Home Forums Birds & Dogs Upland Game Who's using their 28 ga. for doves this year?

Whoopee- Dove season is just a month away now!!

Here in southern CO, with the drought affecting much of our state, the dove season could be a really good one- limited food and water resources tends to concentrate the birds. If we don't get a cold streak in late August, there will be lots of birds. Preseason scouting shows the cut wheat fields already getting doves like swarms of bees in places.

Thinking of just using the 28 ga. this year. Closer shots over water and crops are just the ticket for the little scattergun, and the low recoil makes for a very pleasant shoot.

Just curious how many of you prefer the 28 for doves.

I have been using a 28 ga. a lot for several years on everything from doves to sage grouse. It works, is a pleasure to carry, and it's a lot easier to pack a whole bunch of shells.

Where in southern Colorado if you don't mind my asking? I grew up near Bristol, east of Lamar.

I have 2 I use. One is a Brn O/U and the other is an 870, I've used both. Last week the grandsons and I went skeet shooting, the 14 yr old grandson thinks he should use the BRN this year so he shoot skeet with it,that was bad enough but then the 8 yr old wanted to shoot the 870 and hit about 6 or 7 out of 15 with it. Now he wants to use it. I guess I'll have to shoot a different gauge, or buy a SxS.
Do you live down in the Arkansas River Valley?

Skip23,

I live on the north side of Pueblo Reservoir. I own a farm between Rocky Ford and Manzanola, on the Arkansas River.
The lower Ark Valley is some of the best dove shooting in Colorado.

I grew up on a farm east of Cheraw, which is about 10 miles north of LaJunta. In my teens, I enjoyed some of the best dove shooting I have ever experienced- I didn't really appreciate how good it was until I tried it in other places!

I used the Beretta 686 28 ga the first day of dove season last year and killed my 15 bird limit with less than a box of Winchester 7.5

Definitely going to be taking my new Fausti side-by-side after doves (and Huns) on opening day here in Montana.

I would use a 28 if it had some forward weight to smooth things out for pass shooting on longer opportunities. However, one that was extremely neutral balanced would stay home.

Bighorn
I know that country pretty well I have a brother in law in Las Animas and some other in laws in Wiley and Lamar. I never seem to make it down there for doves and most of the pheasants seem to be gone. Visits are usually spent sitting around with the old folks that includes me now.
Are the Eurasian doves down there? We shoot at a farm near Loveland where they are real pests the last time we shot it 4 of us killed 130 plus 30 pigeons. I'd guess that he has 4-500 eating his grain. We plan on shooting it the middle of this month we will have to be careful with species identification.

Just bought one and can't wait until September 1st.

For the kind of close shooting you're talking about I like the 28 or a 20 for doves. Otherwise I'll take a 12, I need all the help I can get pass shooting doves.

We are getting more and more of the Eurasian doves in E. Colorado.
I know the DOW doesn't think they compete with mourning doves, but in areas around where I live that always hold mourning doves in the summer in the past, now there are only the collared doves. They are a real nuisance- noisy and dirty.

I shoot 28's and 12's. I guess it just depends on the type hunting and how close the shots will be. Here in Louisiana, it's usually in a big corn or milo field. The best place is between the fields and water. Most people use 12's, some I see with 20's. In those settings, I don't see 28's very often.

DF

I'm rather excited as Iowa has it's first dove season opening Sept 1. I have an AyA SxS in 28 just waiting. I have 71/2s, 8s, and 9s ready to go.

Throw some 6s at them and notice the difference. Especially if they are out there a bit.:-)

Oh, I've used 6s out of the 28 on pheasants though I consider 7 1/2s better out of a 28, mine anyway.

Yep. 28 gauge Anschutz (Miroku) O/U will serve me well on opening day. The sunflowers did well, and there's water in the adjacent pond too. Lots of birds in the air, let's hope they're still around for the opener.

Finally got life straightened out and set up a dove hunt with 7x57Steve and I'll be shooting a Winchester/ Parker repro in 28 gauge. If I can just remember that second trigger this year!

Nine more days to go! Looks like our hot, dry weather may hold all the way thru the opener.

Scrounged up about 10 boxes of 28 ga. ammo from around the house, mostly 7.5 and 8 shot, both 3/4 and 1 oz. loads.

Don't really expect to use more than two of those boxes in the first two days for limits, but who knows.....

Next week, gotta get the camper out, check it for supplies, fuel up, fill the water tank, figure out the first evening's cookout menu, make sure the decoys have fresh batteries.

Oh, and throw in a rifle as well- fall turkey season opens Sept. 1 for my area, and there's lots of turkeys where we hunt doves. I do have a permit.

Funny how many of us can't wait for Sept. 1st. Haven't decided which gun to shoot this year on the opener but the 1100- 28 ga is still in the running as is the 11-48 410.....Russ

Took about 25 minutes to get a limit last year sitting at a tank with the 28ga Browning O&U.