Mount Pleasant Magazine Nov/Dec 2017

83 www.MountPleasantMagazine.com | www.ILoveMountPleasant.com | www.BestofMP.com feature long months have passed since the last dove season. The anticipation of throwing the gun up at the sight of a dove builds. Here they come, a nice pair of doves over the tree line. A hunter yells out, “bird” for everyone to be aware and be at the ready. The first shot rings out. The birds quickly change direction. They approach the second hunter, and a series of two shots ring out. The birds continue unscathed. They get pushed to yet another shooter, and another, dipping and dodging. They find themselves at the far corner of the field, having escaped a wall of lead until one final “boom.” One drops to the ground and the field goes silent. The hunters tip their hats to the “hot gun” on the field, reload and prepare for the next opportunity to do the same. Want toGo DoveHunting? We grew up hunting as guests of an old family friend on his plantation. The fields were large, well-managed and replete with birds. We spent many weekends shooting at those little gray rocket ships dipping and diving to avoid our barrels. Having left the sport for many years, I found it challenging to secure a spot on a field to hunt. I didn’t realize how good we had it as kids. I found that networking with friends and putting the word out, especially on social media, produced the best results. One invitation led to two and so on and so forth. I continued connecting those dots until I had found a small club to join that fit my needs andmy budget. New hunters, or hunters like me returning to the sport after many years, can take advantage of the wonderful public land hunts offered by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. The state is full of public dove fields that are usually within an hour’s drive of most folks. Check it out at www.dnr.sc.gov/wildlife/dove/fields.html 843-884-0646 Mt Pleasant, SC www.LowcountryPreOwned.com LowCountry PreOwnedVehicles NOW OPEN