Five Tips For Shooting Doves

with George Mayfield

With dove season having already opened in many states and about to open in others, we asked George Mayfield, owner of The Roost hunting lodge in Aliceville, Alabama, for five dove-shooting tips. Mayfield hosts dove hunts on his loaded dove fields every week of the season.

Tip #1

One of the most important secrets to taking doves is having your body in the correct position and using proper shooting form. If you're sitting on a dove stool, you're not in a good position to shoot accurately at a dove.

When I first spot a dove, I address it. Addressing a dove means facing that bird in the direction of flight you think it's going to take. First, I plant my feet in a good shooting position. Then I position my body as if I were shooting and trapping skeet. Proper body alignment enables a hunter to shoot accurately. Then I put my gun under my arm in the ready position.

As the bird approaches, I pick the spot in the sky where I'll take the shot, but I don't move my body or my gun until the bird is within range. Most hunters fail to understand that the same shooting form required to shoot clay targets accurately is required to shoot doves accurately.

Tomorrow, we'll discuss the "sweet spot". What is it? How do you obtain it? And what do you do when you are in it?

Click for the rest of George Mayfield's tips...

#1 -- #2 -- #3 -- #4 -- #5

If you would like to contact Mayfield, his address is:

George Mayfield
1912 Oak Street
Aliceville, Alabama 35442

Phone: (205) 373-3147