I am very thankful to report that all is well on the Rio Grande Border and after spending Labor Day weekend hunting with my dad just west of Brownsville TX I feel that I can now scrath that off my bucket list.  It was 15 years ago on a warm September day when I asked my dad if he would accopany me on a trip down south to hunt Whitewings in the Rio Grande Valley.  Back then, you did not have to worry about border violence, the only did we had to worry about was if a tropical storm or hurricane would spoil the weekend trip.  But after 9/11, everything has changed and there have been a few years where the presence of violence would change the name of the game.  Border patrol agents were everywhere and just your overall safety was in question.

For me it has become a tradition, almost a homecoming to make that trip down south in early September to hunt whitewing doves on the Border.  I thankl the influence of John P Cowan and his artwork that first gave me the inspiration to head down south after my favorite winged sporting bird.  I ahve to admit that I was hooked on dove hunting ever since, the combination of making the magical trip to such a lush and beautiful area plus the chance to spend some quality time with my dad was such an honor.  But this Labor Day trip meant so much more for me, I have recently been assigned the task of serving at-risk inner city minority students in SA and this early September trip would be a much needed chance to recharge the batteries from a hard work week.

The night before I could hardly get any sleep fromt he excitement I had been waiting all year for this return trip to the Border.  Finally, got the day started off at 5:30am picked up and dad and hit the road to get an early start on the special whitewing dove hunt.  It was special to me for some many reasons, because it would be another father / son hunt, it was taking place at one of my favorite locations to hunt doves and it was the seaon opener for Whitewing doves.  First on the list was to stop near Kingsville for a nice true South Texas breakfast, then continue on down south sraight through the King Ranch.  For me, the trip is very much part of the excitement and the special moments I cherish with my dad holding conversations about life.

Finally, we arrived in the magical Rio Grane Valley and checked into Reseca De La Palms state park where we would be hunting whitewing Doves just a mile or so north of the Border.  On the first afternoon of the hunt we found earl flying doves who were traveling from the roost to water / feed.  By 3pm we had a nice cooler with some birds on ice, but the real action did not come until almost 6:30pm that afternoon when the nice flocks of whitewings began crossing the park.  We tried hunting a different section of the park and found the majority of the birds were crossing more towards the middle of the park.  There was some shooting to be had, but we decieded to end the hunt early after battling the heat all day.  We wanted to get back to the hotel, cool down and have a nice dinner with some rest to prepare for another afternoon of dove hunting the next day.

On Sunday we set up in the middle of the park where a nice football size area had been mowed to allow hunters to set up under shaded mesquite trees.  We were expecting birds to come flying south to north like they did the day before.  But, we were very suprised to find nice flocks of migrating whitewings flying low from north to south.  The set up was perfect because these birds were crossing the park flying right at us without any hunters firing on them until they passed us.  We quickly began dropping nice size whitewings on the ground and filled up the bucket of ice in no time.  The shooting was fast and furious and for about an hour so intense that I ran through 3 boxes of shells.  Birds were coming from all directions and the highlight of the afternoon for me was when I dropped a double out of a group of ten whitewings flying low right at me, both birds fell to the left and right of where I was standing.

In conclusion, making the trip down south for a weekend labor day hunt with my dad was very well worth the effort.  We had a good time out in the dove field and had some great meals after the hunt.  The only thing missing was the South Texas bar-b-que tacos that were served the year before.  I do have one negative thing to add, on both days I was encroached by several hunters who need to take a class on proper dove hunting tactics.  These guys set up way too close and in my firing zone where I was planning on shooting at birds.  This is just not acceptable in a location that has a tremendous amount of room to spead out and when we set up we specifically look for an area where we can have room to shoot.  But, on both days some idiot just had to set up 50 yards away from us and encroach on our hunting.  Even with these inexpereinced mistakes made by other hunters, the weekend was a blast and will be lasting memory for me!!!

Images and Files: View all 4 photos / videos here.