The Dove Spread the Love

        As we cruised around the LG2 ranch property Sunday night before the opener one thing was apparent...the dove were here. Droves of morning dove and white wings continually darted in front and behind our vehicle as we headed down the west road pointing and shouting at the groups of winged game we came together to hunt this past Labor Day weekend. Our adrenaline pumping from the anticipation of the morning hunt, we gathered in the newly organized barn to count decoys, put together mojos, and strategize.
        At 7am, the hunters made the short drive to the wheat field and big tank right behind the ranch house. Doug, Dina, Trey and Sadie set up on the wheat field with mojos out front while Mark, Teresa, and I took the west bank of the tank. I had just had my first sip of coffee when Trey called out to Doug "Dad, on your left". Boom! The first shot of the 2014 hunting season had been fired. GG, Chelsie, and Maddox watched the action from the deck as shots and voices rang out all morning. Birds constantly swarmed our mojo decoys in singles, pairs, and huge groups of more than fifteen on the wheat field and on the tank until we finally pulled up the decoys at 9am because we had run out of shells. There were so many birds we could pick and choose our targets, and I even put down the gun to get some video. See the videos below to see Mark sum up the morning hunt and Trey smack a dove.

       All in all, a great day of family, fun, and plenty of shooting. Grandfather was definitely there in spirit, and I am sure he was smiling as he watched us enjoy the sport he instilled in all of us. We honored him with every shot, even the ones that did not connect. The Labor Day morning hunt was truly a reminder of how blessed we really are to have the LG2 ranch where we can enjoy one another, and hopefully a sign of things to come for the 2014-2015 hunting season.

See you at the ranch soon,

Sam G