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Jesse's Hunting > Hunting Articles > Hunting Articles Archives > JHO Hunters Enjoy Texas Dove Opener
JHO Hunters Enjoy Texas Dove Opener
Chris Fullilove - JHO ProStaff
- Houston, TX
September 24, 2005
13 members from the Jesse’s Hunting and Outdoors (JHO) web site gathered for the 2nd Annual Texas JHO Dove Hunt at Long Ranch in Gordon Texas. Gordon is in the Texas North Zone which opens for dove season on September 1st.
JHO Hunters
The second annual Texas JHO dove hunt brought together several forum members from as far away as California. |
The JHO crew included Tim (“Colusaduckhunter”) who flew in all the way from California in order to take part in the “Lone Star roundup”. Last year’s Texas dove hunt had humble beginnings with just six people, but the opportunity for great fellowship and the potential to sling some lead picked up steam this year.
I traveled up from Houston along with Larry (“bzzboys”) and his two sons, Cameron (“bzzJr#1”) and Tyler (“bzzJr#2). We met up with Brad (“BigSwad”), Tim (“Colusaduckhunter”), and TimJackson at a predetermined location. We shook hands, made introductions and then proceeded to one of the sunflower fields on Long Ranch.
By 4:00pm we had settled into a tree line of mesquite trees along a fence line. There was a sea of sunflowers about knee high in front of me. It wasn’t long after we settled down that Larry(“bzzboys”) notifies me, “doves flying in behind you!”
Turns out they flared before entering my field of view, but it was a nice awakening and transition into dove opener weekend.
Further down the field that we were hunting, there was another group of hunters that were seeing quite a bit of action. As I scanned the skyline and the field in front of me, my eyes were drawn to the flashing wings of their Mojo dove. We would see birds on the far end of the field change course and fly by their Mojo.
It didn’t take long before Larry (“bzzboys”) walks back to his truck to retrieve his own Mojo dove. There was an unforeseen obstacle though. He needed fresh batteries. He commented that tomorrow he would be prepared with fresh batteries.
As the afternoon progressed, the sun dropped lower in the sky, and that nice mesquite tree behind me started to provide some shade relief from the Texas heat. With the day winding down, more bird movement was observed and more shooting took place. Usually the birds would come in “onesies” and “twosies”, with one nice wave of 7-8 mourning doves. Larry (“bzzboys”) was able to get a nice double on that series. I also was able to get some shooting in and picked up probably the easiest bird as it flew straight at me and almost landed in my lap as it went down. There was no need for a retriever or a hike through the sunflowers for that mourning dove.
As the first afternoon hunt came to a close, we collected our gear and headed back to the truck. We breasted out our birds, put them on ice, and then headed back to the gate of the ranch to meet up with Tim (“Colusaduckhunter”), Brad (“BigSwad”), and TimJackson.
Everyone indicated that they saw birds and were able to bring down several as well, with Larry (“bzzboys”) taking the most, 10 mourning doves. A common theme among the group was that rather than seeing birds, sometimes we got side tracked. “We just started talking and missed opportunities on several occasions”, said Tim (“Colusaduckhunter”), who had just met and was hunting with Brad (“BigSwad”).
We discussed our respective hunts at the gate until it was too dark to see, at which point we loaded up and drove into the town of Gordon to a local pizza restaurant. TimJackson grew up in this area, so he was a valuable resource for finding eating establishments, providing local information, navigation, and making us feel welcome. It seemed that he knew just about everyone that we came upon in the small town of Gordon. After a long and eventful day, great fellowship, stories, and a good meal, we finally left the restaurant and were able to make it to our motel rooms by 1:30am. It seemed that hanging out with these guys in the real world was even more enjoyable than the online “virtual” world.
The next morning, we met TimJackson at a meeting place in Gordon. In addition to the previous day’s hunters, Bruce (“PowDuck”), Mike (“Shadow”), and Mike’s son did the early morning drive-in to meet up with everyone. Bruce (“PowDuck”) had to drive from Texarkana to meet Mike (“Shadow”) at 3:00am in order to make it to Gordon in time for the hunt. I think Bruce (“PowDuck”) was leaving his home in Texarkana about the same time the rest of us were going to sleep at 1:30am the night before!
In addition to Mike and Bruce, Cathy (“satchmo”), her sister (“Daisy Mae”), and Cathy’s husband Brian also made the early morning rendezvous for the hunt. After everyone arrived and became acquainted with each other, Larry (“bzzboys”) walked up with a box. It appeared that bzz had just robbed the JHO store, as he opened the box; it was full of JHO t-shirts, coffee mugs, hats, JHO stickers, and other miscellaneous items, courtesy of Jesse. (Thanks Jesse!)
After the JHO paraphernalia was distributed, TimJackson then led us to a large field that we were going to hunt. Everyone parked their vehicles along the perimeter of the field. We unloaded and started spreading out along the field’s edge. As I was walking, I saw some nice whitetail deer tracks that meandered through a patch of prickly pear cactus. The glow of the early morning light revealed that the track was quite large with an indentation in the earth from the dew claw. I continued to walk and eventually eased back into a spot with a nice mesquite tree behind me so that I could hang my pack on one of its branches. The sun started to rise above the horizon and revealed a sliver of fog across the field. I pulled out the camera to preserve the memory and then readied my shotgun since shooting light was moments away.
I scanned down the tree line and observed the group of Tim (“Colusaduckhunter”), Cathy (“satchmo”), Brian and Daisy Mae congregating together, talking, and enjoying the morning. Closer to me was Larry (“bzzboys”) and his two sons. Also, in front of Larry was his Mojo dove out in the field of sunflowers, spinning its wings at full power and drawing attention from the first doves of the morning that started flying through. The bird activity was similar to the hunt the night before, with groups of 2-3 birds flying through every couple of minutes, and giving the JHO lineup a chance to take them. Everyone was getting in on the action and was able to do some shooting and take down several birds.
Kids and dogs worked hard
Youngsters and dogs shared the retrieving duties. |
The afternoon hunt was similar to the morning hunt; great companionship, and opportunities to shoot some birds as they flew from field to field. Cathy (“satchmo”) and her crew headed out as well as Mike (“Shadow”) and Bruce (“PowDuck”) before the end of the afternoon hunt since they were not planning on staying the night and had a drive ahead of them. The conclusion of this hunt was the final hunt for all except a few who would hunt the next morning.
The 2nd Annual JHO Texas dove hunt was a great opportunity and landscape to meet the Texas members of JHO. A big thank you goes out to TimJackson for hosting the group, and giving us the opportunity to meet and shoot on his uncle’s ranch. The JHO gathering was a huge success, drawing in members from across the state, and even one from across the nation. It was an enjoyable experience where screen names turned into real names, hand shakes turned into friendships, and a great experience turned into a valuable memory.
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