The author and son with their golden doodle.
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It’s that time of year when the days are getting a little shorter, and it is just a bit chillier at daylight. Fall is on the way, and with it comes hunting season, the best time of the year. The first hunting opportunity to come is for the majestic dove. Doves are some of the fastest, most zig-zag flying birds out there, and with most of us being out of practice with our shooting, you can bet on there being an abundance of misses. Our poor shooting skills this time of year, along with these challenging targets, makes it even more important that we find the best dove load that we can for this hunt. Although the range of options for shotgun shells for dove is not too wide, we do have a few different choices, depending on our shotgun, choke, and most importantly, our particular hunting set-up. Most brands are pretty comparable. The main difference is the shot size and weight that we have to choose between.
Early in the season, the birds are not as skittish and can give us closer shots. The 8 shot works well in this scenario. The smaller the shot size, the more pellets they pack inside the shell, so 8 shot has more pellets than 7.5 shot. We typically have better luck with the closer shots they offer when we use the smaller shot size and can fire more pellets at them. Most often, we don’t get much notice on these close-up shots, when the birds make a sudden appearance, making the higher number of pellets we have all the more valuable. But, if you are hunting in a large, open field, the birds might not come in as close as you would like, forcing you to take slightly longer shots instead. In cases like this, larger shot such as 7.5 would probably be best. The size of the pellets is a little bigger, giving it more knock down power this far out.
Then we turn to look at our options on the weight. The higher the payload, or total weight of the pellets, the more pellets there are. At first, it would seem that the more pellets are better, but that is not necessarily the case. For example, a one-ounce payload of 8 shot would have about 410 pellets, whereas 1 1/8 ounces will have about 461. More pellets are better, right? Well, that is not always the case. That might be true if the amount of powder increased to go with the heavier payload. However, when we have the same amount of powder pushing two loads of pellets of different weights, that powder will fire the one-ounce load faster and harder than the heavier 1 1/8 load. There won’t be much difference really close in, but at 20 to 30 yards, the heavier load has now become weaker than the lighter load. Now, at 15 to 20 yards, the heavier pellets would still be a good idea. But once you get much farther out, the payload can really start to make a difference, and obviously, the more you go up in weight, the more you go down as far as power at a distance.
My field set-up is on the smaller side. That is not necessarily my preference, but it is the layout that my land provides me. I have just an acre or two, laid out in a long, narrow strip, that is surrounded by trees on all sides, meaning that shots I take will be somewhat close. Because of this scenario and the close shots, my shell load of choice is the 1 1/8 ounce number 8 shot. This gives me the higher number of pellets, along with enough power to knock them down cleanly. With all of this in mind, I’ve put together a list of some of the most effective dove loads on the market. There are plenty of ammo brands with great reputations for high performance and reliable shells, but each may perform better with each particular shotgun, so it is important to pattern a few different options before season. Here is a short list of some of the more popular, easily accessible shells.
Federal Hi-Bird
- Gauge: 12
- Length: 2 ¾
- Weight: 1 1/8
- Shot: 8
- Velocity: 1,200
- Contact: Federal
Winchester Super X
- Gauge: 12
- Length: 2 ¾
- Weight: 1 1/8
- Shot: 8
- Velocity: 1,255
- Contact: Winchester
Remington Heavy Dove Load
- Gauge: 12
- Length: 2 ¾
- Weight: 1 1/8
- Shot: 7.5
- Velocity: 1,255
- Contact: Remington
Fiocchi Dove Load
- Gauge: 12
- Length: 2 ¾
- Weight: 1
- Shot: 7.5
- Velocity: 1,250
- Contact: Fiocchi
Browning Performance Target
- Gauge: 12
- Length: 2 ¾
- Weight: 1 1/8
- Shot: 8
- Velocity: 1,155
- Contact: Browning
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