doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Dove season

I'd fund his benefit package myself if he would do that here. While waiting, I keep hoping for CWD to move South.

It's bad when I have had to threaten the friends who hunt my place with banishment if I ever learn they have killed a coyote. Coyotes are my allies in this fight. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend". An acquaintance found a coyote den and put a trail camera "on it". The female brought eight fawns in to her pups in one spring. You go, girl.

SRH

When I was young, deer were not very common. Our family had deer drives through the woods to drive the deer out into the fields so they could be shot. Over time it died out. About 20 years ago I mentioned to a cousin that what we needed was a deer drive to thin out the deer on my farm that was rank with deer. So he talked a bunch of family member into doing it the last day of deer season. It was going to be a group effort with all sharing in the meat as they wanted.

That farm has three sections of woods around very large fields that borders marsh or a small river and is a kind of small peninsula. Well they put out shooters in the fields, decided on safe lanes of shooting and sent men and boys into the woods to flush the deer out. And out they came, ran across the fields and those who were not killed went into another section of woods. So they repeated it on the nearest section of woods and even more deer poured out. Again more deer were killed. At this point it was lunch time and they had a BBQ setup. The drivers decided to take a break before they would try the third section where almost every deer on the farm was now hiding.

Just before it was time to start again one of the smarter cousins said that they had killed 23 deer so far and that was going to be a lot of work when they were done. A quick discussion ensued and they decided 23 was enough. At least they did send the young boys into the woods to stir them up and flush them out. I do not know the true number of deer the ran out of there. Most of my cousins are not good with higher math but a conservative estimate was well over 50. Some of those deer had been run out twice and survived two different gauntlets. And as you would guess it they never left that farm. It took years to get the numbers under control. We used a lot of permits to thin the number down and if you thought they were too thin a few would move in in the next few weeks.

CWD may never make it that far south. We have had a couple isolated die offs where every deer in a mile radius dies in a rapid time frame. But it always burs out before it spreads too far and deer number recover very quickly. Too quickly.

Problem for us is, we've got exponentially more woods around fields that y'all, Jon. Smaller fields, surrounded by woods, big problem. I've had a minimum of 60 acres of cotton completely demolished this year. Over half the production costs incurred, but zero yield.

It is what it is. I can suck it up or quit.

SRH

For the first time in many years I will be attending a "Pay" hunt. As my fields I have permission to hunt on are not cut yet here in central N.C..
It is costing me $80 and that includes lunch. I will probably use my Model 42 or my 12 bore Garbi.
Stan, I expect a full report on your opening day hunt and pictures so I can be jealous.

We have plenty of coyotes on my place in Virginia too but they don't seem to be impacting the deer and that is curious. I think part of the problem is that the deer just move in closer to homes and yards.

Back on the subject of dove.

Anyone know of any shoots in Georgia say between the GA/FL line in Jacksonville and Savannah?

Thanks!

My options this year were either a pay hunt or no hunt. I've chosen "no hunt" for a number of reason, with hopes for a better situation as the year evolves. Sure glad to hear you folks are doing good down in the Southlands.

I dunno ............. as many deer as we have you wouldn't think the coyotes are doing much either, but eight fawns by one female is pretty significant.I can hear them outside my house at night so close that they can't be over 50 yards out.

My wife walks our little miniature Yorkie on a narrow woods road back to a little irrigation pond behind our house every afternoon. She usually carries a pistol, just in case a yote tries to grab him on the leash. She may not hit him with it, but hopefully he would reconsider if shot at.

SRH

About ten miles away from my house, last year, a coyote ran off with a small poodle. It was thankfully never recovered. Apparently the coyote in question had a taste for French food. Had that happened to my wife's dog there would be a lifetimes bounty on them in her books. Woman holds a grudge.

Recent rains on my patch of the Southern Rolling Plains of Texas have really improved my Dove fields....Lots of birds present at the moment.....No weather front on the horizon before the 1st to move 'em out so I am probably All set.... A much improved prognosis than I was facing just 60 days ago....
This a thirsty , parched ol country, but rain does indeed turn it around. This starts my 61st Dove Season.....and marks my 60th Texas Opening Day.....Hard for me to believe that in a life filled with extensive world travel, I have missed only one September 1st Texas Opening Day.