Anyone else on this dove lease this year? We hit them hard opening day and haven't seen many birds since. I think the eastern fields are shot up, but wanted to see if anyone else was having luck, and if so, what fields.

Sounds all too familiar; same pattern as last year. I decided not to sign up this year.

My main goal in life is to find a beer as cold as a woman's heart

We had some luck on a field out near East Bernnard on Saturday morning for about an hour, then it died down. I think we are going to keep trying the fields that are further out from Houston, the others seem shot up.

Those dove clubs are all the same. Very hit and miss after opening day. You are just leasing the crap fields that the outfitter had to lease from the land owner to get the good duck and goose land.

2 of us killed 4 Mournings yesterday evening at Marick. Maybe saw 15. I've had worse days.

Too bad barn swallows aren't doves.

What do you mean...African or European Swallow?

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2 of us killed 4 Mournings yesterday evening at Marick. Maybe saw 15. I've had worse days.

Too bad barn swallows aren't doves.

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Went by Marrick on Saturday evening and it was packed wall to wall with hunters. Went over to Spur 10 and 90 field and shot a couple. Ended up with about 7 on the day.

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What do you mean...African or European Swallow?

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I might have the name wrong. Those red-breasted birds with black wings that fly in flocks that seem to range from 5 - 300. They're always out, but don't shoot them. Always wonder if the shots we hear are just blowing those suckers up when we're not seeing many doves.

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Went by Marrick on Saturday evening and it was packed wall to wall with hunters. Went over to Spur 10 and 90 field and shot a couple. Ended up with about 7 on the day.

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There was probably 5-7 trucks out there yesterday. Where did you draw opening day? We were at Foster School Road.

We were at Scott Road on opening day and shot 55 birds between 4 of us. I have been back there once since and there wasn't much action.

I can't get mad at guys from Houston wanting to come out and hunt. But, damn, every one of those lease services(refuse to use the word guide) is really putting a detrimental effect on the area. Piling 5x more hunters than necessary into a field doesn't affect just that field, it affects every surrounding field also. I want to get mad but I can't as I realize everyone would like the opportunity to get out and hunt. And this is "progress"...

I googled grey feather and you can go to the website and see the maps for the properties. There are about 15 properties. I'm familiar with the location of each property, and some of those are just terrible. We could go out after class back in HS and hunt and not really hear any other shooting. This dove lease thing must be a new trend. Pleak and Beasley sounded like a war zone opening day.

I was bow hunting yesterday evening but some friends hunted behind his parents' house on 1875 and they parked the truck in the dry pond, and shot at birds coming into a mud hole on snake creek. Lack of water is hurting the area too.

*****Lastly, this is pure speculation and boredom*********
I went on a dove hunt in Devine one year, and will never do the dove guide thing again. The hunt was given to me and I had heard great things about it. The hunting was great, hunting with strangers not so much!

Upon googling grey feather, they advertise in the chron, leasehunter, 2cool, the texas hunting forum, and plenty of other internet zoos. The cost of the season lease is $150. Upon looking at the size of the fields, I would say 10 guys per field would be pretty good. But a price that cheap with relative proximity to houston would tell me that there's going to be a lot more than 150 hunters showing up opening day, combined with scouting putting a higher rate of hunters in certain fields.( The fields with huisache trees for roosting etc)

In conclusion, I traveled all the way to South of San Antonio and was covered up in Barney's. I can only imagine the clusterf*** that is grey feathers. People in Houston only have to drive 30-45 minutes to get to beasley. Combine that with the fact that anyone with 150 bucks can be a member. At this rate im thinking there was an average of 2.4 mojo doves per acre?

Redfish-- you are pretty spot on, but as a resident of Houston who doesn't own land anywhere, it was really my only choice.

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quote:What do you mean...African or European Swallow?



I might have the name wrong. Those red-breasted birds with black wings that fly in flocks that seem to range from 5 - 300. They're always out, but don't shoot them. Always wonder if the shots we hear are just blowing those suckers up when we're not seeing many doves.

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HA!! Hook, line and sinker.

Catfish, totally not bashing on people wanting to get out and hunt. If Lived in Dallas or San Antonio I would be in your same boat. I just get aggravated at the way these things are ran. Maybe charge a little more and keep the pressure down. But I know its gets expensive for a working man with children to get out and hunt. And then we get back to the argument of hunting out-pricing itself for the working man. Its a double-edged sword.

I agree-- this thing could be managed alot better.

Does anyone around the Houston area have any better options then these big leases like this for next season?