September bandtail pigeon hunt a great tuneup for bird dogs

One of author Scott Haugen’s most anticipated seasons of the year is bandtail pigeon, a great tuneup for wingshooters and dogs alike. (SCOTT HAUGEN)

BANDTAIL PIGEON TUNEUP

By Scott Haugen

The first flock of bandtails passed by within range, but wide, so I didn’t shoot. Then a pair of the pigeons came right down the ridgeline, straight at us. Pulling up, I killed the first bird. As it started spinning toward the ground, I followed up on the second bird, folding it.

The first pigeon fell atop the ridge in some tall, dry grass, which Echo, my 7-year-old pudelpointer, got on fast. The second bandtail fell a ways down the hillside, which Kona, my 5-year-old male pudelpointer, marked and sprinted to.

Just like that, the hunt was over, an opening-morning limit secured. Still, for the next hour we sat and watched birds, noting what direction they were coming from and where they were going. Some bandtails stopped at a nearby spring to drink.

Though California’s seasons are brief (September 17-25 in the North Zone, December 17-25 in the South Zone) and bag limits small (two a day), bandtails are a popular bird for hunters and their dogs to pursue on the West Coast. (SCOTT HAUGEN)

Others piled onto the hillside below to pick minerals. Still others kept flying, seeking ripening cascara berries and elderberries throughout the hills.

The dogs shot me the look – more than once, too – the one that screams, “Why aren’t you shooting?”

OVER THE COURSE OF the brief nine-day bandtail season, the dogs and I had many great hunts. Along the Pacific Coast, these wild pigeons are one of the most hunted game birds in September, and with good reason.

Bandtails are fast flyers and cover a lot of ground. Early in the morning they leave their roosts in the Cascades or Coast Range, destined for springs or water to drink from, minerals to pick, or berry patches to feast on. Before descending into any of these, they’ll often perch in the tallest treetops from which they’ll survey the surroundings to make sure all is safe.

Intercepting pigeons as they move to food, water and staging areas is best done by setting up on ridgelines located in their flight path. Try picking an open area so you can see birds approaching and have plenty of real estate to drop them in, once shot.

I recently spoke with a biologist in California whose specialty is bandtail pigeons. He informed me that one of the reasons the daily limit remains at two birds – in addition to their low nesting success – is because many pigeons are crippled by hunters and never retrieved. Most of these are birds shot from the crest of a ridge, where crippled birds often soar hundreds of yards into big, rugged canyons below, where dogs can’t retrieve them.

Before firing a shot, know where you want a hit bird to drop. Ideally, you have an opening where you’re standing so you can try and drop a bird at your feet; this is a must if you don’t have a dog. If you do have a dog, know what the surrounding terrain is like and determine before even firing a shot if it’s something you’d send your dog into.

One ridge I hunt is loaded with very tall groves of poison oak, so I don’t shoot pigeons that could potentially fall there. Another has a sheer rock cliff on one side, so that’s obviously off limits. Pick your shooting zone and stick to it.

If shots are close where birds might be circling, I like using No. 6 shot. For pass shooting, No. 5s work. Pigeons have a lot of feathers that easily fall out upon being shot, so watch the bird closely to see if a quick followup shot is needed. Hit pigeons can sail a long way, especially in steep, mountainous terrain.

Once they tumble through trees and brush, following the feather trail of a pigeon is easy. As soon as your dog delivers a pigeon to hand, pick all the feathers from their mouth and between their lips and gums. Then give your dog a drink of fresh water. Have plenty of water for your dog on these hunts.

LAST YEAR I HUNTED a place where a

landslide had occurred the previous winter. At the bottom of the slide was a little rill of water the pigeons drank from all summer. At the top was a bank of exposed minerals they picked at. The hillside was steep, so in an effort to keep the birds on top where I could get ethical shots, I set out some Big Al’s pigeon silhouette decoys.

I set a couple dozen of the silhouettes tight atop the hill, on some exposed dirt. The pigeons didn’t backpedal into the spread like ducks, but they definitely saw them and passed slowly overhead to see what the gathering was all about. Two mornings in a row both my dad and I shot bandtail limits over these feral pigeon, aka rock dove, decoys.

Plucked and slow-cooked whole, bandtail pigeons are tasty game birds. And for your dog, they’re easy to see approaching from a long distance,

Setting up some Big Al’s pigeon silhouette decoys paid off on multiple hunts for the author and his father Jerry Haugen last season. (SCOTT HAUGEN)

simple to mark once hit as long as they don’t fall into too thick of cover, and fun to retrieve. At times, the retrieve can be challenging and dogs will work hard in the steep mountains, so make sure they’re in shape and not overweight on these early-season, hot-weather hunts.

For those of us who remember the days when bag limits were high, our goal as hunters is to help pigeon populations recover, and we can do our part by shooting selectively. Don’t get in a rush to fill a limit, especially if there’s any doubt of a bird being recovered. The bandtail season is short, but dogs love it, so get out there and experience what so many fellow hunters around the country wish they had an opportunity to pursue. CS

Editor’s note: Scott Haugen is a full-time writer. See his puppy training videos and learn more about his many books at scotthaugen.com and follow him on Instagram and Facebook.

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