Dove Hunting Gear & Apparel List for Women

By Andrea Haas

Dove season is one of my favorite hunting seasons. It marks the beginning of deer season here in Missouri, and around much of the U.S. It's a bit more relaxed than deer or turkey hunting, which I feel is much needed after months of being so serious in the woods. Not only that, hunting doves is one of the best ways to sharpen your shooting skills.

I put together a head to toe gear & apparel list with what I feel are great options for women dove hunters, as well as a list of some hunting equipment that may come in handy on your hunt.

Uninsulated Hunting Clothing

Prois Ultra Short Sleeve Shirt

• This shirt is lightweight & easy to move in. It's made of 100% polyester, which wicks moisture away to keep you dry. It does have an athletic cut, which makes it a tad shorter than most shirts, so I recommend going up a size or 2. Still, it fits great & is very comfortable! 
• Available for $39.60 at EvoOutdoors 

Prois Pro-Edition Pants

• Made of 100% Polyester Tricot, these pants have the "4 S's" - soft, sturdy, silent & snag resistant. 
• Knee pleats added for enhanced movement and comfort while sitting, squatting or stalking
• Available for $152.10 at EvoOutdoors

Hearing Protection

Howard Leight Women's Super Leight Earplugs

• I personally prefer earplugs over earmuffs due to the comfort. Plus dove season is usually warmer & earmuffs tend to make you sweat more.
• These earplugs by Howard Leight offer a better fit for women who are smaller framed, like me, & come in a pack of 14 for $4.49 at Cabelas

Hunting Boots

Women's Pursuit Stealth Boots by Muck Boot Company

• These boots have 5mm of Neoprene with a fleece lining that is actually very breathable in warmer temperatures and during active hunts
• Check out my full Product Review
• Available for $209 in women's sizes 5 to 11

Shooting Vest

Prois Competitor Shooter's Vest

Front

Back

• You may or may not want to wear the whole vest while dove hunting. If you do, it has bilateral shoulder padding, for both left and right handed shooters. This vest is also great for those who enjoy shooting sporting clays, skeet, trap, etc. 
• If you choose not to wear the whole vest, just unzip it at the waist and it converts into a shooting apron. It has a rear mesh pouch to hold spent shells and large front pockets that will each easily hold a box of shotgun shells.

• Available for $215.10 at EvoOutdoors

Stools/Chairs

Dove Shooter by AlpsOutdoorz

• You could easily tuck this chair into the edge of a woodline, in a blind, etc. 
• Includes an easy-carry shoulder strap, has a cooler underneath the seat, and 2 large front pockets to store your ammo or a few dove decoys!
• At AlpsOutdoorz for only $54.99

Concealment

2 Piece Shotgun Cover Kit by Beartooth Outdoors

• I don't have a camo shotgun so when dove hunting, I prefer to cover up my shiny shotgun with the 2 Piece Shotgun Cover Kit by Beartooth Outdoors
• It protects my shotgun from the elements and has a few slots to hold your shotgun shells
• Available for just $34.95 at www.beartooth-products.com   

 

Decoys

Lucky Duck Clip-On Dove Decoys, 4 Pack

• We purchased a couple packs of these decoys last year & they seemed to work well for bringing doves in closer. My husband made a "tree" out of re-bar and put it in the field where we dove hunt. We attached the doves to this "tree" using their steel clothes-pin style clips and they stayed attached to it well. 

• Available for $14.99 at Cabelas

Hunter's Edge Dove Feeding Frenzy

• We also purchased this rotating decoy system last year and it seemed to work good as well for bringing the doves in
• It rotates the doves around in a realistic motion and seems to catch their eye better than the non-moving decoys.
• It's also available at Cabelas, for $79.99

For the Love of Bird Hunting

As my love for deer hunting has grown considerably over the years, so has my love for hunting birds. Most recently I have taken up pheasant, dove and crow hunting and found that I enjoy that just as much as I do hunting deer.  Not only has it expanded my time in the outdoors, it introduced me to a much more relaxed and carefree hunting atmosphere, which I found is much needed after months of being so serious about deer hunting.

Last November I went on my very first pheasant hunt in Kansas.  I didn’t really know what to expect but to prepare myself I shot skeet as often as possible throughout the summer and weeks leading up to opening day. Looking back, I feel that it was a good way to prepare and found that pheasants fly very similar to a clay pigeon being thrown out of a skeet thrower, starting at the ground and flying up. Not many birds were shot due to the previous years’ drought taking its toll on the population, but this will be a hunt I look forward to each November from now on. 

Dove hunting was a slightly different story for me.  They are much smaller, much faster, and fly totally different than a pheasant. The best way to prepare myself for dove hunting was to actually go dove hunting. I will admit that I spent a lot of time in the dove field last season and came home each time without a single dove.  I feel my biggest mistakes were not swinging through the shot & leading the dove, and just getting too anxious & forcing a bad shot.  Dove season starts this Monday and I feel much more prepared this season after my experience with it last year!

A less common type of bird hunting that has quickly grown to be my favorite is crow hunting. Like pheasant and dove, I also began crow hunting last year. Crows can be brought into shooting distance fairly easily with an electronic call and some crow decoys. I’ve found that crows are easier to hit than other game birds because they tend to fly slower, therefore you don’t have to lead them too much with your shotgun. Not only is crow hunting a blast, I feel it has helped me the most in becoming comfortable with my shotgun and learning how to handle it.

As a deer hunter, I have learned patience, appreciation, and determination. As a bird hunter, I learned each of those all over again. I set my rifle and bow & arrows aside, something I had become comfortable with, and learned my way around a different weapon.  I’m glad I stepped outside of my comfort zone and tried something new last season. By doing so I not only learned the above skills again, I gained a whole new perspective on hunting.

-Andrea Haas