Band-tailed pigeons [Archive]

JCVD

12-30-2010, 06:11 PM

Does anyone hunt them when in season? What methods and areas do you find productive?

thecoug

12-30-2010, 06:20 PM

Season is usually only 10 days or so.. You must be at high elevation.. They flock up on their way south for a very short time and are often in flocks of 100 to 200 birds.. They are heavier than normal pigeons.. You Must have a migratory game bird license from the post office.. Find them, smokeem and remember the recovery can be difficult... mountain terrain...and they are high fliers and quick ... taste really good tho...

JCVD

12-31-2010, 01:50 AM

Season is usually only 10 days or so.. You must be at high elevation.. They flock up on their way south for a very short time and are often in flocks of 100 to 200 birds.. They are heavier than normal pigeons.. You Must have a migratory game bird license from the post office.. Find them, smokeem and remember the recovery can be difficult... mountain terrain...and they are high fliers and quick ... taste really good tho...

Yea I saw it was short, I have seen them down low by my house but never in the woods. They are bigger than say, rock doves for sure. I think they are the biggest pigeon in N.America...pretty sure I read that.
I am also assuming they are shotgun only but I haven not seen if they are or not maybe you could clarify for me? Reason being, I always have a .22 or 17 in the woods for plinking, so it would be nice if I spotted on on a branch. If your using shot for fly bys only, what size are you using? I want to fry up a couple next year! :-D

Gr8 white hunter

01-01-2011, 10:04 AM

Corn some string and a box.

Swamp mule

01-01-2011, 11:50 AM

back in the eighties I used to see them in some good flocks on a IR in Deroche that was across the slough from our dairy farm. I have always wanted to hunt them but by the time i got my license they were gone. Since then I never saw them again until my parents moved up behind Hatzic lake did they start to appear again around the bird feeder. About a dozen show up. However, I did read a study document that was done about 30or 40 years ago describing the location of their mineral lick on hatzic prairie.