R. Michael DiLullo

Southern Doves, A Legacy of Tradition

The breeze woke me from my semi-sleep-like state. The heat was beginning to dissipate, although, the sun was still high in the late afternoon sky. Through the shimmering mirage-like waves, I could see two camo-clad hunters taking-up their position across the field. My two female English Springer Spaniels “Bess” and “Flo,” lying one on each side, had managed to find what limited shade was available. I leaned back against the roll of hay and checked my watch. It was nearly 4 p.m., the magic hour was approaching, the sky would soon be full of doves. I would have plenty of targets and the dogs, hopefully would have birds to retrieve.

We were all having a drink of water when the first shots rang out across the field. The girls instantly “hupped” (sat) at attention, ready for action. I reached for my shotgun and looking skyward waited for the first dove of the season to fly within my reach. It wasn’t long before the Browning spoke.

Being Southern by birth, but, having grown-up in the northeast I had no first hand experience with the ways or traditions of the south, especially in hunting. I had only heard stories from family members and read accounts by some of this centuries greatest outdoor writers. Men like Nash Buckingham and Robert Ruark penned their impressions and laid down on paper what would become for me the foundation of my hunting experience. These men shared a common love of being afield with their dogs. They hunted a variety of game, some on different continents, but, they both shared a fondness for the southern dove hunt. And so it would be, years later, when my parents purchased a farm in south central Virginia, that I became ingratiated with hunting in the south. Most of southern hunting, I would find, is more on a social level, then of solitude and individualism. The lonely baying of a coon dog across a dark swamp, the excitement of a pack of hounds as they “jump” deer, the flush of a quail covey and a Tom’s early morning gobble, were all visceral and shared experiences.

Southern dove hunting is a cultural social function; it is about comradery and more importantly, tradition. It is a community event and it is quite common to see three or more generations of family members heading-out together to the dove fields. Dove hunting’s history and traditions can be traced far back into the culture. Traditions which have been handed down through generations of southern hunters, some of who’s lineage can be traced to the original settlers of the very land on which they hunt.

The tools of the dove hunting trade, a good fitting gun, plenty of shells and a few dove decoys can contribute to a successful day in the dove fields. Photo by: Author

Throughout much of the southern United States, Labor Day weekend is the opener for mourning doves. Dove hunting in the south represents the beginning of fall and another hunting season, the start of the harvest, a chance to be afield again and to renew old acquaintances. The return of the migratory mourning doves each fall draws hunters of all ages to the crop fields. The dove fields of the south are special places, where the stories and the learning process are as important as the hunting itself. For many southern youngsters the dove field will be their formal introduction into hunting and the shooting sports. It is also the beginning of their kinship with the outdoors, the reverence of nature that lives in all true outdoorsmen. These lessons will be the foundations of lifelong ethics, values and traditions. The handing down of vast knowledge passed on from father’s fathers are ensured and will continue into the next generation.

The dove fields of the south also bring together a rich diversity of cultures and social status. Men (and increasingly more women) of all walks of life gather each September to renew their bonds with nature and test their skills against the aerobatic doves. Their shotguns are as diverse as the sportsmen themselves, for nowhere in the shooting sports will you see such a varied selection of scatter guns used for downing a game bird. Fine English doubles, vintage American classics by such legendary gun makers as Parker, Smith, Fox, Browning and Winchester are stationed next to modern auto-loaders and pump guns.