Dove hunting also allows parents a chance to break their kids into the hunting world. Most children are brought along at an early age to observe, and many of them serve as human retrievers; picking up doves makes them feel more a part of the proceedings. Lots of adult hunters cheerfully recall their first experience of fetching downed birds in the dove field, and the pride they felt at having been included in the hunt.

Victims of urban sprawl, agricultural lands are disappearing rapidly in South Alabama, but wonderful opportunities are yet available to wingshooters. Most dove hunting is now done through clubs: Interested parties pool money and lease several fields, paying someone to disk, plant and maintain the shooting sites. Shooting rotates from field to field to avoid dispersing the birds through exerting too much pressure. Most hunting is done on Saturdays, but some weekday action occurs as well.

When shooting early-season doves, it pays to know what kind of food will attract the most birds. While some of the greatest dove hunts I've ever been on were made over cornfields, doves are rarely attracted to larger grains when the weather's still hot. Warmer weather usually sees the birds hankering for smaller seeds like those of millet and wheat.

After the first couple of weeks of the season, the doves become quite wary. Instead of impetuously dive-bombing a field, they'll make a few passes on the edge to check it out. When the birds' caution increases, you have to restrict your movement and improve your concealment, possibly with the aid of a blind. Most sporting goods stores carry portable blinds. Or, you can stop by the building materials store and buy some small wooden stakes or PVC pipe to shove into the ground and drape with camo material. While holding movement to a minimum is overall a must for the pursuit of wary doves, one sort of movement can be beneficial: Dove decoys made with spinning wings have been shown to be highly effective. Standard dove decoys placed on the ground or a nearby tree or fence can be well complemented by a motion decoy. The Mojo Dove, a battery-powered motion decoy, sits on a short metal stand, its spinning wings simulating a dove flapping its wings. This motion can be seen at a considerable distance, and actually works to attract birds into range.

Not all dove hunting is restricted to dove clubs. Many charitable organizations put together hunts known as "pay shoots." Usually a fee is charged for the hunt, which is followed up with a fish fry or barbecue afterwards, the cost of the meal being included in the hunt charge. These types of hunts are advertised in local newspapers several weeks in advance. And sometimes the action can be red-hot!