Steve Merlo: Seeking answers from the City
| Thursday, Aug 27 2009 09:04 PM
Last Updated Thursday, Aug 27 2009 09:06 PM
Loading Stories
Advertisement
I've never understood why the City of Bakersfield allows bicycling on its exterior properties and swimming in all its public waters, but not bird hunting. Checking a host of national safety statistics, sport hunting lies way down on a long list of the most dangerous recreational activities, while riding a bike or swimming ranks at the top. So why are swimmers and cyclists allowed to use Bakersfield's assets and hunters are not?
Is it something sport hunters have physically done to merit this slap-in-the-face, or is the culprit simply some uneducated person in local government telling us we cannot because they abhor hunting in general, or worse yet, people with guns? Are the city lawyers spouting nonsensical and unbased gibberish about liability? What's the deal here, anyway?
Also, can someone tell me, with a brief "in-English" explanation, why the same folks running our city government have purchased many acres of worthless wasteland 40-miles away from the city limits with our tax monies? For what purposes? Oh, yeah, that property's closed to hunting, too, even if it is miles away from any civilization, but that's not really the point. What's happening here, anyway?
Dove prospects heartening
Barring any last-minute cold snaps like the ones that blew through Kern County over the last few weeks, the Sept.1 dove opener should still provide plenty of action. A lot of birds did migrate south with the recent drop in temperatures, but there are thousands left to heat up sportsmen's gun barrels.
Most of the action will occur on private grain fields and orchards, making written permission especially critical. Almond growers have already began harvesting their nuts, so with workers in the trees, most farmers understandably will not allow shooters to free-roam their properties. However, a determined hunter should be able to ask for and receive that coveted slip of paper with just a little hat-in-hand legwork.
Smart hunters will also assure the landowner that they will clean up all trash and empties, and even smarter ones will take a minute to drop off a gift certificate for dinner at his residence.
Doves are particularly attracted to feed in harvested grain fields, then roosting in nearby orchards. Hundreds, sometimes thousands, will flock into a field to glean the leftover yield, providing plenty of action. With a generous 10-bird mourning dove limit and a no-limit policy on Eurasian Collared doves, the outlook is excellent when the season opens a half-hour before sunrise on Tuesday.
Is there a right gun for doves?
I still believe the 12-gauge is way too much gun for doves, but then, what do I know? Most of my friends, however, enjoy the soft-recoil and light handling qualities of a 20- or 28-gauge, and I stand with them. Occasionally, when perfect conditions permit, a couple of other friends and I like to shoot a .410, but that's not always an option, especially when spooky birds are flying high and wide.
New space-age advances in ammo have allowed manufacturers to come out with light, 3/4- and 7/8-ounce, 12-gauge loads that cycle well in semiauto shotguns, have light recoil and cost less than premium field shotshells. Designed primarily as trap or skeet loads, these light shells work well on the diminutive bird of peace, parrotting the standard 20- or 28-gauges in speed and shot capacity.
Of course, most hunters who own a single shotgun will probably have a 12-gauge, and there's nothing wrong with that. One of my better friends has a ton of other gauges, but simply relies on his trusty 12-bore Benelli to bring home the bacon, whether he hunts geese, ducks or doves. He rarely misses, and though I kid him often, he stands pat on the twelve's capabilities and I cannot fault his logic.
So what are the best shot sizes for doves? Most hunters opt for No. 8 shot, but a surprising number are using No. 9s for increased pattern density and more hits on target. 8s have a maximum effective range of about 42 yards and 9s a little less, but each will and can kill a lot farther. However, stretching effective ranges sometimes results in crippled doves or a missed shot because of pattern failure at those longer distances. The mighty 12-gauge, with its increased shot capacity capabilities, then becomes the weapon of choice, making up the extra distance by delivering more downrange pellets in its overall pattern.
When the shooting gets tough or the birds fly a little higher, I like the characteristics of No. 71/2-shot. Individual pellets are heavier than 8s or 9s, and even though there are less shot in each equivalent load, one BB in the bird's engine room will quickly dismantle a dove's day. I also like 71/2s for new shooters or kids just learning to hunt, so that a single "golden" pellet will kill a dove outright with a minimum of crippled birds.
I also like to handload my own shotshells to higher speeds than most store-bought ammo, because the laws of physics are definitely on my side when I safely crank a load up to maximum potential. Lately, though, ammunition manufactures have also sped up their wares to speeds in excess of the old standard of 1,200 feet per second to around 1,300 for lightweight loads. The new shotshells are devastating, because, like the adage suggests, "speed ."
The extra foot pounds of energy each pellet expends on target because of the extra velocity makes a huge difference in knock-down power. I really like them and I know you will, too. See you out there and when in doubt, add more lead!
