Texas Dove Opener With Academy Sports & Outdoors

The opening day of dove season doesn't only mark the start of a new hunting season; it serves as an unwritten holiday built on a foundation of informal formalities, timeless rites of passage and, most importantly, community-wide congregations of desirous hunters.

When Academy Sports and Outdoors planned its “Cast & Blast” event, it stayed true to both dove hunting tradition and its own Texas roots.

On the eve of opening day, I arrived in El Campo, Texas, where I would meet up with other media members and a handful of delightful Academy folks.

We caravanned to Whiskey Cake Kitchen & Bar in Katy, where we would exchange personal anecdotes, abridged media backgrounds and upcoming plans for the season.

The food—mouthwatering and plentiful—set the tone for what was about to an incredible dove opener.

Once we were done feasting, we devised a plan for the following day.

We woke up early enough to beat the morning rush at the nearest Academy store, where we would gear up and go over each new Academy products we’d be using (I’ll be diving into the products we used in a follow-up article).

We then rendezvoused with the rest of our hunting group, which would comprise a total of more than 50 camouflaged gunners eyeing the same prize.

After driving about an hour and a half down to the El Campo area, we spotted a fleet of lifted trucks, a sure sign of fellow Texas hunters.

Correctly assuming we were at the right place, we started unloading trucks and picking out shotguns before hitting the field.

I went for the Yildiz SPZ ME/12 TX 12-gauge over-and-under, as I'm a sucker for a pretty double-barrel (maybe it's the upland hunter in me).

This thing was no joke, though, as not only did it feature epic Texas markings and beautiful craftsmanship at a low cost, but it also shot like a top-shelf bird gun.

A vast cornfield gave us plenty of room to spread out and place decoys between each line of hunters. The sun was brutal, however, prompting everyone to grab excessive amounts of sunscreen and water.

It was slow for a while, as the sun was just starting to come back down. But as soon as temperatures dropped a little, there were birds, and tons of them.

Those of us who were using break-barrel shotguns found ourselves fumbling over shells trying to keep up with the number of fliers flapping from above.

As soon as a bird fell, you couldn't take your eyes off of where it landed, as the cut corn did us no favors in spotting our white-winged quarries.

At first, each of us was trying to take shots en route to the pickup, but quickly learned there was no need. The birds weren't slowing down any time soon, and it wouldn't take long to reach the minimum of 15 anyway.

Constant action led to a collective struggle of heat exhaustion, which was fortunately aided a few of our hosts on a side-by-side full of supplies, namely cold water.

When the dust settled, the sun had sunken below the horizon, empty shotgun shell boxes surrounded our feet and loose feathers served as evidence of a long, fruitful hunt.

A few stopped after getting 10 birds, but everyone left with a haul, which, of course, was celebrated with a beer.

Upon our return to the trucks and tents, we could smell already-cooked barbecue—brisket and pulled pork—which only solidified the underlying Texas theme.

We exchanged highlights, laughs and harmless jabs over what felt like a well-deserved meal.

While it was easily the best dove opener I'd ever experienced, all good things have to come to an end.

We packed up and returned for sleep, as we had to get back at it in the morning for our next expedition: a full day of largemouth bass fishing.

Stay tuned.