New female and basically new male hunters

[tanner.axt]

Hey folks,

So my girlfriend and I recently moved to San Diego from North Carolina, and we're trying to get into some upland bird hunting this season.

We both have appropriate shotguns, and pretty good aim. She has never been hunting before. I went a few times in Washington state when I was 12-14 or so, but haven't gone in about 10 years.

We're looking for someone or a few people who wouldn't mind taking us under their wing for a couple seasons, and kind of teach us the ropes.

 

[Aeon]

welcome to the site.... post and get to know some folks

 

[tanner.axt]

Thank you, everyone here seems to be a wealth of knowledge, and I'm excited to be a part of it.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[topher1111]

Lots of bird hunting here in SoCal. The Imperial Valley is big for upland game. Welcome to the forum


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[NBK]

Welcome to SCH Tanner.

 

[ilovesprig]

Tanner,

Welcome to SCH.......Yep, your best bet is the IV......Pheasant, quail, ducks, geese, & dove all can be had out there.....As far s someone taking you under their wing.....Normally doesn't happen much.....But, it does sound like you have a hunting partner.....Just drive out to the IV (about 2 hours from SD) and start scouting.....Look for melon, corn or wheat fields for Eurasian collared doves this time of year (make sure you know the difference between them, mourning & white-wings)......Once Sept. 1st rolls around, then you can shoot any dove (ground doves excepted).....Starting the 2nd Saturday of November, most everything is open bird wise.....Good luck

From today.........

.

 

[tanner.axt]

Wow! That's pretty awesome.

How do you know who to contact when you find a melon or wheat field?

I've never gone anywhere but public land.

 

[ilovesprig]

Wow! That's pretty awesome.

How do you know who to contact when you find a melon or wheat field?

I've never gone anywhere but public land.

Tanner,

In the Imperial Valley, you can hunt most any field or wild land, as long as it's not posted.....If it's a row crop such as sugar beets, then you do need permission (best in writing)......Harvested wheat, corn or melons are OK.....You're also OK in alfalfa, sudan & water grass fields.

The state 150 yd rule from any occupied building, barn, or dwelling does apply here.....The little known 50 yd rule from any named road in the IV can be enforced too. And every county is different by the way.

Here's the IV law.....

.http://municipalcodes.lexisnexis.com/codes/imperial_co/

 

[TRICER]

Tanner,

Welcome to SCH.......Yep, your best bet is the IV......Pheasant, quail, ducks, geese, & dove all can be had out there.....As far s someone taking you under their wing.....Normally doesn't happen much.....But, it does sound like you have a hunting partner.....Just drive out to the IV (about 2 hours from SD) and start scouting.....Look for melon, corn or wheat fields for Eurasian collared doves this time of year (make sure you know the difference between them, mourning & white-wings)......Once Sept. 1st rolls around, then you can shoot any dove (ground doves excepted).....Starting the 2nd Saturday of November, most everything is open bird wise.....Good luck

From today.........

Steve....I have been wanting to shoot Euros out of the Lakeside Walmarts parking lot for years. Those 12ga silencers must work great! Did you throw McDonald's out to bait them in with your decoys?

 

[ilovesprig]

Drew,

Baiting is illegal.............................lol

 

[tanner.axt]

Wow! That's pretty awesome.

How do you know who to contact when you find a melon or wheat field?

I've never gone anywhere but public land.

Tanner,

In the Imperial Valley, you can hunt most any field or wild land, as long as it's not posted.....If it's a row crop such as sugar beets, then you do need permission (best in writing)......Harvested wheat, corn or melons are OK.....You're also OK in alfalfa, sudan & water grass fields.

The state 150 yd rule from any occupied building, barn, or dwelling does apply here.....The little known 50 yd rule from any named road in the IV can be enforced too. And every county is different by the way.

Here's the IV law.....

.http://municipalcodes.lexisnexis.com/codes/imperial_co/

At the risk of sounding stupid, is it just common knowledge and generally accepted that certain privately owned fields are okay, or are they actually farming on public land?

 

[Gspman]

In general as described above it is accepted that it is ok for a hunter to hunt private farm land in the iv unless posted or freshly planted. Common since should prevale. There is also a lot of public land with mixed results in the IV.

 

[tanner.axt]

Very cool! I'm doing some work outside of Brawley, and I'm coming across more doves than I can count.

If only I could hunt on company time....

 

[Gspman]

thanks for the report that's god news for me. watch them when you can and try to notice the differences in euros and spotted morning and white wing.

 

[ilovesprig]

thanks for the report that's god news for me. watch them when you can and try to notice the differences in euros and spotted morning and white wing.

What are spotted doves?........Just askin'............lol

And yes, trying to determine dove species at dark-thirty or coming in from the sun can be tough......Especially white-wings that have the square tail and a similar lope to their flying style.....Mourning doves are always smaller, normally fly lower, and have the erratic flight.

 

[Sigalert2012]

Welcome to the site

 

[tanner.axt]

I'm trying to get good at telling the difference when I'm just walking around. I think I see what GSPman was saying about the mourning doves having sort of a spotted pattern.

I'm not going to lie, I'm really nervous about getting too excited and shooting the wrong dove out of season.

 

[ilovesprig]

I'm trying to get good at telling the difference when I'm just walking around. I think I see what GSPman was saying about the mourning doves having sort of a spotted pattern.

I'm not going to lie, I'm really nervous about getting too excited and shooting the wrong dove out of season.

You can always wait till Sept 1st like most of us used to do.

 

[Shot Slinger]

Tanner good luck to you and your hunting partner. The little known 50yard rule was a surprise to me last season. Having hunted in the IV for several years I always used the rule of thumb of no firing from , upon or across roads. Last year we stopped at a "target of opportunity" Eurasian doves sitting along the wires at Hwy 111. We were too close to the buildings so we began to push the doves down the road perpendicular to 111. We got out of the truck and started to walk on each side of the county maintained road (green street signs) 20 yards on one side of the road and across the drain from the road on a field access trail. Once we were a safe distance away from the building we loaded up and hunted up the doves. A Sheriff came down the field access trail to where my kids were and stopped to talk to them. I hustled over to see what was up and he indicated since our truck was less than 50 yards to HWY 111 we violated the 50 yard rule. He did not cite us since we were way past the truck when he stopped us. I looked up the rule and as far as I can tell it only applies to highways, HWY 111, 115 and such. Be careful some Roads i.e. Worthington, Keystone, Weist are also listed as Highways such as S28, S30. ilovesprig has hunted there for much longer than me and he may different understanding than I do now. Also look at the link or google the Imperial County Municipal Code, Section 11.08.010 and confirm the rule for yourself. I now keep a copy in my hunting bag in the car just in case I have a case to need it. Good luck, safe and happy hunting to you both.

 

[tanner.axt]

Finally got the opportunity to head out and try to shoot some birds. All morning, didn't come across any game birds,with the exception of one eurasian that flew under the eaves of a building.

Going to try again in a couple weeks.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk