With dove season upon us, here are five reasons to hunt with a single shot.
Save shotgun shells
Most people prefer to hunt dove with a semi-automatic or pump shotgun. The primary appeal of each is the ability to throw out as much lead as possible.
With a single shot, you can't get as many rounds off, but you won't burn up boxes of shells just to bring a few dove home.
Save your shoulder
It stands to reason, that if you are shooting fewer rounds, you're taking less recoil to your shoulder. Anyone who's hunted dove on a good day knows the feeling of a sore shoulder.
Carry a lighter gun
Most times, a single shot is going to be quite a bit lighter than a semi-automatic or pump. If you have to hike to get to your dove spot, taking a lighter firearm is not a bad idea.
For the first week, when dove aren't as spooky, I like to take my .410 single shot. Of course, as it gets later in the season, you're going to want something that reaches out a bit farther.
Improve your accuracy
All too often, when a flock of dove come in hot and heavy, you get to thinking about making your second and third shots. Doing this keeps you from focusing on your first shot.
When you only have one shell to begin with, you focus on the task at hand, not what's coming next.
Reminisce about younger years
How many of us grew up with a single shot as our first gun? I'd venture to say it was most hunters. What better way to introduce a youngster to hunting? Heading to the field with a single shot can take you back to where it all began.
I still remember my first shotgun—a single-shot, 20-gauge New England Arms. I shot many quail and pheasant in the cold Nebraska winters with that gun and hunting with a single shot now always takes me back.
Using a single shot is a fun way to challenge yourself this dove season. If nothing else, for mediocre shots like myself, it offers a ready excuse when you don't hit as many as everyone else.
Whatever shotgun you use, get out and bag yourself a few dove.
NEXT: HOW TO GET STARTED HUNTING CROWS: 5 USEFUL TIPS
