A longtime hunting buddy, Roy Turner, describes the opening day of dove season as Christmas in September. For those who enjoy challenging wingshooting, relish sporting camaraderie at its finest and revel in action aplenty, Turner's words are singularly apt. A "popcorn popper" style dove shoot, with birds constantly flying to provide nonstop action, certainly has a festive, holiday-like air to it. Much the same can be said of the timeless and deeply meaningful traditions associated with the sport.

A dove shoot, particularly one on opening day, is a true time of celebration. Sportsmen gather at the edges of sere September fields as they harken to the hunter's horn and renew the annual rites of fall. Many shoots have hosted hunting family and friends for years or even generations. The annual event at the Turner farm, for example, stretches over four generations now that Roy's two young boys have begun their dove hunting apprenticeship.

Here, as is the case at countless other settings, the dove opener has a festive air about it. Food, fellowship, and wholesome fun mean as much, if not more, than testing one's shooting skills on gray-winged speedsters darting through late summer skies.

The heart of the dove hunting tradition centers on opening day. Fine shoots such as those annually held by the Turner family just don't happen--they result from careful planning, plenty of preparation and determination to perpetuate an important sporting legacy. The planning and preparation involve far more than issuing coveted invitations and making all the arrangements for the feasts.

There are fields of millet and sunflowers to be planted and cultivated. The millet is cut for hay and the sunflowers for bird seed at just the right time to bring the birds flocking in to feed. Similarly, leftovers from harvesting corn or peanuts draw birds like magnets. Old hands in the dove hunting business know that there's nothing quite like a watermelon field that has been bush-hogged after the melons have been gathered. Seeds from inferior or rotting melons that are left form a favored food for doves. Finally, as you get into the second and third segments of the three-part season common in many states, ground sown to winter wheat provides an attractive location to hunt. All of these are legitimate agricultural practices pursued with an eye toward side benefits in the form of flocking doves.

THE OTHER FACES OF DOVE HUNTING

The vast majority of dove shooting takes place during the sunny days of September, and in some parts of the country the birds begin their southward migration fairly early in this month. In more southern and moderate climates, though, it is possible to enjoy fine dove shooting long after the bluebird skies of Indian summer have given way to fall's frosts or even the cold of winter. This type of hunting often involves catching birds going to or from the roost, focusing on water holes, or finding the flight path they seem to prefer when entering a field to feed. Often the large groups of hunters needed to "keep 'em flying" typical of early season outings are unnecessary (or maybe even unwelcome), and dealing with high-flying, rosy-breasted migratory doves riding a stiff wind can be about as much challenge as any scattergunner needs. The lone gunner, or maybe two or three hunters, can enjoy dove shooting over several months. Indeed, many states have three-part seasons--a month or so in September and early October, a week or two around Thanksgiving, then several weeks stretching from around Christmas well into January. For some, this is dove shooting at its best.

My experiences with the Turner family extend over a quarter or a century (and they've been holding family hunts for well over half a century), and they typify the dove hunting tradition at its finest. The patriarch of the clan, Gene Turner, has planting for doves down to a fine art, and he is a part of three generations of the family that relish the annual event. For weeks prior to opening day in early September the Turners get phone calls asking questions such as: "Do you have any openings for hunters this year (the answer is invariably no)"? "Are you seeing many birds?" "What will we be having for the hunt lunch?"

The latter question looms particularly large, for a vital part of any first-rate shoot involves fine fare. Hours before the hunter begin to gather, a whole hog will have been split and placed on a huge barbecue grill to cook slowly toward "pig pickin'" perfection. At the appropriate time a few hindquarters of venison and perhaps some other delicacies will find their place atop the grill as well. All will reach savory, fall-off-the-bone perfection about the time hunters arrive for pre-hunt instructions.

Family and friends gather for a time-honored dove hunting tradition: the pre-hunt feast. It might not make you swing a shotgun any faster, but that's hardly the point.

And then there's dessert: lemon or chess pies; peach and apple cobblers; a churn or two of hand-cranked ice cream thick with wedges from just-picked Elberta peaches; and maybe that most welcome of Southern delicacies, a scuppernong pie. All of this comes at noon, and veterans of the dove day scene know that there will be a culinary replay come hunt's end.