colorado river during dove season the river would be full of floating cleaned bird carcass it was gnarly to be swimming and have one bump into your face haha, im with ya though thrill killing is lame if ya want to shoot a moving target learn how throw clay

 

[Rascals]

First off I cant tell you why they did it but dove is so good. Do they have a dove problem? I know I have been up in Idaho 25 years ago and they were paying us to kill rabbits. Why becasue they were destroying the environment becasue of over breading becasue we got rid of the hunters who use to keep down the populations. So is there the chance thats why they are doing it? I dont know about you but its a crime to let the animals overpopulate and die of starvation. Or like I have seen in the past where the government goes in and instead of letting people get tags they just let the military go in and kill animals for fun. I can remember when I was 18 we wanted to hunt out on some of the Catalina islands but they would not let us buy tags and go out and harvest the meat. No they went out and with M16 killed all the game in 1 weekend to a tune of over 16,000 animals they could of used the meat but no they let them rot. I thought 16,000 big game in a weekend was a travesty but they said it was OK.

 

[DieselScout]

I get the idea of hunting for food or pest control,

That is the reason right there. Doves are referred to by farmers as a plague and will destroy entire crops in one night. So not only are you defending the local food crop, and the local farmers, you are also stimulating the local economy. It's an all around win-win for the locals.

 

[Mark W.]

exact same reasom people hunt sage rats (Beldings ground squirrels) crop damage. And I wouldn't be surprised if the majority of those birds shot in Argentina were eaten. Maybe not by the hunter but by the guide and his family or the farmer family etc. Just like when someone like The Trump boys shoot an Elephant in Africa. The Trophy comes home with the hunter and the meat goes to the village.

That said I have hunted doves here and yes we eat them.

 

[.40cal EMT]

Ever had squab? Yeah that is dove/pigeon! And I think for some reason up here 580 is the may you can take on a day.

 

[PaulZ]

As A child I went to Sunset Beach, Ca to visit uncle Bill; There was a place across the highway with thousands of shells and as many pelicans and seagulls. I have no idea why this was going on; but I felt the waste and indeed the SIN of
doing such a thing.

 

[Rascals]

As A child I went to Sunset Beach, Ca to visit uncle Bill; There was a place across the highway with thousands of shells and as many pelicans and seagulls. I have no idea why this was going on; but I felt the waste and indeed the SIN of
doing such a thing.

Well some of us enjoy sinning. Hope that helps.

 

[joken]

Doves eat grain and because of their numbers do a lot of crop damage. A pest that can fly 45 mph and is tasty sounds like a lot of fun to me.

 

[Jamie6.5]

Dove is delicious.
Most dove hunting can be done in "shirt sleeve" weather, unlike duck, geese etc., which is best when the weather is REALLY crappy.
Dove loads tend to be pretty light loads with less recoil than a goose load, perfect for tuning up your fall wing-shooting.
Doves are small, fast and make challenging targets on the wing.

As a shotgunner, I always found that if we made a few trips out for doves in September, our percentage of hits on pheasant, ducks and geese went up later in the fall/winter.

As for why anyone would shoot a thousand, that definitely sounds like pest control/crop protection, but it could be fun as well, and may be providing food for the less fortunate in the local communities.
Sounds like it could be a win-win-win.

 

[Dunerunner]

As Uncle Ted said when they were discussing banning Dove hunting in his home State because so many birds had to be killed to make a meal, "If Dove are too small for food, they had better take shrimp off the menu!"

 

[Spitpatch]

The Argentine dove "hunts" (actually "shoots" in my evaluation) result in very little wastage, as the meat goes to the local community (and, yes, the birds are considered to be a depredation factor upon crops in the area).

I have a bigger problem with some of the goose hunts I see take place on the Outdoor Channel, where the "TAKE 'EM BOYS!" crowd knocks down 50-100 geese in one show, and there is never a mention as to what is done with all that meat. I suspect lack of mention might translate to lack of attention.

 

[Dunerunner]

Number one rule of hunting......You eat what you kill!

Drummed into me since I was a kid.

 

[jbett98]

Number one rule of hunting......You eat what you kill!

Drummed into me since I was a kid.

You might not want to go sage rat hunting then.

 

[cetme]

some folks just like to kill.....!

 

[Redcap]

Number one rule of hunting......You eat what you kill!

Drummed into me since I was a kid.

Going to eat possum, raccoon or coyote?

 

[gunnails]

My Dad made me eat a carp once, because once I reeled it in I threw it back out and reeled it in 2 more times, twas like eating mud.

Years ago we had a farmer that would let us hunt birds on his property, his only demand was that before we started we would kill as many pigeons in his barn as possible. We never ate the pigeons.

Tried dove hunting, they were to much work to clean for the meat we got, and the dogs hated retrieving them, so I gave up on dove hunting.

 

[Redcap]

There are a great many things I shoot and kill, yet have zero desire to eat. Moles, feral cats, nutria, rats, field mice, the neighbor's dogs, voles, starlings...of course possum, raccoon and coyote as well. Crows just aren't worth the trouble to clean (much like dove), but I hunt them anyway.

 

[Dunerunner]

OK, you can add to that list spiders, ants, moths, flies, slugs, snails, gnats (takes too many to make a meal), grasshoppers, scorpion, and the rest with more than 4 legs! I guess it would be dependent on how hungry I was...maybe some roasted grubs or pan fried leaches, I just don't know

 

[sneakboxer]

Doves are quite tasty and easy to clean. Back in the day we could clean a limit (12) in less than five min and have them on the grill wrapped in bacon. I lived in Michigan when the Anti's banned dove hunting. If we as sportsmen/shooters can't work together our shooting and hunting rights are sure to erode. I also think all the doves killed down south go to the less fortunate in the area.