By John Hackett:
When Iowa finally had its first dove hunting season two years ago I was ecstatic! I was chomping at the bit to get back into the dove hunting game. I got my first taste of dove hunting back in 1985, or so, when I lived in Kansas. With a stint of residency in Nebraska I also saw a lot of dove hunting action. Fast forward to my move back to Iowa and . . . . that’s right, nothing!
Not much changed when I finally could hunt doves in Iowa. The tactics I used were pretty much the same as in 1985, put a few decoys out and waited for the doves to show up. One thing did change though, decoy technology!
Last year I purchased a Mojo Voodoo Dove decoy made by Mojo Outdoors of Monroe LA. This is the same company that makes the wing spinning motion duck decoys. The Mojo Dove works the same way. A battery pack spins the wings in a circular motion to simulate a flying bird. The alternating black and white sides of the wings give the decoy its realistic look of flight.
The removable wings of the Mojo Voodoo Dove are magnetically connected to the decoy. My first thoughts were “Heck, these things will just fly off once the decoy gets spinning”. But they didn’t. The wings never came off, even in stiff winds.
The decoys motor operates on four AA batteries that Mojo claims will last about 16 hours. I got a little more life out of the batteries, but the wings did slow down quite a bit after about the 16 hour mark. I went through the whole season on just two sets. And I never had a single malfunction with the decoy.
I was not only impressed on how well the decoy worked mechanically, but how well it worked on the doves themselves. Two years ago all I used was traditional motionless decoys. The doves would fly by, if they were in the area, and take a look. This past season I added a Mojo Voodoo Dove to my spread and I actually had doves land in the decoys! The Mojo drew doves into my decoys from a longer distance away also. On several occasions the Mojo would draw doves in from a distance that the year before I felt I would have no chance at all of getting a shot. On one particular instance I spotted a dove flying over a field a good 1/8th of a mile away, it turned on a dime and flew right into the decoys!
Now I’ll admit that it’s hard to tell for sure if the Mojo Dove was making a difference, or if it was just a good day for suicidal doves. One morning just for the heck of it I turned the decoy off after the first few bunches of doves buzzed the decoys. I still got a few passes, but most of the doves just flew by without giving my spread a second look. When I turned the decoy back on, the doves returned to trying to land in the decoys again!
The bottom line on Iowa dove hunting is that you still need to be in an area that doves are using. But I am fully convinced that the addition of the Mojo Voodoo Dove decoy to my spread greatly increased bags. Give one a try; I’m sure you won’t be disappointed!
