Camo Mom: Women’s dove hunt — not many doves, but a whole lot of laughs

Last fall I headed south for a women’s only dove hunt.  Now, I don’t mean south to Argentina, I mean south Missouri.  My friend, Marti Davis, had invited me to join her and three other women to hunt doves near her home in Willard.  I could hardly wait to get there, excited not only about the hunt, but also about meeting other women that shared the same interest in the outdoors that I do.

The group was a nice blend; an outdoor writer, an Outdoor Program Director for the Girl Scouts of Dogwood Trails Council, a Court Reporter, a RedHead Pro Field staffer/quarry dispatcher and a licensed massage therapist/fishing guide.  No preaching the Second Amendment to this choir.  We were all avid shooters and hunters, and there was a mutual love and respect of guns among us.

Barb Baird, Marti Davis, Tammy Ballew, Diana Dobbs, Linda Du Brul

After a brief grip and grin session of meeting everyone, we got set up to do some clay shooting, honing our skills for the next day’s dove hunt.  The shotgun choices of each of the women was interesting to see, almost like an introduction in and of itself:  Marti Davis with her Browning Gold, a 12-gauge, and Diana Dobbs with a Franchi 12-gauge.  I loved watching the expression on their faces as they were pulling their shotguns from the cases.  You could see the pride of ownership in each of them.  Everyone’s shotgun seemed to be a good fit for its owner.

Babbs with her friend, Weatherby Orion

Barb Baird, aka, Babbs, showed off her Weatherby Orion 20-gauge over-and-under. “It was the first gun I ever bought with my own funds, about 15 years ago, at Hilkemeyer General Store, in Freeburg, Missouri,” explained Barb.  “I liked the way it fit and I’ve always liked the way it performs and swings. I even like to shoot it for trap and skeet at the range.”  Barb went on to describe a feeling the rest of us know so well, “I know you’re not supposed to get attached to material things, but this is one that I’d really miss if it were taken away and it’s one that has a place to a special person in my last will and testament.  And I know she’s going to love it, too.”

Linda Du Brul’s shotgun was a Remington 1148.  An interesting fact we learned from the Outdoor Program Director for the Girl Scouts, the 1148 predated the Remington 1100 and was the first new shotgun introduced after WWII.  Linda went on to detail, “They introduced it in 1949 and discontinued it in 1968.  Mine was probably made in 1965.”  What a gorgeous specimen of a gun.

The fearless four: Diana, Marti, Linda and Pistol-Packing Babbs improvising since she had laid her shotgun down to take pictures.

After admiring the guns and listening to the stories behind them, we settled down to a few rounds of clays.  There was no prize given that day for the most clay targets dusted.  We had some great hits and some really great misses.  It was a good practice run for the hunt coming up the next morning.

That evening our host graced us with a wonderful dinner.  We had some to-die-for venison steaks, a little wine (well, maybe a lot of wine), and some great conversation.  We had a lot of laughs sitting around the table that evening and hated for the evening to end too early, but in anticipation of the next day, we finally quieted down and got a few hours sleep.

Before hardly getting to sleep, the alarm went off and the delicious smell of coffee brewing and breakfast cooking wafted through the air.  Everyone was abuzz, scurrying around getting gear ready for the hunt.  It’s always amazing how much faster we awaken on play days than work days.

Diana, Marti and Barb, demonstrating safe-carry on the way to cornfield.

It was a beautiful, made-to-order morning as we headed to the fields.  A slight, low-lying fog soon rose to open up to a glorious day.

We paired off and spread out the length of a cornfield, awaiting what we hoped would be a swarm of migrating doves.  We stood or sat watching with great anticipation for a flock to come swooping into the cornfield.  Unfortunately, for us, but fortunately, for them, that didn’t happen that day.  There were a few stragglers that must have gotten left behind the day before.  We managed to bring down some of them throughout the morning as they flew in, but several others burned by and escaped our watchful eyes.

Around noon our group gathered back up and decided to try a few other areas to locate some doves.  Of course, we were starved again and talked our host into going through a drive-thru for a quick lunch.  You can imagine the look on the restaurant workers’ faces when a truck full of camouflaged women pulled through.  It didn’t help that we were all a little giddy with hunger at that point either.

Shady Ladies wearing their shades in the shade; Linda, Tammy, Marti, Diana and Barb.

After downing our lunch like a crew of famished loggers, we drove around checking on a few other normally “dove-y” spots, but were unable to locate any birds.  Some of us were scheduled to leave late that afternoon, so we headed back to the lodge to pack up and say our good-byes.

We may not have limited out on doves that trip, but there’s no limit to the friendships gained and memories acquired.  The success of the hunt, for me, lies in those accomplishments.