Photo By Ron Sinfelt

Sometimes I seek solitude when hunting small game. Squirrel hunting, in particular, is a great sport for an individual or for two buddies (or parent/child) to team up together. Rabbit hunting can be the same situation. You can stomp them up alone or in tandem with a partner. In addition, you have the option of enjoying a bunch of hunters with a good pack of beagles for some sensational hunting opportunities.

On a cold, quiet day late last December, I was alone, but longing for some company. The truth is I needed some help. I was in a dove field, hunting those late-season ghosts of the Southern skies. There were actually plenty of doves flying around. The biggest problem is there was no one else to help me keep the birds moving. They would fly into the field to feed and unless I just got lucky and they flew within range, I had to watch them on the ground and hope they'd fly over me on the way out.

I managed to get an occasional shot as a stray winged by, but I made a mental note to return with a few friends.

A group of us did return and the difference was amazing. There were actually many more doves than I had figured. Now with plenty of hunters in the field to keep them flying, we had an excellent hunt.

Excellent dove-hunting opportunities are not restricted to the opening season or mid-season hunts. If you pick your locations well, with the aid of a bit of scouting, you can find some excellent wintertime dove hunting. The last season of the year is vastly overlooked, but from a small-game hunting perspective, it has wide-open possibilities. Many of these birds will be those plump, tasty, grain-fed Northern birds. But the downside is they seem to have plenty of zip and sometimes appear to be flying in the stratosphere.

However, locate a field where they can forage, especially if there's a water source nearby, and you might be in for some very productive dove hunting. And unless you bring your buddies with you, you generally won't have too much competition.

This is one of the beauties of small-game hunting in South Carolina. For the most part, it's an overlooked resource. While deer hunting is the number one hunting sport for the majority of hunters, for too many hunters it is the only one.

It's still true today that many of the die-hard deer hunters, and turkey hunters, too, cut their hunting teeth on squirrels, rabbits, quail or doves. Hunting these small-game species is not only fun, but it will sharpen your woodsmanship and shooting skills.

The dove hunting noted above took place on private land and with a little checking around, you can likely find some good places and obtain permission to hunt private lands.