Mojo Rising

Life presents us with a series of options, or choices. For example, your knees buckle, you lose your shoe and you can come clean and say you're a sick old elitist drunk, or you can lie. Your choice. Again, you can sit at home whining like a sad old deplorable, or you can get out in the field. I chose the latter option and went out in search of dove.

We set up on the tailgate, in partial shade, and waited for the birds to come swooping down on the Mojo and associated decoys. A few came in, shots were fired and a couple of birds went down, though more got away.

"Once again," said GWB sagely, "this has been about learning. I've learned that I have to go to the skeet range." I agreed, "And I've discovered that if you actually aim at a bird you have a better chance of shooting it." Dove hunting wisdom.

Then, as dusk was falling, two of the feathered rockets dived down on the Mojo with a kind of persistent fury, attacking it with beak and claw in the light of the setting sun. It was like The Birds but more frightening, because it was real. I lined up a shot on the avian predators and... nothing! No round in the chamber, good work, LSP, and by the time my beat up pump had pumped they were gone.

Don't worry, birds, there'll be a return match.

Shoot the gun,

LSP

Opening Day

"Mornin', looks like Summer's back," I called out to my neighbor, through the humid miasma of a Texan September 1st. "Yeah, happens 'bout every 100 years," he growled. "Sure, it's like a war," I replied, hauling an empty trash can behind the compound's perimeter. And that was the start of Opening Day, but not the finish.

A few hours later we were in a dove field, somewhere in Texas, setting up. Rigs parked, decoys out, shooters positioned strategically and then wait, in the sweltering heat. No birds, just heat and steam rising up from the waterlogged ground.  Then things changed.

Clouds rolled in from the North, along with thunder, complementing the sound of distant shots. Somewhere, not too far away, birds were coming in and there was action. Would it come our way?

Cooler weather certainly did, a big relief, and with it, small groups of dove, in twos and threes, came barreling over the treeline at the decoys as lightning arced from the sky, and the guns blazed away like the flak towers of Old Berlin. All against the far-off barrage of thunder.

Pretty dramatic, and the shooters down the line got the best of it, downing 8 birds in fairly quick succession. Good work, boys. It was slower from my position but still, not bad. I shot enough to get the adrenaline up, as well as missing enough to guard against the sin of pride.

Then, as dusk set in, we fell back to HQ to grill up some poppers and sausages and I tell you, a good day was had by all.

Get out in the field,

LSP

Get Out In The Field

Don't be a sluggard. Get up early and hunt some dove; you never know, you might even get some birds.

The Beach

Well, they weren't flying this morning as the sun was coming up over the fields, but I did shoot at one as it flew over The Beach.

The bird seemed to go down in a tree, which was surrounded by impenetrable thorns, so I couldn't get at it. Then again, the avian acrobat could've dodged the shot and flown off into the sunrise.

As always, great to get out in the field.

Mind how you go,

LSP

Get On The Dove!

The day started pretty early, before first light, when I teamed up with GWB for a Sausage McBiscuit and a cup of coffee. The idea being to get some scoff before shooting dove. 

Home of the Sausage McBiscuit

I say "scoff", but English readers might be confused. The Sausage McBiscuit has nothing whatsoever in common with anything you would think of as a sausage, or a biscuit. It's more of a scone type of thing with a thin patty of spicy(ish) meat in the middle, that may or may not have some resemblance to sausage meat. American readers might be confused too. The Sausage McBiscuit has about as much resemblance to the real thing as the $1 McCheeseburger has to a real cheeseburger. But hey, I like both, even if they are entirely different "food" items.

Where's the Bloody Birds?

That aside, we set up in the traditional treeline and waited for the birds to fly. Sure enough, a couple flew in and GWB brought them down. Nice work. Then, as he was retrieving the birds, a cloud of the avian acrobats appeared out of nowhere and I blazed away, like a Flak Tower.

There weren't many fly-ins after that, so I went for a walk-about, saw a couple of bunnies, which I didn't shoot, and some dove, which I missed.

Shadow LSP

I consoled myself with taking the odd "shadow selfie" and generally being pleased that I'm not living in the Dallas "hot zone."

Just a few more days of dove season left, must get some more birds.

Cheers,

LSP

Mojo Rising

Perhaps you think that this post is all about the high-stepping lead singer of the Doors, who used to call himself the "Lizard King". It's not. It's about dove hunting and the Mojo dove decoy in particular.

Standing On The Runway Waiting For Takeoff

The beauty of the Mojo is that that it has spinning wings (battery powered), comes with a sturdy metal stake that you can put it on and, most importantly, brings in the dove. At least it has done, often.

Someone Else's Photo

This evening it didn't hurt and GWB shot a couple of Mojo lured birds as they came in fast over our setup in a treeline.

Blind Faith

But I wasn't having much luck, so I went for a stroll and shot a rabbit. Streak of movement to the right, shoot! One bunny for the pot.

Clean That Rabbit

As dusk set in the dove started flying in waves, high and fast. Brisk action and plenty of shots fired, but no result. The moon, on the other hand, was waxing full.

God bless,

LSP

Just Get Out and Hunt Dove!

I finished Evening Prayer,1928 BCP, thank you very much, and glanced over at a shotgun. Nothing special, just a 12 gauge Mossberg pump. That was enough. "I know," I thought to myself, "I'll go out dove hunting." And that's what I did.

Where's the Dove?

But I didn't go to the usual spot because I didn't want to shoot out the field, so I checked out another place and went  in search of birds.

Spirit of the Moon

An hour or so later I'd flushed a few from the brush, taken a couple of shots, and missed. So I hunkered down in a treeline and waited for the dove to fly. Nothing doing. Buzzards? Yes. If I'd been on a buzzard hunt I'd have reached my bag limit in minutes, which would doubtless be a fine thing, but no dove.

Texas is Alright

Still, it was simply good to be out in the field, senses heightened by the hunt and alive to the sounds, sight and smell of the Texan country. And that's alright.

Dove, listen up. This isn't over.

LSP

Making Jalapeno Dove Poppers

I like to make poppers with the dove I've shot. It's easy. First, open an ice cold beer, after all, you've earned it. 

Then cut a jalapeno in half with a sharp knife, perhaps an old Buck folder (made in the USA), then scoop out the insides.

Fill the pepper with cream cheese. Next, take the meat off the dove breasts and place on top of the cream cheese filled pepper.

Wrap in bacon, affix with toothpick, place on grill and cook until the bacon's done.

Tasty as you like.

Grill on,

LSP

Opening Day of Dove Season, Evening Shoot

This morning's shoot was so enjoyable we decided to do it all over again this evening. First off, I moved along an avenue of trees with my philisophical friend GWB, hoping to flush out some birds and sure enough, one or two were flying. Great excitement and I tried to make up for my morning's slow start with some fairly aggressive shooting. It paid off well enough, a couple of dove down.

Decoys But No Dove

Walkabout over, we set up in the corner of a 100 acre field and waited for dove. A couple flew over, were missed, and then nothing. Perhaps the evening's shoot was going to be a bust, despite a promising beginning; typical Opening Day.

Stand To

I needn't have worried. After reverting to the morning's treeline spot and waiting for about half an hour, the birds starting coming in in waves. Like at Imjin Hill but from the air, and birds instead of fanatical Chicoms. Needless to say, the shooting was fast and furious and before long there was a respectable body of dove on the tailgate.

Kind Old LSP

Great result and some of the most enjoyable shooting I've had in a while. Looking forward to the jalapeno, bacon and dove poppers.

I love dove hunting.

LSP

I Love Texas

Secede

Unlike our NWO overlords in Washington I won't lie, it's good to be back in Texas. For me, this means reconnecting with the people in the Missions and various firearms. I was a bit worried to discover that my sporter Lee seemed to be shooting a bit low, so I tinkered about in the fierce wind chill. Low and behold, it was dead on! Not bad for a 97 year old rifle.

Get On Target, For God's Sake.

But ancient battle rifle porch projects aside, excitement's building as Opening Day of dove season is right 'round the corner. I drove out to a parishioner's farm to scout out the potential action.

Polled Herefords

There were plenty of dove, unlike last year, and more than a few rabbits. So things look promising; the plan is to set up at first light with my Wittgensteininan ally GWB and shoot some dove. Then grill them, popper style.

Hours of Hunting Fun

Of course the dove may choose Opening Day to make themselves scarce and I may forget how to shoot in the general excitement of the thing. But we'll see.

Behold Your Ruler

In the meanwhile we wait with bated breath for the most powerful man in the world to do something about his genocidal friends in Iraq, Syria and the Levant. Good luck with that and remember, it's all fun and games until they chop your buddy's head off.

Cheers,

LSP