Sounds like this kind of thing isn't as rare as I thought, though not common. After considering all the comments, and rethinking the event many times, I am going with the theory that the shot cup stayed with the load, creating a slug effect. I have pretty much discounted the possibility that it was just a "reverse hole", as Don put it, or a hot spot in the pattern. The more I recall the appearance of the dove, the more clearly I remember the neck area being just .......... gone. Doves have some neck, and this one had very little left. This also takes away the possibility of it being done by two or three shot stuck together. It looked exactly like I would picture it if the entire shot load, still encased in the shot cup, struck the neck area directly.
Thanks for the comments, SRH
