Snipe Hunting

[Hammer]

There is walking snipe up and shooting them on the rise, then there is wing shooting snipe in a high wind as they buzz around a wet, soggy bottomed field in huge flights...Flushign them is challenging shooting but shooting them on the fly like doves is an unbelievable challenge, especially in a high wind...5-6 birds per box is good shooting under such conditions...

Snipe season opened Nov 13, quail season opened Nov 24, duck season opened Nov 26/Dec 4 and Woodcock opened Dec 18...Since dove season closed on Oct 23 and did not reopen until Dec 18, that meant there were no wing shooting opportunities in most of MS from Oct 23-Nov 13 and not until Nov 24 if you had no snipe...This is why the dove season dates this year were CRAZY...Dove season should be 70 days/12 birds (like in LA) and should run for the first three weeks of Sept, first three weeks of Oct, first three weeks of Nov with a short season around Christmas. Simple as that...

For the first time that I have lived in MS, I did not hunt doves during Second Season and yet in late October/early November we were absolutely covered up wiht doves. I went once in December, killed 6 doves and called it a (pitiful) dove year...

Dont get me started on how boogered up the deer season framework is.

HAMMER

[hillhunter]

Hammer i have to disagree with the dove season being screwed up. Some friends and i shot over two cases of shells in two weekends dove hunting in the afternoons during the last season. I enjoyed this more that the first season. I would welcome another season like we had this year.

[Hammer]

Glad yall had some luck but that is not the point...The point is that as a wingshooter, you had other alternatives during the 3rd dove season whereas you had no alternatives for wing shooting for most of November...IN other words, if you want to wingshoot in January, then go snipe, quail, woodcock or duck hunting...

Fact is there were a ton of doves around during late October and early-mid November so you would have probably had great hunts then to - if you had been allowed to hunt. The season was closed and you had no other wingshooting alternatives unless you had snipe which was unlikely since I have only seen 1 snipe this year and that wsa last week.

HAMMER

[mason1203]

I agree with you both hammer and hill, I had several excellent dove hunts (15+ birds) during the last Dec/Jan season, but the weather will not always be that warm in Dec and Jan so I would really like some of the season to be placed in the first few weeks of nov when it is usually still fairly warm and we can get a little wingshoothing in right before duck season

[hillhunter]

the day we killed those doves th high was 45 degrees and the low was in the 20's. wind blowing, not a warm day.

[Wingman]

I liked the late dove season...the colder the better. When it warms up, the doves seem to disappear. This year was not a good dove year from what I saw, but normally when the Blue Northers blow the doves fly in January.

I saw a ton of snipe in September last year. I usually wait until they pass me and shoot 'em in their six.