The racing season opens this weekend!!
For those of you intersted they will be having a Pigeon race from Halletsville to Houston this weekend. You dove hunters on north side of I-10 be on the look out but I doubt those 1oz loads will bring them down.

Be sure to let the owners know via photographic evidence.

The stupidity of pigeon racing during dove season never ceases to amaze me.

And the classic Banded Birds thread.

Canyon, it is all about the age of the pigeons, not about dove season. Any hunter that is worth a crap can tell the difference and anyone who purposely shoots another man's birds is one sorry, low class............

If it flies, it dies

[This message has been edited by Agfan2013 (edited 8/29/2013 10:10a).]

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Canyon, it is all about the age of the pigeons, not about dove season

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Tell me more.

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•Unprotected Birds:
•The only birds not protected by any state or federal law are European starlings, English sparrows, feral rock doves (common pigeon, Columba livia) and Eurasian collared-doves; these species may be killed at any time, their nests or eggs destroyed, and their feathers may be possessed.

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http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/regulations/outdoor-annual/hunting/nongame-and-other-species

Get an extra warm up hunt in on Saturday

Pigeon is a tasty bird.

brazos- I may not be much of a dove hunter, but I can't see a band on a pidgeon flying at high speed.

Canyon, and others. The pigeons that are raced in the early fall are young birds that were hatched this past spring. Most are 6-7 months old. The reason these races are scheduled when they are is due to the molting time of the birds. The young birds go into their first full molt later in the fall. If the races were moved back to avoid dove season then these birds would be under the stress of molting. That in itself is a stressful time for them, plus they would be missing many of their main flight feathers in their wings. That is hardly a good time to ask them to fly farther than they ever have. If the races were schedules any earlier then the birds would not be old enough and mature enough. I realize I ranted earlier and I apologize to all for that. However ethical hunters have to be able to identify their game or they should not be hunting IMHO. It is not about being able or not to see bands. These are different birds, especially from mourning doves. They are larger, they fly with different wingbeat and they are not that hard to identify if one really wants to. Duck hunters have long since learned to tell the difference of birds in the air. I will admit, that where white winged doves are being hunted that they are a bit more difficult. My point is not that some of us make mistakes because we all do. My point is to post on this board a post that suggests that hunters TARGET another man's possessions just has no place here in my opinion.

BB you seem to be under the mistaken idea that people don't intentionally shoot pigeons. In case that was not clear by the plate of BBQ pigeon above, pigeons are legal to shoot and are routinely shot ON PURPOSE to eat.

Shoot the feral pigeons around feed mills etc, don't intentionally shoot a man's racing pigeons. Actually they really are not the same.....

Brazos I was not suggesting shooting birds just to kill another persons possesions I really enjoy wrapping those suckers in bacon and putting them on the grill we have been shooting pigeons a longtime because they were abundant in our fields. Now it seems to me that they would choose a better location to start races rather than one of the busiest areas dove hunting in the state, plus an area that has seen a drastic increase in white wings. Maybe you can contact the pigeon people and suggest they begin racing pigeons in another area of Texas.

Still one of the greatest threads in TexAgs history

Ok DU . We can ask all the pigeon breeders to relocate their homes to another part of the state so as not to interfere with YOUR part. The pigeons return to their HOMES.........There are races going on all over the nation at this time of the year, and all over Texas.

[This message has been edited by BrazosBull (edited 8/29/2013 11:02a).]

Actually they're both rock dove, and legal to shoot if you're stupid enough to race them through dove hunting zones....

Can you race those pigeons up here to the Panhandle? I am dying to try one. I hope they taste as good as feedyard pigeons do.

I'd never read the original thread until just now. That is hilarious.

Brazos when I fire my grill up this weeekend and put one of those tasty squab on it I will toast to you and the other pigeons racers for making it possible.

Betty Draper will be there.

Hey guys, this reminds me. I will begin running my racing pigs starting the first weekend in november. Please do not shoot them if you are out deer hunting.

pigeons are tasty, bigger, and no limit. btw.....one ounce will bring them down if you make your shot count. And pigeon bands look good on my pigeon call lanyard.

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The pigeons that are raced in the early fall are young birds that were hatched this past spring.

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Forgive my ignorance, but most domesticated animals can be manipulated to reproduce on demand. Wouldn't it make more sense to have a crop of chicks that hits racing age before hunting season?

And while I agree it is a jerk move to intentionally kill a racing bird, it just seems really, really goofy to race them at a time when very similar animals are being hunted.

They don't cause me any trouble. I can tell the difference but in the heat of the moment in a flock of doves, if I blast one, I'm not losing any sleep over it.

Forgot to say they are black pigs with coarse hair. A bit shy, and they like corn. Forgive me if they eat some of yours.

Why don't you pick a bird to race that is illegal to kill?

Then we won't shoot it.

I purposefully pick out pigeons to shoot. I don't pick out peoples pets.

However, if the owner of a pet lets his pet go and it is legal to kill the type of said animal the pet is at the time I have the ability to kill it and I am unaware of any ownership then I may or may not exercise my right and ability to shoot and kill said pet.

I'll also shoot your dog dead, if it's running around on my property chasing deer and I'm in my deer stand; even if you've been my neighbor for years.

I had one following me around my yard the other day. Definitely wasn't intimidated being within 3' of me.

Canyon, you make a reasonable point but as you might expect there is more to this story than just being concerned with dove season. What if I told you that there might be birds on your grill that the owner had paid a large entry fee for ( nominated much like horse racing's Kentucky Derby) and was racing for a prize of say $ 100,000 ???

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Forgive my ignorance, but most domesticated animals can be manipulated to reproduce on demand. Wouldn't it make more sense to have a crop of chicks that hits racing age before hunting season?

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Pigeons need to learn to fork in a timely manner. Some people have learned to do it, though to be fair, most human athletes haven't. I guess the racing pigeon is the athlete of the pigeon world... Hummmm... A quandry...

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What if I told you that there might be birds on your grill that the owner had paid a large entry fee for ( nominated much like horse racing's Kentucky Derby) and was racing for a prize of say $ 100,000 ???

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1) I'd say the owner showed very poor judgement. Sort of like turning your thoroughbred out with a bunch of mustangs when a dog food roundup was going on.

2) I don't eat pigeon.



[This message has been edited by CanyonAg77 (edited 8/29/2013 1:19p).]

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Canyon, you make a reasonable point but as you might expect there is more to this story than just being concerned with dove season. What if I told you that there might be birds on your grill that the owner had paid a large entry fee for ( nominated much like horse racing's Kentucky Derby) and was racing for a prize of say $ 100,000 ???

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I'd say its the risk you take when you let such a prized possession fly over hundreds of hunters with shotguns. Do stupid things, win stupid prizes.

Taken a few pigeons in my day but never a racer.

Take your feral pigeons out of our country. It is people like you that brought these birds here that are the cause of all these flying rats in every part of our cities ****ting on things. What are you doing to control your racing pigeons from reproducing into more feral nuisance animals?

FYI...your racing pigeons look like all the other I shoot out of the feed lots.