Smell that pumpkin spice and gingerbread? That’s right, it’s the most magical time of the year—the week before opening day of dove season! Visions of bacon-wrapped dove poppers are dancing in my head. For a lot of hunters, dove hunting is a fun once- or twice-a-year excursion that requires little more than a shotgun and a tube of sunscreen. No surprise, I take things up a notch or three and go a little crazy with gear. A few years ago, my wife, Julie, gave me this sweet dove-bucket-gone-wild, with a swivel seat and specialized pockets for all the stuff that makes a long, hot day in the dove field downright pleasurable. I’ll probably hunt doves ten times a season, and this stuffed bucket is with me on every hunt. Here’s what I fill it with.
Peregrine Field Gear Venture Bucket. $110; peregrinefieldgear.com
MOJO Pocket Pick Stick. $25; mojooutdoors.com
Otis Leather Company Dove and Quail Carrier. $60; otisleather.com
MOJO Voodoo spinning wing dove decoy. $40; mojooutdoors.com
Mourning dove decoys. $35 (pack of six); banded.com
T. Edward Nickens is a contributing editor for Garden & Gun and cohost of The Wild South podcast. He’s also an editor at large for Field & Stream and a contributing editor for Ducks Unlimited. He splits time between Raleigh and Morehead City, North Carolina, with one wife, two dogs, a part-time cat, eleven fly rods, three canoes, two powerboats, and an indeterminate number of duck and goose decoys. Follow @enickens on Instagram.
