For many, open day of Dove season is the equivalent of your Glorious 12-th. That is the first hunt of the year, often as much a social thing as a hunting thing. For many years my father and I held a opening day hunt on his farm which included clay targets as a warm up, dove hunt, followed by a feast of a barbecued whole pig or sometimes a quarter of beef and a couple small pigs. Mix in election year politics, by family members running for re-election, and a little friends and family reunion it was kind of the high point for most shooters for the year. It should have been because it took a lot of hours to put it together.