report from the field: Labor Day dove shoot

We were invited to a farm just south of Shelbyville, KY for a Labor Day shoot.  We arrived and gathered under some big shade trees and received our marching orders from the master of the shoot.  Everyone was spread out along the fence row and the out buildings on top of a small ridge.  Alan and I were sent away from everyone else to a field that was freshly tilled that bordered a soy bean field.  We started out under a beautiful line of big old trees and watched the flight patterns to try and get a sense of the best positions.  Alan went to the end of the field where there was a tree the birds seemed to be targeting.  I liked the looks of a small rise in the middle of the field where birds were dropping into.
We both took our positions and probably got a shot or two off and then it started to drizzle.  The clouds to the west were big and charcoal in color.  We started to head back to the pickup that was parked along the tree line and then it starting coming down harder.  By the time we climbed in the truck it really started pouring.
We sat in the truck and shot the breeze and solved all the worlds problems.  We could not tell if everyone headed to an out building or did they call it a day.  After some time the rain stopped and we got our gear together and then we could hear the guns in the distance.
We did not have a ton of birds, so we were picking our shots and having success.  It is nice to have a big dirt field to find your birds.  Of course that nice dirt field was now mud and my Danner boots felt like 25lbs each after crossing the field many times to retrieve birds.  Near the end of the shoot we moved over to a small sunflower patch and had a couple more shots, but my last bird dropped into the soy beans.  Tough, tough going trying to find a bird in beans without a dog.  I finally found the bird and said that was it for me today, if I am not shooting over a dirt field, forget it.  Time for a beer.
Our host was the best and had vittels ready for us as we came out of the field.  Frog legs, snapping turtle, dove, teal, mallard, venison, wild turkey: all being prepared on a grill and in the deep fryer on the driveway.  I enjoyed it all.

- Mark