BHE on doves this morning
 

We had a pretty good opening day. I watched my friend shoot at a few, and decided to ditch the .410, and went with a 32" BHE, which happens to be choked IC/Full. We shot only Eurasians, and let the Mourning and White Wing doves fly through unmolested.
I had a particularly good day, and went 11 straight before calling it a day.
Here's a quick pic of the B:
Attachment 109669

What the heck, here's one more of the B
Attachment 109670

looks like the b done real good...I wish we had the euraisan doves....charlie

I try to only shoot the Eurasians, as they are an invasive specie, but accidentally shot one mourning dove.
The Eurasians taste the same, and are bigger. Kind of a win/win.

Before I read your post I was thinking the birds looked somewhat bigger than Morning dove we see in the Old Dominion .

Incidentaly is your BHE a 20 ?

No, it's a 12.
Interesting history with this gun, it was purchased by a Mr. CD Smith, a sportsman from Albany Georgia in 1905 for $200.00, plus $25.00 for ejectors.
Was sent back to Parker to be restored in 1909. Dents removed, clean, rebrown, recheck, retighten the action, and clean up repair the action and ejectors.
Price of restoration: $13.50
Inflation index?

Parker Bros. evidently had someone who knew how to do checkering.
Attachment 109677

C.D. Smith (on the right, I think):
Attachment 109678

That's a heck of a gun, and some darned nice shooting, too!:bowdown:

Eleven straight is a pipe dream for me. Great shooting! Nice BHE.

Nice gun Todd. I like that one a lot.

Any doubles in that string of 11?? Nice shooting. The gun looks great, but the "Indian" was the winner.

No doubles, but two birds that required two shots.
Today was magical on a couple of levels.
The most important thing that happened today was that Alley, my elderly GSP, got to work one more day doing what she lives for.
I think today may have been her last day in the field, and close to her last day with us.
13 years old, and riddled with tumors, we're close to the end. She is struggling to get up now.
It's pretty much touch and go now. I wish I had filmed her today, lumbering out to make her retrieves.
Looked like a rocking horse trying to run. Memories.

A Ringneck ( Eurasian) and a Morning dove from today. Granted the Morning dove was a young bird.

Incredible wood on that gun! Would it be too much trouble to post a photo of the other side? My goodness. I have seen many beautiful stocks, but that one is near the top.

I don't argue much with the Lord, but often wonder why our best friends' lives don't last as long as we do. A touching memory for sure.

Great shooting, Todd, and with a very nice gun. I went 10 X 10 on a late season mourning dove shoot year before last with my 32" HE grade Fox. Then the wheels fell off. :crying:

It has been my experience that the Eurasians fly slower than our mourning doves, and with less darting and jiving. We get a few on the fields, but not many. When I'm shooting mourning doves and one shows up I have to be very careful not to over lead it and miss.

Sorry about your dog, Alley.

Todd, how many fish did CD Smith shoot with that Parker?? :whistle:

Great day shooting, 11/11. So sorry to hear your dog is on the way out. That's always a very hard day. Tears our heart out. Then what do we do? We get another puppy knowing it'll end the same way. Wash, rinse, repeat....

Todd,

Sorry to learn about your Alley. A video of her last day would be bittersweet, but I'm sure that the day in etched in your mind's eye ands will be forever. Our dogs stay with us to our dying day.

So far, Alley is still with us. I thought today was it, because she was unable to get up under her own power initially. My wife fed her some chicken while she was just laying there.
I went over to do an assessment, and talked to her while petting and rubbing her head.
I walked to the other side of the room, and gave her as upbeat as I could call to heel, and she managed to get up and walk over to me. We walked over to, and thru the kitchen so that Mom could see her on her feet again.
Right now she is laying on her bed in the office as I type. She doesn't seem to be ready to go yet, so we will see what the next couple of days bring.

Phil, I just gotta say that is one beautiful gun! I love great wood on a shotgun!

Stan, a 10 x 10 on Mourning doves is quite a feat. It's been a few years since I pulled that off on M-Doves.
The Eurasians are bigger and slower, for sure. Sometimes a miss on M-Doves can not be blamed on the shooter. You pull thru the birds flight line, apply the proper lead, and then suddenly the bird juke-jinks into an entirely different place and direction.
I'd have to say, in my opinion, doves are one of the trickiest and most humbling game birds out there.

Best pictures are on over cast days. The other side inside the house.

That's some fantastic wood!

Quick update. Alley is gone now, and buried in the field that she ran on every morning. My remaining two GSPs have been showing signs of sadness that their big sister did not return, and cannot be found.
Our puppies are gone too soon!

Todd my condolences

Todd my heart goes out to you. I have two that are 13 and it’s anytime. There best days are behind them. When they go I will sure miss them.
Plenty of memories to keep their spirt alive. Like those that came before them they will be missed, but a new pup will fill the void but not replace them.

Alley
 

Todd.... I am very sorry for your heartache and loss.

Condolences ! It isn’t just bird dogs that jerk your heart strings . We’ve had Border Terriers ever since I was a year old so the three that had passed were exhumed bagged and put to rest with my fathers ashes when he was laid to rest . He had said years before that he’d like them with him at the end and to be honest I thought it an excellent idea .

"The prefection of life with a gun dog...is disturbing because you know, even as it begins, that it must end" George Bird Evans

Amen.

And, as I consider this, if an owner dies before his last gundog it may be harder on the dog than it would be vice-versa. I have seen dogs grieve and lie on their dead owner's grave for days, even weeks, when the owner dies first.

There is a bond there that cannot be denied.