St. Joseph News-Press

When will it ever end? How much longer will the heat last? Will autumn ever arrive?

Well, we learned the answer to those questions this week: Of course, soon, not much longer and certainly. With the start of September came the promise of cooler weather, and so far it hasn't been disappointing.

However, for some of us, another arrival of early fall is even more anticipated than the moderate temperatures. Dove season opened Sept. 1, and camo-clad hunters welcomed the chance to get back in the swing of this shooters' delight.

Doves are the most sought-after game bird in America. The annual harvest of America's dove hunters usually equals or exceeds the harvest of all other game birds combined. It's no wonder the annual dove opener is looked forward to by so many. It is the swan song of summer.

Outdoorsmen know dove season signals the end of those long, hot days of summer and the beginning of those sweet, cooler temperatures of fall.

It's funny, though, how even our taste for warm weather seems to change a bit in September. All of a sudden, cooler temperatures aren't as attractive as they were only a few short days ago. No one looks forward to that first early cold snap that sends the birds south. Warm weather somehow doesn't seem so bad when the doves are thick and reliable.

Regardless of how the weather affects the doves, hunters and fishermen have long associated dove season with our annual return to our favorite pastimes. As triple-digit temperatures fade, we eagerly clean and inspect our shotguns, archery gear and rifles. Fishing equipment is at last being put to use again, and most hunting seasons are just around the corner.

Yes, dove season is highly anticipated, even by those more sensible types who don't hunt the fast and furious critters. But for those who do, the anticipation borders on a religious event.

Dove hunters are complex creatures, almost as flighty as the bird they pursue. The shear volume of shells fired at these erratic flying buzz-bombs by these folks is amazing. Most will shoot more in one trip to the field than most other hunters of other types of gamebirds will shoot in an entire season.

That's not to say dove hunters are poor shooters. Quite to the contrary, we're all excellent wingshots. Just ask one of us. It's just that with liberal limits and the unpredictable flight patterns of these birds, limits usually require lots of lead in the air. Most hardcore dove hunters have taken up reloading their shotshells to offset the heavy cost of maintaining a sufficient supply of fodder.

Apparently, the idea behind shooting so much ammo is to fill the air full of holes in hopes that the doves will suffocate. Though I have seen this ploy used and actually tried it myself on many occasions in the dove fields, I have yet to see it work as intended. More often, all that falls from the sky after a barrage from my favorite shotgun is the same lead I just threw up there.

Some days I believe it is actually more dangerous to be sitting beside me than flying above me. Spent shot, falling from the sky by the pound, can be hazardous.

I'm the only dove hunter I know who wears a camouflage hardhat, although I have overheard the whispers of some hunters who regularly share fields with me speaking of the virtues of a hard-top. I guess, truth be told, I have always been somewhat of a trendsetter.

I only hope my newest idea for the dove field catches on.