Went on a little shoot yesterday afternoon,got done and gathered up and found a banded dove.It was like icing on the cake to a good hunt none of us had ever seen one.Any of y'all ever seen one?

That's what the owners of messenger doves put on them to keep them identified. Basically just someone's pet

The state also catches and bands wild doves.

I’ve killed a banded dove, came from Oregon

I have only seen one dove band and it was killed back in early 70's in Wanville in Stevenson, AL. A true trophy in my book. Hell, any band is a trophy!

Got a banded Wood Duck before but never a dove.

I killed one back in the late 60's in Lee County. Put it in my pocket....pocket had a hole in it...lost it!!!!

Yes it is a trophy,we picked a number between 1 and 100 and the winner got it.

They are federally banded as well. I have one from a dove I killed a few years ago.

Why would a band make anything a trophy? Almost 3 million doves have been banded for research. 20 million ducks and geese have been banded. Seems like something being banded would make it an easier kill as it was captured before.

...cause it's country boy bling son! lol Just is cool to get one! There may be a lot that have been banded but it still is relatively rare to kill one considering the even more millions that aren't and the millions that hunt and fish.

I went on a shoot in Cullman back in the late 80's put on by Reliable Rentals...they day leased a BIG field from a farmer up there. The farmer had trapped I think 5 Doves and put little rubber doughnut washer bands on there legs. There were 58 of us on the shoot. The deal was that everybody put $10.00 in the hat and whomever killed one of the rubber banded Doves got the pot....or if 2 or more got one they would split it equally. Got on the field and they had not started flying much. About 15 minutes on my spot I saw 2 coming from across the adjacent pasture....I folded both of them.....and I'll be damned if one of them wasn't a rubber banded one!!! It was a REAL GOOD shoot....think I picked up 48. Went back to the barn where we had met and pulled that banded bird from my pocket and showed it to David Upton...the host...Owner of Reliable Rentals...and the holder of the $$$$Pot. You would have thought I had just boinked his girlfriend by the look on his face....I think he figured no one would kill a banded bird and he could put that pot towards the day lease cost!! I got my $580.00 dollars though....and AU won there game that Saturday....Bama lost.....and the wife Raped me when I got in the Bed that night....an AWSOME day it was!!!!

It is pretty neat to find out the history of the bird when you report the band. The woodie I got was a two year old female...she was banded in Ohio in August and I shot her four months nearly to the day later in South Alabama. Ol gal done some traveling.

I killed one that was banded at five rivers.

Update,the dove was banded in Fayette and was killed in Fayette.

Still cool to kill one that's banded! A band is a wingshooters trophy. I've killed a few doves, ducks and geese over the years and haven't got a single band. Maybe one day!

Rarity makes something a trophy. The more rare it is, the more it is coveted. I have killed 50+ doves a year for the past 30 years. Never seen a dove band. They seem pretty rare and it would certainly be a trophy.

Well, for one, there are guys that hunt 50+ years, thousands of ducks harvested, and never killed a band. It is truly the "drop tine" of the duck world. Read a little bit about Jack Minor, the father of the duck band. I have been duck hunting about 38 years and only have a few bands. I killed a goose that had a leg band and a neck band but my trophy is a drake mallard that was 14 years old when I killed it. Also, if an area has a history of banded birds killed, it will likely stay that way. Or, it USED to be that way.

Got 2 Mallard bands and a Bluewing Teal. Teal was 6 years old....banded in Saskatchewan....killed in Tamaulipas, MEXICO!!!

I’ve killed 3 doves with bands. 2 were killed within 400 yards of banding site and the third one was about 2 miles away.
Killed 27 or 29 duck bands but these are all I have left. Placing bands on a duck call laynard if a good way to lose them.
That one with the #4 steel shot mark was a drake black duck. 4 of us shot at the flock but I was the only one shooting # 4 steel so I laid claim to it.