SHOOTING PIGEONS AND DOVES

We are fortunate in that there are a diversity and relatively ample quantity of pigeons and doves in our country. There are three species of pigeon, one green pigeon and nine species of doves, and all are members of the genus Columbidae. The smaller species are called doves while the bigger species are known as pigeons. Of these, five species may be legally hunted in our various provinces. In fact, most are considered vermin and are allowed to be shot all year round. So therefore, in the offseason, when there is nothing else to shoot, the desperate wingshooter can always fall back on these commonplace species to keep his eye in.

Common they may well be, but shot-for-shot the best sustained wingshooting in the country is that of pigeons and doves. Fine sport can be enjoyed by anyone willing to give it a try and very testing shooting can be provided by the red-eye and turtle doves as well as the Rameron and rock pigeons.

Those who are misguided enough to think that these are not really “worthwhile” game birds, might be surprised to learn that in Britain the wood pigeon (a considerably larger bird than the rock pigeon), and in the USA the mourning dove (which is similar in size and shape to our Namaqua dove) are the most hunted species by far. The annual bags are in the order of 50 million mourning doves out of an estimated population of 480 million (10.4%) and 2.5 million