Apparently, I suck at dove hunting

Just by reading your post I can tell you that you shot behind every bird If you were trying to use a sustained lead.

In shot gunning I have found that most people who shoot wild birds have to allow their brains to do the math to place the shot on target......shoot reflex in other words;-)

The problem is a bird is never moving the same speed or angle every time like a clay is. In clay shooting you can train your body for a sustained lead as you know the path and speed of your target.

I would get out and set shoot some clay's again but this time practice by pulling the gun up after the clay is in the air, make sure you make solid contact with your butt stock to your shoulder, don't look at your bead or rib and swing the barrel through your target while not trying to guess a lead, keep your head down and pull the trigger.

As soon as you start getting a few breaks your mind and body will get the correct information it needs to start doing the math to put your shot on target. At this point you just need to do your part, condition your body for proper foot placement, smooth mount to your face, keeping your head down and then don't over think things. In shooting your biggest enemy is yourself and overthinking why you missed.

Thanks for the input! Lots to think about, but I'll try not to over think it. Responses below:

brendo said:

They say 7 shots per dove killed is the national average haha. They are fast and hard to hit. How far were the shots?

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Yeah I'm definitely pushing that average up. Most shots were around 30-40 yards. I may have been pushing it on the longer shots. I was using a modified choke.

Fowlmouth said:

Start hunting ducks. If you think doves are fast wait until you get a flock of teal bombing in.

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I'd love to start on ducks. I just got my own shotgun this year and want to get in on as much wing shooting as I can. Unfortunately I'm over budget on hunting this year already and also have no idea what I'm doing in duck hunting.

hamernhonkers said:

Just by reading your post I can tell you that you shot behind every bird If you were trying to use a sustained lead.

In shot gunning I have found that most people who shoot wild birds have to allow their brains to do the math to place the shot on target......shoot reflex in other words;-)

The problem is a bird is never moving the same speed or angle every time like a clay is. In clay shooting you can train your body for a sustained lead as you know the path and speed of your target.

I would get out and set shoot some clay's again but this time practice by pulling the gun up after the clay is in the air, make sure you make solid contact with your butt stock to your shoulder, don't look at your bead or rib and swing the barrel through your target while not trying to guess a lead, keep your head down and pull the trigger.

As soon as you start getting a few breaks your mind and body will get the correct information it needs to start doing the math to put your shot on target. At this point you just need to do your part, condition your body for proper foot placement, smooth mount to your face, keeping your head down and then don't over think things. In shooting your biggest enemy is yourself and overthinking why you missed.

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Sounds like some good advice. when shooting clays I currently don't start with my gun on my shoulder because I won't have it that way when hunting. I really don't care if I'm breaking clays if it's not helping me get ready for hunting. I think I'll work on your suggestions and also move to a full choke when practicing too. If I can consistently dust clays with a full it can only help if I go back to a modified for birds right?

Jmgardner said:

being that I'm from not very far from where you're hunting, i can tell you about 4:30 or 5 is really when they fly. so thats not your fault. and also around that swan creek area there are thousands of acres of corn farms so if you're not in corn, you're at a further disadvantage because there is so much readily available food.

as far as your shooting, i used to be very happy with myself if i could get 5 birds per box. you're not far off that in your ratio. just my thoughts though

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Yeah I wanted to stay longer, but I had some family stuff I had to attend to. I'm planning on going out again Saturday, but It'll be later for sure; we'll probably go at three and stay till dark.

I actually hunted the Piney Chapel Fire and Rescue fund raiser shoot this last Saturday. It was near Swan Creek but not actually in the WMA. They were on a huge corn field that had been shelled the week before. This next Saturday I'm debating between going to the fund raiser shoot again or going to Swan Creek. SC might be a little less crowded and there are quite a few fields that have been planted in corn and have been/will soon be harvested.

I struggled my last time out as well, Partially because I have a new gun and partially because I haven't practiced enough. I have been watching videos on better shotgunning and picked up some tips. Practice a perfect mount in the mirror everyday (Leave your wife out of this and just use the shotgun:grin also It was suggested earlier in the thread to mount the gun firmly to your shoulder, While its good to do this always mount the gun to your face first and in the exact spot every time and then seat against your shoulder. Watch some youtube videos and they can explain it well. Also if the shotgun is not fitted it could throw your shots off dramatically. I intend to take the new gun out and do some patterning and I bought a franchi so it came with some stock shims to adjust if needed. In my opinion, if you don't have private land access its harder to find the doves than it is to shoot them! so you already have the hardest part figured out. This is my first year actively pursuing them and i'm hooked its so much fun!!

brendo said:

I struggled my last time out as well, Partially because I have a new gun and partially because I haven't practiced enough. I have been watching videos on better shotgunning and picked up some tips. Practice a perfect mount in the mirror everyday (Leave your wife out of this and just use the shotgun:grin also It was suggested earlier in the thread to mount the gun firmly to your shoulder, While its good to do this always mount the gun to your face first and in the exact spot every time and then seat against your shoulder. Watch some youtube videos and they can explain it well. Also if the shotgun is not fitted it could throw your shots off dramatically. I intend to take the new gun out and do some patterning and I bought a franchi so it came with some stock shims to adjust if needed. In my opinion, if you don't have private land access its harder to find the doves than it is to shoot them! so you already have the hardest part figured out. This is my first year actively pursuing them and i'm hooked its so much fun!!

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Thanks for the tip. I looked up some things about "properly" mounting a shotgun quickly, but for whatever reason I didn't think about checking Youtube. One of the drills I've been trying is to look at something across the room, close my eyes, mount the gun without moving my head, and open my eyes. At first the shotgun was always off where I was looking. But, I have been practicing every night, and I've gotten much better at having my weapon pointed where I'm looking.

I know what you're talking about it being addicting. It was my first time and all I can think about is going out again. If all wing shooting is this fun, I may sell my rifles and go buy more shotguns and decoys... Well probably not but I'll definitely be spending a higher percentage of my hunting budget on chasing birds.