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 #4

The incoming bird is consistently the easiest shot to make. To take this bird, you need to address the bird, or put your body in the right position to take the shot. Then start moving the barrel of the gun from behind the bird, through your sight picture so you can no longer see the bird. Continue to bring the gun up. The real secret to taking the incoming bird is that you don't pull the trigger on the bird until your gun's in the sweet spot -- about a 45 degree angle above you -- and you come from behind the bird. If you blank out the bird with your gun barrel so you can't see him, squeeze the trigger and continue to pull the gun up, you'll almost always take the incoming bird.

When a dove is flying away from you, you want to use the opposite type of lead. As you move the gun barrel down on the bird, blank the bird out and continue the downward motion of the bird, and you should be shooting right under the bird. By shooting under a bird that's flying away from you, you're actually putting the shot out in front of the bird so that he can fly into it.

Tomorrow we'll look at how to shoot those crazy doves that come in low to your stand and start climbing up and away from you.

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