September 1st, 2010 opened with a bang! That is, that it is the opening date of the Upland Game bird season here in Montana. For the last few years, I and some other friends, have made it a tradition to make the opening a family affair for Mourning Doves. Here in the Northern Hemisphere a person has to take advantage of the warm weather while they can. The first good cold front that pushes in after the 1st of September will push a lot of the doves out of this area to the south. Opening day we had several families out in the field, along with 10 to 12 kids running every which way. I love taking kids hunting for several reasons, but at the same time I am a nervous wreck as well. I continuously finding myself pulling up on birds that I had dead to rights, due to the fact that I caught sight of a child out of the corner of my eye moving my way, and I didn’t want the swing of the barrel to come anywhere close to their direction. All in all it was a great day and the kids really enjoyed themselves. After the 4th or 5th trip out this year, I think we might have enough Dove breast meat for a meal. My kids always enjoy when we have wild game for dinner, especially a meal that they were a part of harvesting.
