Are collared doves particularly hard to kill?!

[Airman]

 Hello!
 For those who are not sure of which kind of birds i'm talking about: http://www.google.com/images?num=50&hl=en&safe=off&q=collared+dove&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=KpJ0TNHUKsGUswbC9qiYBg&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CCIQsAQwAA

 They look like pigeons, but they are not really. It is almost impossible for me to kill one, unless i hit them in the head or neck, of course. At a distance of 10 meters this is not easy at all for me, so i always go for a body shot. They flee away slightly annoyed by me, with just a few feathers less.
 Another think to bear in mind is that hunters ignore them, because they have a very tough meat and they are not considered eatable, in contrast to pigeons.
 So, what is your personal experiences with them?

[Alan]

Howdy.  Welcome to the group. 
What kind of gun/pellets are you using to blow their way?

I like chest or upskirt hits using predator pellets on rats with wings.

[Nomadic Pirate]

Gotta use the right gun 


...and they taste real good 

[454 Big Block Chevy]

i agree, collared doves are decently difficult.  i've body shot them several times with my Titan, and they always seem to fly at least 100 yds.  but now i can choose to head shoot them with my CFX.... :-D  now just to lure some in.

[Airman]

@Alan
 Thank you! 
 I'm using a browning 800 mag .177 cal (which i believe that it underperforms and i have regreted that i bought it, btw) i have tried to shoot with crow magnum and crosman destroyer.

@Nomadic pirate
 Wow! I guess you are right. 

@454 Big Block Chevy
 Yeah, pigeons are much easier to kill.

 Guys.. Before i bought these pellets, i was using the ultra-light "crosman silver eagle hollow point" ones. I have probably done about 50+ shots with them. Do you think that they can waste a 700fps pistol?...

[lillysdad621]

the browning is a powerful pistol butyour chosen quarry needs to be taken with a neck or headshot. I have shot them with a 16 fpe bsa supersport in .22 and if not a headshot they have just taken off. I do not doubt that they had to die soon after that but definitely in my reach or my pot. I have taken them with a qb78 at 540 fps with headshots. it isn t the hardware, but the shot placement. just like crows.

[oldpink]

My suggestion would be to move up to a decent rifle instead of the pistol.
Then, use something that will really wale on them, such as the Predator or a really good domed pellet, such as the JSB Exact Jumbo (15.8 grains).
Definitely go with a .22 caliber over a .177, and aim for high chest or head shots.

[Nomadic Pirate]

A good .177 rifle, neck, head or the perfect chest shot.

A good .22 rifle, a little bit more leeway 

A Rainstorm .22 with Skenco pellets, no matter where you hit they go down on the spot 

[The Knot]

Nice looking meat on those doves thats some pot of soup you got starting

[Furseeker]

I've found them to be a very tough bird on occasion. I've hit them from 15 yards with my modified Big Cat only to watch them fly off. I've hit them with everything from my Disco to my RWS 350 and had them pack it off. But when I really concentrate on body shots hitting the upper part of the body I can usually anchor them with just about any gun. My Remington Summit has proved to be very efficient at taking them out to about 40 yards when the CPHP hits high in the body.

As far as their eating quality goes I've found them to be very taste.

[Mebits]

I have to think that after the head, the preferred shot is the quartering or side "shoulder" as it is on rock doves. If you hit within a 1" or so circle, you're going to keep the bird from flying and probably kill it. You'll want to use something with some real energy transfer on your .177. I'm thinking your crow mags are good, but the poly mags are probably better.

FWIW, I was killing lots of pigeons at 13 yds using Beeman Silver Bears out of my Benji/Sheridan pumper, at probably 700 fps. I note that I wasn't doing much damage at all with wadcutters. Only changing to hp pellets and using the shoulder shot made the difference.