Dove Hunting Traditions In Southwest Kansas
By Bobby Cole- Western KS Program Coordinator
In Western Kansas dove hunting is more than a sport, it is a tradition! Some might call it the start of the most wonderful time of the year! You see my family is from the South and in the South Dove hunting is a huge deal! Growing up, the opening day of Dove season might as well have been a National Holiday for my family! The kids were pulled out of school or at the very least called in late. The whole family would get out and surround the family property with our closest friends and spend the day shooting those little grey rockets that would humble even the most experienced of shooters! I’ll take the memories from those early September mornings to the grave.
This year for opening day, I was honored to host some of our volunteer mentors on a dove hunt. I thought this would be a great way to thank our volunteer mentors and get them excited for hunting season. We met up bright and early came up with a plan and hit the dove fields! When all was said and done, we left with 40 Dove. It was great getting out with these gentlemen that do so much for our program. We all had a great time and I got to watch some awesome dog work from Murph, my 2-year-old GSP!
As fun as that was, it was nothing compared to what was coming! My first official Dove hunt since accepting a position with Pass it On Outdoor Mentors! As I said above, Dove hunting is a huge deal for me and I was bound and determined to make my first one with Outdoor Mentors one to remember.
We met an hour before sunup at the gas station. Staring at me and my 9 year old daughter (she’s my shadow and I wouldn’t have it any other way) were four youth that were about to go on their first dove hunt. They listened intently as I talked about safety and they all seemed to be excited. After our safety talk, we loaded up and headed to the dove field. Upon arriving we set up all our decoys and settled in for the hunt. It didn’t take long until we started seeing birds.
At first, we didn’t have much luck. The kids shot a lot, but the birds weren’t going down! Then out of nowhere 2 dove came in on a string and I yelled out “Shoot that bird”. I looked to my left and watched her shoulder her gun and pull the trigger! Crack the shot rang out and the bird sailed about 20 yard and went down! Her Father Brett, beaming with pride yelled out “Great Shot Ab’s”!! Then I released Murph Dog who ran out and picked it up and brought it back to my hand! When I gave Abby the bird, she looked at the bird then looked at me and said, “are you sure I shot it?”. “Yeah, you’re the only one that shot!!” I replied. She looked up at me with a smile on her face that said it all. I couldn’t think of a better way for a young hunter to get pulled into the sport!!
The rest of the morning was full of shooting, and I was able to watch every kid shoot a dove! Abby’s was the most memorable because I was sitting right next to her when it happened! As we picked up the decoys and got the birds set up (25 in total), I heard the kids talking about their hunt. Each kid talked about how much fun they had and asked when they could do it again.
There really aren’t words to describe the feeling of being a part of such an awesome experience. I love hunting and I love to have success when I hunt! But there is something so much more rewarding when you watch someone else, the next generation experience success in the outdoors! Even more so knowing that you were a part of that success! It is my belief that every outdoors man and woman needs to experience being a part of another’s success! Too often we get caught up on our own and many times it makes us lose sight of why we love it so much. It’s invigorating and every time I do it, it re-energizes me and makes me love it even more. It’s a passion and I’m truly blessed to be in the position I am and to be able to be a part of it every day!
I want to end this with a call to action. If you are reading this chances, are you love hunting and fishing just as much as me! A lot of you have been watching this program grow and are thinking about getting your youth involved and/or mentoring for us. This is my challenge to you! Stop thinking about it and do it! Get involved and help us make a kid’s day!
