Placing Your Feet and Picking Your Ammo for Dove Hunting with Marty Fischer
John E. Phillips 09.16.13
Author’s note: Marty Fischer, the host of TNT Outdoor Explosion on the Pursuit Channel, a professional wingshooter, a National Sporting Clays Association Level III shooting instructor, and a longtime Mossy Oak Pro Staff member, has designed more than 150 sporting clay facilities. Here are his tips for taking more doves.
Proper foot placement
Footwork is an important key to accurate shooting. Often a hunter will be sitting on a dove stool and has to move his body to compensate for the angle that the dove is coming at him. This means he will run out of swing, pull his head up off the gun, and the gun will stop. Instead, you want to have as much room as possible to swing your gun left or right, depending on the flight of the dove, in order to lead the bird properly. If you are sitting on a stool, you need to read the direction the dove is traveling as it flies. As long as you stay still and don’t move, most of the time the dove will continue flying on the same path in the same direction. If you wait until the bird is in range before you move, you shouldn’t affect his flight path.
As you are watching the bird, try to anticipate when and where you will take the shot. You’ll change your foot position depending on whether you are sitting or standing. I am left-handed, so my right foot goes forward in the direction where I want to take the shot. If you are right-handed, you’ll move your left foot in the direction of the shot. This way, you have much more room to continue to swing the gun once the bird comes within range. A right-handed hunter can turn much farther to the left than he can to the right, while a left-handed hunter can turn more to the right than he can to the left. You want to set your body up before taking the shot to give your body the most range of movement. We teach this principle to clay target shooters, and it also works for dove hunters. If you run out of swing, the gun slows down, and the cheek comes off the stock. Then you have a guaranteed recipe for a miss.
Buying the best ammo
A mourning dove is not a very big bird, nor is it a very hard bird to bring to the ground. I never will understand why some hunters choose high brass No. 9 shot to go dove hunting. When I go dove hunting, I shoot clay target loads. The pellets in clay target loads have more antimony (a red hardening agent) in them. Therefore, the pellets in the clay target loads are harder than those in the inexpensive shells most hunters buy.
The cheapest part of a dove hunt is the ammunition you shoot. I want to use a shell I know is going to pattern very consistently in the gun I choose to take dove hunting. I like to use a three-gram one-ounce or 1-1/8-ounce shell in a 12 gauge. I usually shoot either No. 8 shot or No. 7-1/2-shot. This type of shell is usually considered a heavy target load. The inexpensive shells are okay if you’re shooting doves that are only about 30 yards from your stand site. But if you try to stretch your shot out past 30 yards, the harder shot and the better pattern of the target load will help you. The difference in price is only about $1 more per box for the target loads than for the discounted shells.
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John, the 2008 Crossbow Communicator of the year and the 2007 Legendary Communicator chosen for induction into the National Fresh Water Hall of Fame, is a freelance writer (over 6,000 magazine articles for about 100 magazines and several thousand newspaper columns published), magazine editor, photographer for print media as well as industry catalogues (over 25,000 photos published), lecturer, outdoor consultant, marketing consultant, book author and daily internet content provider with an overview of the outdoors.
Phillips has been a contributor to many national magazines, has been affiliated with 27 radio stations across Alabama serving as their outdoor editor and wrote for a weekly syndicated column, "Alabama Outdoors," for 38-Alabama newspapers for more than 13 years. Phillips was Outdoor Editor for the "Birmingham Post-Herald" for 24 years. Phillips was also the executive editor for "Great Days Outdoors" magazine for 3 years.
The author of almost 30 books on the outdoors, Phillips is a founding member of the Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA) and an active member of the Southeastern Outdoors Press Association (SEOPA). Phillips also is the owner of Night Hawk Publications, a marketing and publishing firm, and president of Creative Concepts, an outdoor consulting group.
Phillips conducts seminars across the nation at colleges in freelance writing, photography and outdoor education besides teaching courses in how to sell what you write to writers' groups. Phillips received his photography training as a still-lab photo specialist for six years in the Air Force. He was the chief photographer for Mannequins, Inc., a Birmingham modeling agency, for 11 years.
While serving as 2nd Vice President of the Alabama Wildlife Federation, Phillips was in charge of all press releases for the organization as well as serving as Chairman of Alabama's Big Buck Contest, which he founded more than 30 years ago. He also was president of the Alabama Sportsman's Association for three years.
Phillips is the recipient of a Certificate of Merit from the Governor of Alabama and the Department of Conservation for his work in the outdoor field. Phillips is vitally interested in the outdoors and travels the nation collecting personalities, stories and how-to information for his articles and features.
EDUCATION: B.S. degree from the University of West Alabama with a physical education major and a history minor.
EXPERIENCE: 10 years parttime and fulltime physical director for YMCAs and 34 years as a freelance writer, photographer, editor, book author, lecturer and daily-content provider for websites. Currently, Phillips is a field editor for Game and Fish Publications; serves on the editorial board of Grandview Media; is a regular contributor to 12 internet magazines and a daily content provider for 8 websites.
WRITING AWARDS: Runnerup - Best Outdoor Magazine Feature - 1981 - SEOPA; Certificate of Merit - Awarded by Alabama's Governor for writings on conservation; Most Outstanding Sports Writer in Southeast - 1983 & 1984; Best Outdoor Feature in Alabama, 1987 - Alabama Sportswriters' Association 3rd Place; Best Book of the Year - 1989 - SEOPA; 2007 - inducted into the National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame as a Legendary Communicator; 2008 - received award naming him 2008 Crossbow Communicator of the Year from the Crossbow Manufacturers' Association; 2009 - GAMMA Honorable Mention for Consumer/Paid Best Essay for July/August 2008 in "Southern Sporting Journal."
