Allan, bringing back this old thread is a good thing.I hunted Mourning Doves in South Louisiana where/when the 1st Season started on Labor Day. And back then, the open/shooting time was Noon. Doves were taken all afternoon and placed in the game bag with no refrigeration. Often the air temperature was in the mid-90s or higher. After dark, when we got home after the hunt, we would sit under the carport light and clean our Doves, wash them at the back faucet, and bring them inside to be refrigerated until my mother could cook them. Many seasons followed that same scenario. I have eaten Doves prepared that way many times. And I am here to tell the story. You might check my profile to see how many years I have.Good hunting and enjoy your harvest.
kinda curious.. when I first got to Alaska and was being told how to prepare grouse I thought they were joking. Stand on the wings and pull the feet and you get all the guts separated from the breasts and wings. Does this work on smaller birds like pigeons too?
Quote from: JungleShooter on January 27, 2020, 03:00:57 AMI'm new to this. Bear with me.... 😊If there's a bear with you, you'd better get a bigger gun!(Sorry, I could't help myself.)----------------------------------------I'm very interested in this topic as well, since Rock Pigeon is one of the very few edible game I can shoot year-round. (That, and Woodchuck.)I typically hike through the mountains for a few miles before I get to the legal hunting areas, since I can do that bt walking from my house. So carrying an ice chest is not very convenient. I've though about some smallish dry ice container, but I'd still like to know if there's a "hard" answer to this question.
I'm new to this. Bear with me.... 😊
I have hunted doves countless times. But I've never heard of anyone actually eating pigeons. I've wondered how much different than a dove they would be, but I just never knew anyone really ate them. They always seem to be in such dirty places it seems.
Allan, bringing back this old thread is a good thing.I hunted Mourning Doves in South Louisiana where/when the 1st Season started on Labor Day. And back then, the open/shooting time was Noon. Doves were taken all afternoon and placed in the game bag with no refrigeration. Often the air temperature was in the mid-90s or higher. After dark, when we got home after the hunt, we would sit under the carport light and clean our Doves.Many seasons followed that same scenario. I have eaten Doves prepared that way many times. And I am here to tell the story. You might check my profile to see how many years I have.
Quote from: Bicycleman on March 05, 2021, 09:25:05 AMAllan, bringing back this old thread is a good thing.I hunted Mourning Doves in South Louisiana where/when the 1st Season started on Labor Day. And back then, the open/shooting time was Noon. Doves were taken all afternoon and placed in the game bag with no refrigeration. Often the air temperature was in the mid-90s or higher. After dark, when we got home after the hunt, we would sit under the carport light and clean our Doves.Many seasons followed that same scenario. I have eaten Doves prepared that way many times. And I am here to tell the story. You might check my profile to see how many years I have.Mike, you are the man! THANKS! 😊 You've given me confidence that I won't have to stop killing and start cleaning, if I want to eat my birds! 👍🏼 The frozen water bottle thing is a good add-on. 🔶 Last year I had one day at the hight of Summer with an incredible amount of pigeons and a new permission. The birds were so adorably dumb, sticking around as I picked off one after another from their perches. 🤦🏻♂️ They just have a bird brain, what did I expect?! 😄 Well, that day I was somewhat in a killing frenzy, and could not see myself stopping and dressing pigeons. 💀 Frankly, I'm still grossed out by it. 🙄 (Give me another year to numb that feeling down some more). I don't remember how many hours it took for me to get home with 2 crates of pigeons (yes, I am extremely thankful to have that kind of access!). The first birds I estimate were dead for at least 10 hours, laying in the sun for most of that time. 🔶 When I had all the breasts lines up beside the sink, I did the smell test (that was pre-covid, my nose was working then!) About a handful did not pass and ended up in the garbage instead of my stomach. 😊 ➔ Thanks to Mike, I now know that I wasn't lucky to have survived those pigeon breast meals. It's just that the meat does not go bad that quickly. 👍🏼 MatthiasPS: On bird brains and dumb pigeons: Yeah, about that. I feel dumb for underestimating those pigeons. 🤦🏻♂️ A few more visits to that sight, and the pigeons recognize my car. And they recognize that I'm aiming my rifle at them. And they don't wait around anymore for me to fill up two crates with their dead bodies. 😖 Now I need to build elaborate hunting blinds to at least get a few of the less smart ones...! 😄
Sam, 😊thanks for the cudos, but no, I haven't written that article for Tom Gaylord's blog....Nice that you're going on Tom's websites: 👍🏼 ▪ http://TheGodfatherOfAirguns.com ▪ https://www.pyramydair.com/blog I've never met Tom, but he has helped me so much when I was getting started into airgunning!! Just amazing what he knows and how he writes it all out, easy to digest! 👍🏼 I finally contacted him to tell him, and he was super nice! 😊 🔶Anyhow, seems like this hobby has attracted some real gems of people (and of course, scum is everywhere, even in AG... 😄). Matthias
I’ve carried dove and quail around in a game pouch for three or four hours without ill effect. My younger brother uses a field cleaning technique that is a little gross but highly efficient. Pull both wings back with one hand. Insert the index finger of the other hand into the bird’s anus. Push up until your finger is under the breast bone then pull up to rip the breast completely out. The thin skin splits easily and the breast comes out quickly and cleanly. Once you learn the technique it is surprisingly easy. He carries a ziplock bag for the dressed birds. I prefer quail to dove for flavor but feral pigeon is not bad at all when it is prepared well. Any recipe for “Squab” will work.
https://runnermag.ca/2020/04/this-canadian-man-eats-pigeons-for-the-planet/This guy keeps them and feeds them for awhile.I heard where dogs are eaten they are fed white rice for a while to clean out their insides before harvest.