# Don't be THAT guy on the dove field...



## DannyW (Aug 28, 2017)

I don’t frequent this forum often, so maybe you have had an “etiquette” thread in the past, but in advance of opening day here is a new one to help the newbies…

•	*The lowball artist.* This guy shoots at incoming birds at all heights. Learn what a 45 degree angle looks like and if your gun does not form at least a 45 degree angle when aiming at the bird - don’t shoot!

•	*The cut-off king.* You are patiently waiting on a bird coming straight at you when the guy next to you, easily 70-80 or more yards away, starts blasting like he just bought stock in Winchester-Olin. This causes the only bird you have seen in the last half hour to flair. If a bird is not within about 40 yards of you, or if it is obviously going to present your neighbor a chip shot, just keep your powder dry.

•	*The poacher.* You see it every year…one guy has the absolute hottest position on the field. Every bird seems to fly by him. Maybe he spent hours pre-scouting the field to learn the best spot. Or maybe he just got lucky. Whatever…good for him. Then you see him drop 15 birds in short order. Then 20. Then 30. And you have gotten a measly 2 shots all morning from your spot. The limit is 15 birds, most people don’t agree with or like the limit, but it is what it is – the rule. And when you get your limit, thank the dove Gods for a great day and graciously offer your hotspot to another hunter.

•	*The blind man.* Another form of poacher. This guy drops birds left and right – and then pretends that he did not see the bird fall. He never even goes to look for them. (I have been known to go pick up the bird, walk to the hunter’s blind, and drop it inside.) A close cousin of the blind man is the guy who consistently shoots birds that he KNOWS will fall into the thickest, most impenetrable cover imaginable. And therefore can’t be recovered. Shooting doves is like golf…keep them in the short grass where you can find them.

•	*The snuggler.* You have a decent spot, and are getting some shots. Then suddenly, just like the Carpenter’s old song, some guy _“…just wants to be…close to yooou…”._ He creeps in so close that you could share water bottles.  Leave space, about the length of a football field is good, for both courtesy and safety.

There are plenty more but these are the ones that especially irritate me. Feel free to add to add your own.


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## austanj (Aug 28, 2017)

The guy at the edge of the field who is shooting at birds way before they get to the field, missing them and making them fly opposite


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## mlbowfin (Aug 28, 2017)

AND DON'T be that guy that tells everyone else how to hunt! setup your own dove field if you feel the need to express your displeasure with the way others exercise their hunting privileged..my goodness


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## kmckinnie (Aug 28, 2017)

I got my own dove fields. Maybe the only one out there. 
I'll try to keep all these tips in mine.


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## DannyW (Aug 28, 2017)

mlbowfin said:


> AND DON'T be that guy that tells everyone else how to hunt! setup your own dove field if you feel the need to express your displeasure with the way others exercise their hunting privileged..my goodness



Valid point, I should have been clear that my points were for PUBLIC dove hunts only. If you take the time, money and effort to plant your own field, hunt as you wish. I have helped set up a field before, and I know a good field is a LOT of work.

My comments about bird limits, and reasonable recovery of your game, still apply. Hunting privilege does not include breaking the law, regardless of where you hunt.

Sorry if you took it the wrong way...sound like I may have struck a nerve.


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## Nitram4891 (Aug 28, 2017)

I think I'm going to print this out and post it at the gate at the quota hunt i got picked for.


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## Nitram4891 (Aug 28, 2017)

austanj said:


> The guy at the edge of the field who is shooting at birds way before they get to the field, missing them and making them fly opposite



Yes, that guy is very very annoying


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## austanj (Aug 28, 2017)

There ARE some things you shouldn't do. Telling someone not to shoot at low doves is the right thing to do unless your one who doesn't care about safety. It's called being responsible.


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## drhunter1 (Aug 28, 2017)

low bird shooters need to be beaten. If I get stung one time this year, they are going to have to work overtime removing a shotgun from someones rear.


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## CAnderson (Aug 28, 2017)

Last PL hunt I went on we had a "center fielder". The guy went to the center of the open field and "planted" a bush he cut down off the edge. Wouldn't have been that bad, but he wouldn't stay put and moved what felt like every few minutes. And shot at everything! Including birds that were clearly hit and going down.


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## CaptPaul (Aug 28, 2017)

A little bit of decency, respect, and common sense go a long way in any kind of hunting.  But it seems to go further in social hunts.  Remember its just a 5 oz bird.  None of us are going hungry and surviving off dove meat albeit delicious.  Enjoy yourself say hey to your neighbor and enjoy the game.


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## kmckinnie (Aug 28, 2017)

drhunter1 said:


> low bird shooters need to be beaten. If I get stung one time this year, they are going to have to work overtime removing a shotgun from someones rear.



U a bad man. Please don't do it sideways.


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## NCHillbilly (Aug 28, 2017)

Eh, watching all those are what makes dove shoots entertaining. I don't go to actually kill doves. I go to watch all of the above.  

Well, except for the low bird shooters. They do need to have their body modified with a shotgun barrel. Picking a  half-dozen #8s out of your belly with a pocketknife isn't fun.


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## Katalee (Aug 29, 2017)

I have never seen football field spacing between shooters on a public dove field, quota or otherwise. Not gonna happen.


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## joey1919 (Aug 29, 2017)

I went to a public field once


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## Miguel Cervantes (Aug 29, 2017)

Or putting a first time shooter to a private shoot in the absolute worst hole in the field and then telling him to ease up on the birds and let some of the others get a chance to kill one when he drops the first 10 that fly over him. 

PS: I told him I'm about to limit out, then I'll be out of your hair and the other girls can stop whining and try and hit one.


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## PappyHoel (Aug 29, 2017)

I'm glad I only need to worry about me and my buddy.  A quarter mile of power line planted corn has our name on it.


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## Setter Jax (Aug 29, 2017)

Can't stand the center fielder guy..... I Can put up with the rest. lol Low shots I shoot back.....  Public land wear safety glasses.


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## sb1010 (Aug 29, 2017)

On a public land hunt I saw one group shooting at every kind of bird flying.  The same group was shooting low as well.


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## AllTerrainAngler (Aug 29, 2017)

The guy who shoots right at you for a low bird.... note our old field was maybe 10 people and there was always three guys that would get as close to whoever was shooting as possible


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## Nitram4891 (Aug 30, 2017)

sb1010 said:


> On a public land hunt I saw one group shooting at every kind of bird flying.  The same group was shooting low as well.



I swear this is true, at a shoot 3 or 4 years ago at Green Glades Farm, 4 wood ducks flew over the field mid afternoon to go land in a pond on the property.  Some idjits in the middle of the field emptied their guns at them.  That would have been a field day for Mr. Green Jeans.


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## Dustin Pate (Aug 30, 2017)

sb1010 said:


> On a public land hunt I saw one group shooting at every kind of bird flying.  The same group was shooting low as well.



Hawks don't stand a chance on public fields.


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## oops1 (Aug 30, 2017)

Nitram4891 said:


> I swear this is true, at a shoot 3 or 4 years ago at Green Glades Farm, 4 wood ducks flew over the field mid afternoon to go land in a pond on the property.  Some idjits in the middle of the field emptied their guns at them.  That would have been a field day for Mr. Green Jeans.



My bad.. I get really worked up over ducks


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## chase870 (Aug 30, 2017)

If you have a dog that isn't well trained leave him at home. In other words don't take a no minding pet to the hunt


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## mose (Sep 1, 2017)

Center fielders (on small fields) and low bird shooters irritate me.


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## GLS (Sep 2, 2017)

I like to hunt private fields that have assigned, marked stands that are chosen by lottery with a huntmaster that moves folks around after a limit is reached.  Kill more than a limit and that's it for that hunter for future hunts.  Fields I hunt have a 12 bird limit with a requirement to pick up spent hulls.  We leave birds for future hunts.  Fortunately I don't have the pleasure of hunting free-for-all (in every sense of the phrase) public hunts.  I would pick another pastime.  I paid my dues hunting ducks on public waters as a trailer ramp tramp.  Gil


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## RacinNut (Sep 4, 2017)

I'm like NCHillbilly, I got on the wrong end of the field this year and watched all the above except low birds, and there was alot of low birds, some shooters put those flapping wings, I still got 8 doves and a fellow shooter gave me his 7 so I have a good dinner curing right now, to me Dove is the best wild meat there is.  Had a good time with my son, I think he got 11, we were able to sit together and take our shots, and he was lucky he went to Darlington the next day.


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## NCHillbilly (Sep 5, 2017)

We went Saturday and beheld all of the above and then some, still had a great time and killed a pretty good mess of birds. 

We encountered:

The low-bird artist. He burnt my buddy's leg up pretty good one time. He was in a low spot with hunters on the hills around him. He didn't care. 

The same guy: on this field, you could only take 50 shells. When they're gone, you're supposed to leave. He took two kids with him. They didn't shoot, but he shot their shells. And their doves after he got a limit.

The same guy: death to blue jays, sparrows, woodpeckers, dragonflies, and any other flying objects.

The Creepers. After I knocked down about five in a row, I suddenly noticed about five heads poking out of the broomsedge in a circle about 15-20 yards from me. 

The bird thievers- you shoot a bird and it starts to nosedive. Some other feller shoots at it as it's falling, then runs out and picks it up. These were mostly the same folks as the Creepers above.

The people with a half--acre spread of mojo decoys. I didn't notice that they helped them at all.

The no-bird-finding-idjit. He shoots a bird, doesn't mark it, then spends twenty minutes stomping around in a circle in the middle of the field twenty yards from where his bird fell; flaring birds away from other folks the whole time, then gives up, sits back down, and shoots another one that he doesn't mark and repeats the above procedure over and over.

The guy who shoots at doves 100 yards away.

And more. Like I said, we had a blast.


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## Deerhead (Sep 5, 2017)

It was a slow day on the field Saturday.  The weather must have pushed most of the birds out.  There was a young guy across from me. I guess he thought he could reach out and shoot “all” the birds, even the bird over my head.  He claimed one that I clearly shot.  Oh well no problem I let him have it.  In fact when I was done I gave him and his buddy all my birds.  They were nice guys and very appreciative.


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## kmckinnie (Sep 5, 2017)

Deerhead said:


> It was a slow day on the field Saturday.  The weather must have pushed most of the birds out.  There was a young guy across from me. I guess he thought he could reach out and shoot “all” the birds, even the bird over my head.  He claimed one that I clearly shot.  Oh well no problem I let him have it.  In fact when I was done I gave him and his buddy all my birds.  They were nice guys and very appreciative.



U sir are a  gentlemen on the field. Sounds like you had a great day & enjoyed.


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## austanj (Sep 5, 2017)

Yeah for the guy who is telling us to go get our own field and stop complaning ..... Well sounds like you or your child  have never been peppered on a dove field. I was on a private shoot and still had an idiot hit me and a child got hit...


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## joey1919 (Sep 5, 2017)

I plant my own field and get to choose who comes. It's a lot of work, time and money. But I didn't deal with any nonsense. All but two of the shooters was related to me. My best friend and my cousin's buddy rounded out the bunch. I gave up my hotspot with good birds and shade to my dad and nephew. I sat about 100yds away and watched my 12 year old nephew put it on em with a brand new gun. No fighting over birds as most of them would end up in the same gravy at my mama's house Sunday. God saw fit to have me born on opening weekend so I'd have a good birthday present every year. Hard to beat a good bird shoot


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## 8pointduck (Sep 6, 2017)

mlbowfin said:


> AND DON'T be that guy that tells everyone else how to hunt! setup your own dove field if you feel the need to express your displeasure with the way others exercise their hunting privileged..my goodness



This and even on public shoots if everyone is being safe and ethical. A football field apart? Right.


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