# Leading Doves!!



## Tana 2009 (Aug 31, 2010)

Just to see what the average is... How far does everyone lead a dove on the fly?


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## Dead Eye Eddy (Aug 31, 2010)

I do it by feel.  I couldn't begin to tell you.  I pull ahead and when it feels right, I shoot.


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## Walkin Hunter (Sep 1, 2010)

It depends on flight direction and distance, not that I could be much help. I only hit about 50% of the time.


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## Tana 2009 (Sep 1, 2010)

Walkin Hunter said:


> It depends on flight direction and distance, not that I could be much help. I only hit about 50% of the time.





  50% that is about 25% more than my average.


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## Nitro (Sep 1, 2010)

Shooting a few rounds of Five stand and/or Sporting Clays a year will make you a much more competent wing shooter.

Have a good season.


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## Tana 2009 (Sep 1, 2010)

I do pretty good on the bigger birds (ducks) but doves give me a little trouble.


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## TreeFrog (Sep 1, 2010)

Speed, distance, angle... too many variables to give you an answer.  The best thing is practice.  You shouldn't be thinking about your lead, you should just be shooting when it feels right.  A few rounds of skeet will go a long way to improve your skills.  

Of course, that's if you choose to shoot doves while they're flying.  I find it's way easier to hit them when they're on a limb or powerline sitting still.


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## Dustin Pate (Sep 1, 2010)

I think even more important that leading is following through. Make sure you keep moving when you pull the trigger.


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## BriarPatch99 (Sep 1, 2010)

29.2121212  inches!  Ahead of the dove, in the same direction as it is traveling!


Joking!!!


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## Hankus (Sep 1, 2010)

Dad shoots em close and he uses butt, beak, boom

I aint too patient so I leave a little slack in the beak, boom sometimes


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## General Lee (Sep 1, 2010)

Nitro said:


> Shooting a few rounds of Five stand and/or Sporting Clays a year will make you a much more competent wing shooter.
> 
> Have a good season.


No comparison.The real thing is 10 times tougher...........


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## BBQBOSS (Sep 1, 2010)

Dustin Pate said:


> I think even more important that leading is following through. Make sure you keep moving when you pull the trigger.



yep!


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## easbell (Sep 1, 2010)

There a 3 basic leads. A little, a lot, and a whole bunch. Start with a little. If you are missing go to "a lot". A "whole bunch" is for those guys that really know how to shoot. One guy on our field was dropping birds at 60 plus yrds and I asked about the lead. His comment was..."about a school bus". To me thats a whole bunch.


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## FootLongDawg (Sep 1, 2010)

Dustin Pate said:


> I think even more important that leading is following through. Make sure you keep moving when you pull the trigger.



Amen


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## pine nut (Sep 1, 2010)

Everything said above is correct!  I probably missed more than all of yall.  I tried every lead imaginable and it made no difference cause I was shooting over them.  Get that gun in tight on the shoulder and get the haed down on the comb of the stock.  On an incoming bird if you can see the bird when you pull the trigger you will miss it period!  Blot him out with the barrel and you might catch him falling into your hand.  That's the easiest one to hit most of the time.  Keep the head down and don't stop the swing.  Look for color on the bird and shoot at the head end!  It takes shooting to get the feel of it.  Good luck yall.  Wish I was going.


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## emtguy (Sep 1, 2010)

Dustin Pate said:


> I think even more important that leading is following through. Make sure you keep moving when you pull the trigger.




2 heck with a lead, this is right...9 outa 10 people who are leading a bird are stoping when they pull the trigger....basically shooting hoping the bird flies into their pattern is whats happening, you have to start a fluid motion swing from behind the bird, catch up to him, pass him and pull the trigger AND KEEP MOVING, if you ever stop your swing you miss!


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## Eugene Stinson (Sep 1, 2010)

easbell said:


> There a 3 basic leads. A little, a lot, and a whole bunch. Start with a little. If you are missing go to "a lot". A "whole bunch" is for those guys that really know how to shoot. One guy on our field was dropping birds at 60 plus yrds and I asked about the lead. His comment was..."about a school bus". To me thats a whole bunch.



That sounds like me. I was once told by a military guy on the field about shooting high bird and leading them about the lenght of a school bus. I watch him and he was right!

The lead is a calculation your brain has to do accounting for all the variables at every bird you draw down on. 
This is my advise to the ones that tried different leads to no avail. Use the lead that feels good and try different shells.  A shell with 1 oz of #8 shot gets to the bird faster than one with 1 1/8 and slower than one with 7/8 of #8s. Look real close at what you are buying. Super speeds go fast cause they have about the same powder but less lead.  1 1/4 oz of #8s has about 120 more pellets than super speed shells but takes alot longer to get to the bird. I am talking about 12 gauge here.


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## texasbirdhunter (Sep 1, 2010)

Open choke, on a crossing bird, flying a cruising height and their normal cruising speed, I would try 2 bird lengths.  If they dive then you may be shooting in front of them.  No reaction usually means something is out of wack.  Faster birds require faster swings.  Shoot the heads off the slow, looking for a place to land birds.  But then importance of keeping the barrel moving after the shot cannot be under estimated.


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## homey (Sep 2, 2010)

Look at the bird.If you look at lead you're screwed.When you take your eyes off the bird your gun stops.That's why people think you have to follow through.Look at the bird with your eyes and your hands will do the rest.Most people look at those silly glowing sights.


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## stewart 14 (Sep 2, 2010)

Shoot them till they fall!!!


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## homey (Sep 2, 2010)

stewart 14 said:


> Shoot them till they fall!!!



Best answer yet.  LOL


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## Gutbucket (Sep 2, 2010)

I would say that 60-70% of missed birds on a dove shoot are from shooting "Behind" the bird. This is from stopping the gun or just not swinging far enough through to apply enough lead to begin with. 

If your missing often on a shoot, the first thing you should try is to double your lead. Yes DOUBLE . I have watch my father on dove fields and in sporting clay tounaments all over Ga and SC.  When Im missing them and hes smokin them, I ask him what im doin wrong and thats all he says. It takes a few shots but he is right. Doves fly a lot faster than your brain says they do!!

The other 30% (give or take) of misses comes from shooting OVER the bird. You should never see any of you barrel in the sight picture or your going to shoot high. All you should see is the bead and the bird.  Git down low on the stock and swing all the way through the bird and you will save a lot of shells.

All of this has been covered on the above posts.

the third thang you should do if you miss................

Keep Shootin


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## TroupTC (Sep 2, 2010)

To keep your gun barrel moving use this analogy.  Remember when you were young and you tried to shoot a hose at someone that was running?  You had to keep ths hose moving and let the person run into the water.  If you aimed directly at the running person you'd shot behind them everytime.  Same goes for shooting a shotgun.

I hope this helps


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## Gutbucket (Sep 2, 2010)

Another thing the old man used to tell me when I was tryin to learn to shoot.

"Dont shoot where they at.... Ya gotta shoot where they gone be"


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## northgeorgiasportsman (Sep 2, 2010)

Gutbucket said:


> Another thing the old man used to tell me when I was tryin to learn to shoot.
> 
> "Dont shoot where they at.... Ya gotta shoot where they gone be"



That's the best advice that can be given about wingshooting.  Shoot where they're going to be.

I've sprayed a LOT of lead chasing after doves over the years, and the last few years, it's all started to come together for me.  Now I can count the number of rounds I've spent, instead of the number of boxes!  As often as not, I'm dropping birds at 60yds.  And I honestly think I'm leading them by 12-15ft depending on how fast they are flying.


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## easbell (Sep 2, 2010)

My other advice is...wait till the get closer. If the bird is coming in don't move. Just wait until he is about 30 yrds. I see a lot of 70 yrds shots on opening day.  We try to shoot a one box limit (with 20 ga).


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## Dustin Pate (Sep 2, 2010)

easbell said:


> My other advice is...wait till the get closer. If the bird is coming in don't move. Just wait until he is about 30 yrds. I see a lot of 70 yrds shots on opening day.  We try to shoot a one box limit (with 20 ga).



That is very important also. I also shoot a 20 ga and like them in close but the same goes for a 12.


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## Oldstick (Sep 2, 2010)

easbell said:


> My other advice is...wait till the get closer. If the bird is coming in don't move. Just wait until he is about 30 yrds. I see a lot of 70 yrds shots on opening day.  We try to shoot a one box limit (with 20 ga).



This is very good advice, in my opinion.  I have been dove hunting a total of 4 times.  The very first time was about 3 or 4 years ago.  I knew I was new and inexperienced.  Although I had shot skeet a little i was in no way a very good wing shot.  

So beforehand,  I made up my mind I was going to wait for closer shots I was pretty confident in making, otherwise hold my fire.  This first hunt I got invited too, there was a total of 4 shooters on the field and the birds were coming in pretty steady but not spectacular.

So over the course of the whole afternoon I shot 17 shells, but I bagged 8 birds.


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## tullisfireball (Sep 2, 2010)

Nitro said:


> Shooting a few rounds of Five stand and/or Sporting Clays a year will make you a much more competent wing shooter.
> 
> Have a good season.



I don't know if that is completely true, I can hold my own on a sporting clay course or trap or skeet. I am even pretty decent on other birds... BUT them little supersonic missals are a different story.  But like my son says... missing is still pretty fun too!


I like to think I am helping the guy on the other side of the field by turning them back to them


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## JustUs4All (Sep 2, 2010)

I watched my dad kill a lot of birds using the "wait till you can see their feet" method.


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## gregg (Sep 2, 2010)

Yeah, shooting lots of ducks screaming by at supersonic speed on Lake Okeechobee in my youth taught me just how far you need to lead a fast bird....a LONG way at times.

Greg


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## homey (Sep 3, 2010)

Lead is a "feel" not a distance  Ask any "truly good" shooter and he will say "I don't see lead,I see the bird" Looking at the lead will stop your"follow through" every time.


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