Mourning Doves Spotlight
Dove hunting is fun , though few Dakota hunters participate . Too bad , for they know not what they miss . If you don ’ t hunt doves you ’ ll miss a lot .
Some say if you bag a half-dozen doves for every box of shells fired , you shoot about average .
Pass-shooting is the easiest way to get started , but like most hunting , it takes good scouting to pick a productive location . Watch power lines to find areas of good dove concentrations , and scan the skies for signs of doves flying in a specific direction around sundown . Those are birds going to or returning from feeding , heading to a waterhole or a roost . The trick likes in getting under their flight lanes .
If you ’ re shooting lead , 7 1 / 2 size works well , though if you shoot steel , go with No . 7 pellets . Doves fly fast ... and erratically , so if you combine speed with nifty aerial moves , it ’ s kind of like throwing a flying tackle at Barry Sanders . You ’ ll miss more often than not .
I ’ ve tried dove decoys with little success . That could mean my location was wrong . I think setting up at a waterhole would be ideal .
Doves on the Table
Doves are excellent table fare . Mike Johnson , North Dakota ’ s Game and Fish Dept . waterfowl chief , once passed along a recipe I use each September . Remove the breast of the bird , then wrap it around a jalapeno pepper , and wrap both with a strip of cheap bacon . Place it on the grill and cook until the bacon begins to get crispy . That ’ s an appetizer to die for . They ’ re also delicious when dusted with seasoned flour and quickly sautéed . Just be sure you don ’ t over cook them .
Grouse Goodness
While I dearly love hunting all upland birds , prairie grouse have become my favorite . I can think of no better way to wile away a pleasant September afternoon than to walk behind good pointing dogs , as I do each fall with my pal , Bruce “ Wickerbill ” Crist . I think ol ’ Wick knows more about prairie grouse than most anyone around , including upland game biologists . Hunting with Wicker is a lot like fishing walleyes with Bob Propst . Wicker has a sixth sense where to find birds .
If you hunt in North Dakota west of the Missouri River , the trick , especially on hot days , is to concentrate on buffaloberry bushes . There , birds find both food and shade . How-
www . dakotacountrymagazine . com Dakota Country , September 2024 , Page 43