A fun, productive way to increase birds in game bag compared to shells shot during hot early and late seasons of dove hunts.

Story and photography by Bill L. Olson

Someone mention early and late, and most outdoor enthusiasts would think the discussion was about summertime fishing plus ways to avoid the heat.  Early and late in this context is hunting smarter during Texas early September and October/November dove season as well as the late second split open mid-December through parts of January depending upon Zone hunted.

Mid-September 2022 found me in Dilley on Clint Graf’s South Texas G5 Ranch as a guest of Weatherby Firearms and H&G Outdoors, the firearms manufacturer’s sales rep group.  I had not practiced what I preach due to summer commitments, so my shooting was abysmal.  However, not all was lost.

It was a great time, on beautiful South Texas hunting grounds, associating with a host of new friends, plus much was learned.  Even after I got through thoroughly chewing myself out for not being properly prepared the shorcomings were mentally cataloged for future reference.

On the hunt I fell in love with Weatherby’s import from Turkey the lightweight 20-gauge Orion over-and-under shotgun.  Its six pounds total weight, 26-inch-long barrel and comfortably scaled down receiver is a joy to carry for any hunter regardless of individual stature.  Even for someone with my big, long armed frame appreciates its 14.5-inch length of pull.

At weatherby.com it explains the Orion comes equipped with ambidextrous tang safety and barrel selectors so the shooter can choose which barrel choke combination to shoot depending on the bird presentation.  Barrels are chrome lined to aid in long-lasting durability and make maintenance cleaning a breeze.

The smaller frame was a joy to carry and would comfortably fit any person’s hand.  Following several days of field testing, I had to get one and did.  Since then, it has become one of my go-to shotguns for dove and quail.

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