It would be great to also have a beginner's guide to hunting Deer, Elk, etc... It's been hard trying to get into hunting for the first time as an adult.
Super late comment and incredibly long comment but yea I agree with Aaron a lot of ppl overthink and over complicate hunting. People analyze the moon cycles and shit imo it’s just not needed. You just have to go out for hike in an area and scout it out look for sign (rubs, scrapes, scat, tracks and food/water sources) setting up game cams at food sources and water sources or on game trails that you might find while scouting an area can also help u find a pattern and see what animals are in the area and at what time they are most active. Other than that the only other thing to think about is choosing an ethical caliber for what your going after. Also remember lots of animals have a good sense of smell so keep the wind direction in mind when setting up a stand/blind or when stalking u never want the animal down wind of you. I would also recommend just watching RU-vid videos of people hunting in your area or in the same climate u plan to hunt in and seeing what their strategies are. I recently moved from NY to NV and it’s a whole different style of hunting out here I’m having to learn some new tricks which is the one the greatest parts of hunting as there is always something new to learn and perfect. Hope some of this advice can help land u a trophy animal or at least punch some of your tags. However the best tip I could ever give a new hunter is find someone more experienced to go hunting with as they will keep you from making the stupid newbie mistakes we’ve all made at some point in our life.
brochacho...I know this video took a ton of time for you to make. THANK YOU so much for everything you put into this video. Really helps someone like me who wants to get into this with a comprehensive overview of everything involved. Thank you again for taking the time to do this.
Thank you! Too many times people don’t want to pass down any information. Then the sport fades away and goes extinct due to not enough interest or people fighting to preserve it. You win the battle but lose the war. Thank you encouraging the beginners to try.
Dad bought me a 20ga when I was 10 and I've been using 20's almost 50 years. My wife tried my old Ithaca 200E sxs, lost that gun... Bought my daughter a Berretta 686 o/u, she loves it, I can't use that one either! Maybe, one day, I'll have a nice shotgun too! LOL! Great video!
I prefer a 20 to a 12 all day, everyday. Lighter recoil and less pellets to pick out of small game. Can still drop a deer with no problem. I have more than one of both, but my go to is the 20.
Pop shot a model 12- 12ga full choke, mom had a model 48 Remington 16ga, mod choke, my brother had a 20ga Ithaca, full choke and I had a model 12-16ga, full choke. How did we ever shoot so many doves, pheasants, quail and ducks with all this outdated rigging? Hell, we didnt even wear fancy razzu camo clothes. Just a good ol' folding stool and a harvested safflower field around Dos Palos Ca. We had a grain business in Los Banos and enjoyed some of the finest bird hunting California had to offer. I personally liked Panoche Valley the best. Cheers and good luck!
@@jamesthegr8100 Mine is a 1958 vintage. My older brother passed it down to me in 1974 when our dad passed away. He said the 12 guage was too big for me. I was 10 he was 27.
Thank you for the video, Im just getting into dove hunting and after watching numerous videos you basically covered everything from beginning to end on what to do and not to do. I should of just watch this video first tbh.
Awesome video, really well organized and helpful for the casual hunter. Appreciate you covering stuff like the wounded bird chapter. Most hunting channels really seem to avoid topics like that even though it’s a really common situation for a newer hunter to find themselves in.
Thank you for video. Just picked up a remington 870 i live in LA now but ill be going back to central valley california (visalia) to start dove hunting
Great stuff, as usual. I don't understand why you don't have at least 10 times more subs, but if that keeps your channel free of ads and BS content, so be it.
I would suggest not changing chokes. Pick one little tighter choke that will work for your maximum range and get good with it. That way you wound less bird, as you get a good hit or a clean miss.
Horrible advice. I run the choke that my ammo likes when I pattern it. If you don't do this, you are cheating yourself. There is no such thing as a "one size fits all" choke when it comes to the patterning board.
@@desertdogoutdoors1113 I use a kicks high flyer xfull in a Stoeger m3500 never had a single shell not shot straight. I average 2-3 shots per bird. The smallest choke I would use is a mod. Must people use a longer range choke I never see anyone use a skeet choke dove hunting in my life.
@@jonathancarpenter9511 If you paid attention to the video, the skeet choke was recommended for steel shot; which shoots a tighter pattern than lead ( a skeet with steel is the same as IC with lead)
As someone thats just getting into small game hunting, i really like to find a vid like this. Great generalized info to be a good starting point to start from. Thx for posting a long form vid like this.
I decided to expand from deer, hogs and Predator hunting this year. Prolly because I got a great deal on a good quality bird gun. Went hunting Friday night and saw lots of dove. Of course if I looked right the birds came from the left and vice versa. Did not bag any and decided to get some edumacation into the sport. Great Vid!
Hey brother, can't thank you enough for your video! Going out for my first time this Friday, and this helped put me at ease. This is good quality information presented in an easy-to-understand manner. Can't wait for my first dove hunt now! Going to have to try out your popper recipe also 🔥👍
Amazing guide. I didn't have a dad in my life as a kid so I didn't get raised with this. Looking to begin this tradition so my boys have something to look forward to and remember me with.
I like and own both, and can't really complain because they are the same company. My main waterfowl gun is a Benelli M2 and that thing is built like a tank; I will never sell that gun. I also had problems with my Browning A5 and light loads. It made me realize that gas guns are probably better for light loads than inertia guns, and Beretta makes the best gas guns. I have been using my A400 for a year and it has been flawless, BUT the wife was stealing it, so I got her an A400 Upland and she is happy (NOW I want to steal her shotgun). I have since sold my A5 and Super Black Eagle.
Excellent video. I'm not new to dove hunting, but I really enjoyed this video, and picked up several pointers that I had never even considered. I wished I had seen this years ago. Great job!
In my own personal experience being here in Oregon. Dove hunting doesn’t seem that popular. They’re overwhelmingly on private land (which I have some access to), but then they can be found on local wildlife refuges where hunting is permitted. I think the limit for mourning dove is 15 a day. I’ve been having so much fun going after them and there doesn’t seem to be much competition. Also we have Eurasian Collard Doves which can be hunted year round as they are an invasive species. I’ve taken those with a shotgun, Jeep, Uzi and slingshot. I prefer them generally because they’re bigger.
My first real dove hunt in 1991, I shot roughly 35 to 1, and got 7 birds, I think my neighbor gave me one of his because I was such a horrible shot. Love the video DD.
I remember my best friend's dad getting mad when we "borrowed" some of his ammo, went out to a field near the house, and shot an entire flat of his shells and only had 9 doves between us to show for it. I swear the doves were smarter back then.
Is difficult to keep people for 55 minute looking a video, but this one is a very good one. Thanks for the video. What area do you recommend for hunting in northern ca?
I have never hunted dove in the northern part of the state, but any agricultural area in the central valley and most of the sierra foothills are good areas.
Damn DD I'm an old dude and I loved this video, another one professionally and expertly done. Your never to old to learn especially with great instructors. Thank you.
28:50 to 30:31 HOW MANY TIMES DID THE DOVE GET TOUCHED???? Wow show about my possession - THIS IS MY BIRD, DON'T TOUCH IT, So funny ----- touch that bird. Watch me touch the DOVE my DOVE mine all mine funny so funny
I love the remmy 1100, I have 2 of them and a selection of barrels from 26" skeet to 30" extra full choke, mostly I use the later for wood pigeon shooting here in the uk, 30g or 1 and 1/16 oz Lead shot, just over 200 is my best bag over decoys have you tried using a pigeon magnet, not sure if they are legal in the US, they arent as effective as they used to be over here but somewhere where they have never been used you will not believe how the birds decoy ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-rjJcE0G9RD4.html
Thank you very much for such a good video. This is exactly what a new hunter needed to prepare for my first dove hunt. I could see it took a ton of work. Cheers!
Its almost dove season!!! Decided to watch this just for a refresher and prep for our opener. Enjoyed the in depth video and cant wait for a few of the dove poppers. I have a 5 month old lab, but he wont be ready for hunting season this year. Going to save the wings this year though for training purposes.
Again, this is the best and most informative California hunting channel ever! Thank you Desert Dog! So I’ve been hunting dove (and every other type of game) every year now for 43 years. The last 26 years I upland and big game hunted with a good friend of mine that was a resident California game warden (now retired) in a certain area of the state, so talk about our “honey holes!” Few things… when hunting private land in Cali, make sure you have WRITTEN PERMISSION in your possession in California! Wardens will ask you for that and it’s in the F&G code. Avoid a ticket! Second point, when seated and waiting for dove, when you see them, SHUT UP and DONT MOVE too soon! Let them come closer to you. Countless times I’ve hunted with some other buddies that jump up right away when they see a dove approaching and/or they just don’t stop talking. This causes the dove to instantly change direction. It makes it more difficult to hunt them in that manner. Third point: Learn to identify the dove species in flight! Because the limit for white winged dove is less than mourning dove and different than Eurasian dove. An easy way my dad taught me to identify dove is look at the tail while in flight. The Mourning dove has a pointed tipped tail in flight. The white wing dove has a more squared off tail feathers and also a pretty white patch on their wings that you can see most of the time. Remember the difference with this saying: “You’ll poke your eye out and be in MOURNING with the pointed tail of a mourning dove.” The Eurasian dove is bigger and has tan colored feathers, unlike the other two types with “battleship grey” colored feathers. Also the Eurasian has a black band around its neck. 4th point: Dove decoys. They are GOLD!!! They work. I set up decoys on my own rebar fence-like stand I stick in the ground and have countless dove come in and try to land on the same piece of rebar that all my decoys are perched on. It’s like cheating! Then I’ll have one or two of the flapping wing battery operated decoys near and it really gets the dove’s attention. About chokes, personally for 12 or 20ga, I love #6 steel with a skeet choke in my bottom barrel and a Light Modified in the second (top barrel of an o/u shotgun). The wider the choke with steel, the better. Cylinder bore is too wide most times. Finally, stay HYDRATED and wear a wide brimmed hat to keep the scorching sun off of you! It can be dangerously hot! My 16 year old son started to get heat exhaustion on a Yuma dove trip once. I had to make him jump into a farmers water ditch to cool his entire body down. Gatorade is terrible! Full of sugar, use a water with electrolytes. Regular water alone won’t cut it in extreme heat. You need electrolytes (salt) in the water in that type of crazy heat.
I think this video basically covered it all. Thanks for the great info. I'm going to go try dove hunting for the first time tomorrow. Due to inexperience and lack of familiarity with the area it will probably be mostly scouting/getting an idea of what its all about, and hopefully catching a few, but either way I'm just excited its hunting season again!
When it comes to a choke, what if i have an autoloader that does not have a choke capability? I usually hunt pheasants with it. Its a Browning 1952 A5 light twelve. Can i effectively hunt without a choke
Your A5 has a fixed choke. On old Browning shotguns, the choke markings are usually found on the inside left of the barrel. * designates full choke (F). *- designates improved modified choke (IM). ** designates modified choke (M). **- designates improved cylinder choke (IC). **$ designates skeet (SK). *** designates cylinder bore (CYL).
This is very informative and helpful video for beginners like me. Thank you! One question, do wild doves eat the seeds of wild sunflowers? Thanks again.
YES! wild sunflower and safflower seeds are like candy to doves. When the sunflowers dry out and die, the seeds fall to the ground and the doves go crazy for it.
"No one is going to tell you there honey holes" Usually correct, but a lot of dudes will at least point you in the direction of somewhere you can get a few birds. It's definitely worth asking. I've charmed my way into fishing some pretty loaded farm ponds more than once.
Excellent dove hunting video. Dove hunting is a really big event here in Alabama also. Lots of private and public hunts. Our conservation department puts on dove hunts where an adult can bring a young person and hopefully get them involved in the outdoors and hunting. And as you showed it's some good eating.
Yep, the American hunting population is getting old. I would like to see more young people get involved and absorb the wealth of knowledge that the older guys have. Guys that really have a lot of hunting wisdom are dying off with nobody to pass the knowledge on to. Seems like nowadays if you put a gun in a kids hands to teach him to hunt, people want to call child protective services.
Got any general advice for a new dove hunter trying to get his 8 year old son into it? He's interested and excited but wondering how to keep him interested if he's not able to hit many doves, if he hits any at all! We drew a junior only hunt for opening day here in CA, so I'm hoping that helps and he sees lots of dove. Thanks so much for the video! I really learned a lot
Practice shooting clays. He must get down proper mount and lead. Proper mount is hard for young children because most shotguns do not fit them. It will be hard for an 8 year-old to understand lead at any given distance too. Most kids don't start hitting birds until they are about 11-12; and that's if they get a shotgun that fits them. #1 thing for an 8-year old to understand is safety; few children that age are safety conscious.
@@desertdogoutdoors1113 Thanks a ton. I appreciate all the advice! Good point about the safety thing. I've had him practice muzzle awareness by holding his BB gun (unloaded) and walk around with it as a way to help him constantly be thinking about it too.
My favorite dove gun is a Remington 1100 20 gauge Skeet B with, of course, a fixed skeet bore. I shoot the same reloads I use for skeet, 7/8 oz of #7.5 at 1145 fps. As far as patterns go, I got a story about that! Be sure to pattern a bunch of loads until you find the one that works with you barrel and choke, and then stick with it.
About 15 years ago I read an outdoor article that stated dove meat cost $11 per pound based on licensing, ammo, average shots per bird downed ( capability of the average shooter). And I complain about the cost of beef!😅
try sous vide with dove. Do the breasts at about 132 degrees for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. take them out, dry them off, and then sear them on HIGH heat for about 30seconds on each side. makes great tacos or great on their own. Season them how you like before you sous vide them
I’m super excited for my first dove hunting season here in Arizona! Thanks for the video there’s a lot of great information here! I’m in my early 20s and This will be my first hunting experience, hopefully first of many.
This video is great info For new beginners! Being a dove hunter my self hunting the Bakersfield area. Now living in east Texas I have found I have to school my self on the demographics of dove hunting east Texas finding the flight patterns food source and water. I don’t want to complicate this to much for new hunters or shot gunners. You made good key points to the ammunition. Add little more info with that subject to be specific. FPS is feet per second I look for 1255fps to 1300fps is best. Good luck to all new hunters and veteran hunters in 2022. IF IT FLYS IT DIES!!
I have a good friend that runs a field spraying operation in Bakersfield CA. We have access to hundreds of thousands of acres cut, and uncut fields. He’s going on his first hunt opening day, I’m picking up a new shotgun in October. Also, a friend of his has a feral pig problem on his property… birds and bacon 👍
"They have daily routines" Like flying into my window every morning. "Well boys, we didn't make it through the invisible barrier today. We will try again tomorrow."
In regards to wounded doves, I just pull their heads off. It's easy enough to do and pretty quick. Where I live, DNR doesnt like us field dressing our animals in the field. They don't like us leaving remains behind. I just take my dove home in a grocery bag, dress them in the sink, then tie up the remains in the grocery bag and put it in the outside trash. It's such a small animal that it's not that much of a burden on my to carry all the evidence of my presence out with me. It's also why I prefer to use my 10 gauge muzzeloader. No worry of losing a shell, and no wads left behind. What is left behind is biodegradable. I like knowing that come the next rain, there is very little evidence left behind to show that i was ever there.
The Upland has the kick-off system forward of the butt, which I think I like better than the Xplor's kick-off placement in the butt. Both function exactly the same though.
Good informations on Dove hunting. What your input on hunting the ditch around the CA Aqueduct. I heard mix review on hunter trespass and public land on the ditch.
You cannot hunt inside the fence line of the Ca Aqueduct, but you can hunt outside the fence. Like stated in the video, get the onX hunting app to verify public land. As long as you are on public land, out of most city limits, shooting in a safe and legal direction, you will be fine. The problem with the California Aqueduct is that for most of it's length, it flows through private land. You cannot line up on the outside of the fence-line and shoot birds over private land. This is where people get in trouble. The aqueduct is a favorite place for game wardens because most folks are shooting over private land without permission and don't realize it.
So I am New dove hunting I went for my first time over the weekend. I noticed a lot and I mean alot of hawks, not very many flying doves. Is this normal or are hawks not a good sign when hunting dove ?
Hawks definitely eat doves when they can ambush them, but doves are much better fliers than hawks so it's a hard meal and most doves don't seem threatened by them.
