Story by Tom Claycomb III

I realize other states dove hunt, but Texas is the king of dove hunting. As a six or seven-year-old kid I’d go dove hunting with dad and his friends. I’d use my older sisters double barrel Fox. Dad would only let me put one shell in it.

I still remember my first dove. A group of three or four of us stepped into a pile of doves in a sunflower patch at the old Texas Power & Light plant near Savoy. I’d never hit anything before so when the dove fell that I shot at I just assumed that one of the men had hit it. Everyone went to pick up their doves and no one retrieved the one I’d shot at. I told dad and he told me that I’d hit it. Wow! I was on top of the world. My first dove.

Dove hunting is a big event in Texas that launches a new hunting season each fall. Family and friends get together and over time they can closely resemble a family or high school reunion. For a few seasons we’d hunt on Uncle Ted’s ranches around Royse City. After the hunt we’d go eat at the Red Barn in Royse City.

Back in those days season didn’t start until 1:00. That worked great as a kid. Mom would come pick us up from school at noon and off we’d go. Once someone in the school office asked why I was leaving. When I told her to go dove hunting, she said I shouldn’t leave to go dove hunting. I told her to go talk to mom, that I was leaving!

Even though the season didn’t open until 1:00, really shooting didn’t get good until close to 6:00. It worked well to set at water holes. They also like to follow tree lines. I haven’t hunted them in years but as a kid milo fields were the ticket. They’d be out in them feeding.

The best was a hunt on the Floerke ranch out of D’Hanis. We were repairing deer blinds and feeders in the morning and dove hunting in the afternoons over a big milo field. A flock of six would fly by. As you were about to shoot 12 would cut in front of them, then a flock of 15. It was crazy. My brother and I shot 23 boxes  of shells in two afternoons.

Shooting stopped for a moment, and the rancher drove his pick-up to the far end of the milo field to spook up the feeding hordes. It sounded like a small plane taking off when the huge flock got up.

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