[J. A. EARLY]

Originally Posted by Frank Childrey

Hunting doves this past week-end, I had something happen that I think is worth noting. On Saturday, the doves were fast and plentiful. On one shot, two birds flew directly toward me then veered off to the right; I shot at the lead bird, once, twice, and it sailed on with no apparent effect. As I watched, the dove flew across the field and then dropped stone dead a hundred yards further on. Now, here's the kicker . . . yesterday (Monday), it was late in the day and I decided to take on more shot and call it a day. Again, two birds flew toward me, I shot at the first, and it continued to fly. Oh well. As I walked back to the car, I passed another hunter and he said, "I've got your bird." "What?" "Yeah, it dropped through the trees and my Lab picked it up." He gave me the dove and I, of course, thanked him profusely. So my point it simply this: Keep your eye on the bird . . . before, during, and after the shot.

Great advice. You would be surprised when goose hunting how many birds fall hundreds of yards away as dead as a stone. Few people watch them until they are out of sight, instead they focus on the "dead" ones nearby which is the natural instinct since they can run like turkeys.