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Dove Pictures
 [Overview]
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[2002]
[2003]
[2004]
[2005]
[2006]
[2007]
[2008]
[2009]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


2004


Old veterans.  Yep, there was no denying it.  The King and Rooster had somehow become old veterans at the bird hunting thing.  So, when we embarked on our seventh season of dove hunting, we figured we'd seen it all.  We were wrong.  On opening day 2004 we took a gamble on a new hunting site and honestly expected, at best, a small return.  What we got, however, was a surprise of the best kind.  A day of the finest dove shooting in K&R history that produced 14 doves.  Heading to our traditional sites in the following weeks, the trend continued with days of 8, 14, 1, and 8 more doves.  We ended the season with 45 doves, the most we have ever put in the freezer.  The main reason for the record season was the King, who put on a wicked two week shooting display.

9.01.04

The spoils of a great day of dove hunting.  We saw more doves on this day then we had ever seen on any day afield. 

9.03.04

The Rooster showing typical dove hunting gear.  The weather was - as usual - hot in early September 2004, and light camo clothing was a must.   

9.03.04

Eight more doves ready to be breasted and put in ice.  As usual taken doves ranged from small, young doves to older, large, and plump birds.  

9.04.04

Good shot of the K&R in the middle of the dove field.  A post-hunt shot showing some birds on one of our home-made "dove buckets." 

9.14.04

The King examining a just downed dove.  He came into the season without a shot of practice and yet hit just about everything that flew by.

9.14.04

The Rooster showing a lid full of doves taken on a hot and hazy day.  The Beretta Pintail again was flawless, and never missed a recycle. 

9.14.04

One of the K&R's favorite shots - the weapons and the wounds.

9.14.04

Sunset on another amazing start to the hunting season. 

10.06.04

One can almost smell the doves from this picture.  As is out tradition, we feasted on the hard work of early September in early October.  And what a feast it was. 

2005


Nature operates in cycles.  Up one year, down the next, and the reason?  Sometime it is easily discernable, other times it is hidden in the flap of a butterfly's wings a hundred miles away.  In the end, however, we are all slave to the tyranny of the bell curve.  So it was in 2005.  Only a year previous, doves had filled the sky and we had our best dove season.  A year later, with conditions almost the same the birds were down in number.  Numbers, however, don't indicate success in our book and we had another great season.  In all, we got out 6 times and put 20 doves into the freezer with 10 brought down over the first two days.

9.01.05

The King in a weed patch waiting for an unsuspecting flyover.  Weather on opening day was perfect - sunny and hot. 

9.01.05

The K&R on the evening of the first day.  The birds had not been as thick as the year before, but we still took ten home to the freezer.   

9.05.05

The Rooster with 3 doves taken on a very hot late summer day.  This old traditional hunting ground was set up beautifully again, but the scarcity of loafing birds made afternoon hunting hard.  

9.10.05

The Rooster with 3 more doves taken on a solo run.  The King's busy schedule makes it hard for him to get afield as much as he would like.  

9.10.05

Sunset on dove season means sunrise on duck season. 

10.06.05

Twelve doves ready to provide the energy for the next day's duck hunt.

2006


The feeling usually first bubbles up into one's consciousness around the middle of August; always during a hot, humid day and always accompanied by the steady hum of crickets and cicadas.  A feeling of heavy oppression for most, but a feeling of liberation for the dove hunter.  For it means only a few weeks remain until one is sweating among the sunflower and buckwheat, waiting for a group of impish doves to dart over (or, for the K&R, more likely stalking a group of impish doves).  It is the feeling we crave by the end of every summer, one we wait for impatiently.  So, after weeks of waiting, while the weather was just as described above; finally, mercifully, opening day arrived... cold and wet.  Yes, the temperature never reached 60 and it rained all day.  But, as value is set by overcoming, we just looked at it as an opportunity to make a legend, rather than just a memory.  We succeeded, and were rewarded later in the season with the perfect dove day, the one we had been waiting for since the end of the previous season.  Overall, another great start to the season.  While the weather handicapped planting and mowing enough to push the State setup to about a B-, there were still enough birds for us to get out a total of 7 times and to put 27 in the freezer.

8.31.06

Is there a better way to start the hunting season than to grub on some wood duck and potatoes?  I can't think of any. 

9.01.06

We adapted to the cold and rainy weather by breaking out the waterproof gear and getting off our ass.  If they were not going to fly, we were going to go look for them.  

9.01.05

Overcoming.  After a long day of driving (our first hunting area choice turned out to be devoid of any preparation) and slogging through wet and muddy fields, we came home with 5 doves.  A crease of sunset in the background seems to portend better weather ahead. 

9.02.06

The Rooster with a dove taken on a solo run the second day of the season.  The weather was a little better, but still cloudy and cool. 

9.07.06

Finally, the weather turned hot, humid, and dovey.  It was the day we were waiting for.  The King is here enjoying a real Mt. Dew - a K&R tradition when the weather gets brutal and hoople-heads run for the couch.  

9.07.06

An excellent day of  dove hunting ends with 9 more headed to the freezer.  We shot well this day and didn't let many opportunities get by us.  Notice the new Jeep in the background, a whole new era in K&R transportation.

9.07.06

The weapons and the wounds.

9.20.06

Three weeks into the season and doves are still going into the freezer. 

9.15.06

Sometimes man and nature can combine for something sublime.  Here is a shot of one of our favorite doves chutes at sunset. 

10.05.06

Are you salivating yet?  Can you smell the cooked dove and fried potatoes?  Another year's hard work in dove season pays off in the continuing tradition of the pre duck-season feast.

More Dove Hunting
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