Dove hunting probably has the lowest barrier to entry among all the various types of hunting. The reality is that you don’t need a whole lot of gear besides a shotgun, a box or two (more in my case) of ammo, something—anything—to carry out your birds, and, naturally, a hunting license and migratory bird stamp.
That’s it. Dove hunting can be extremely minimalist in terms of its required equipment.
But…who wants that? Gear is cool and gear for a specific hunting season is even cooler. Thankfully, there are a number of items available to build out your dove season gear bag. Plus, good gear makes hunting easier—and in the case of dove hunting—frankly, more comfortable and enjoyable.
Now that I have you thinking about the gear, let’s look at some items you might want for hunting dove this coming season. I’ll couch this in terms of the gear you need, that way, if a significant other or some family member questions your spending on more hunting gear, you can confidently respond, “No, this is gear I really do need for hunting dove.”
Ahem…Gear You Need for Dove Hunting
Pro Tip: If you are looking for Dove Hunting Central it looks a lot like MOJO Outdoors. You’ll see a few items on this list from MOJO, and for good reason. They know dove hunting and their gear is no joke.
On my way out of the SHOT Show this past January I stopped in the MOJO booth to find out what they had coming out new for 2025, and I was shown their MOJO Dove/Game Bucket. The MOJO rep walked me through the many features that make this a great piece of dove gear. Having a place to sit during dove hunting is a necessity as there’s a lot of waiting when the dove action is off an on.
The padded seat swivels so you can constantly scan the sky and get on a bird quick. The bucket itself holds your downed birds, ice packs, and drinks as needed. MSRP is $59.99 but you can get one for about $49 retail.
The MOJO Pick Stick Pro and MOJO Pocket Pick Stick make picking up shells after your dove hunt a much easier task. Which one you choose is up to you, but each features a strong magnet at its base so you can easily gather up your empties.
As the MOJO Outdoors website notes, “The Pick Stick Line was designed for the convenience of leaving your hunting/shooting area as clean as you found it, a point that cannot be overemphasized when dealing with landowners who are critical to our hunting and shooting.”
Having an upland vest isn’t a requirement for hunting dove, but when you can double up your seasons on a single piece of gear, grabbing the Featherweight Bird System – Modular Yoke from Marsupial Gear makes a lot of sense.
I used the ‘big brother’ version—the Upland Vest—for a pheasant hunt last Fall. It’s an awesome, well-built, durable hunting vest, but a bit too heavy for hunting dove here is 100+ degree Arizona. The Featherweight version is a little more like it for warmer weather.
Though available in Blaze Orange, the Ranger Green, Coyote Brown, or Mossy Oak Bottomland camo variants are more suitable for dove. The beauty of the Marsupial Gear design is its modularity, which is why calling it a ‘System’ is appropriate.
The Featherweight Bird System consists of the small bird bag (it will carry 15+ doves or quail), two shotgun shell pouches, and two water bottle pouches. The additional MOLLE on the small bird bag allows you to add storage to meet your needs. Best of all, once you’re done dove season you can reconfigure it for your next game season.
The MSRP is $300, which sounds like a lot, but Marsupial Gear’s products are hand-sewn and assembled in small batches for quality control, right here in the Phoenix Valley of Arizona. They design gear for the rigors of Western hunting. This is absolutely a ‘buy once, cry once’ gear purchase.
This is a good time to consider and start looking around for extended chokes for your dove gun. I’m a huge proponent of extended chokes as they are easier to swap out in the middle of a round of sporting clays, or out in the field when dove start drifting out beyond the reach of your cylinder and improved cylinder factory chokes.
Where I have hunted, the birds have never been close by, so a tighter choke is always preferred, if I hope to hit any. Back in 2023, I wrote, “Choke tubes are the cheat codes for downing birds, whether they are clay pigeons on the sporting clays course or fast moving doves in a sunflower field. Choke tubes give you an advantage – when selected correctly – in delivering the best pattern in the right spot at the right time.”
There are a handful of companies that specialize in aftermarket extended chokes. If you’re going to upgrade to extended chokes and additional constrictions, take a look at the Briley Spectrum Chokes, Carlson’s Choke Tubes, Jebs Choke Tubes, and Trulock Choke Tubes.
Finally…decoys. I never hunted with dove decoys until a couple years ago and now I see the value in adding them to your dove hunting gear bag—especially if you are not shooting in a hot dove spot and need a little extra to bring the birds in closer.
There are several options for dove decoys, from simple clip on models to motorized variants to simulate dove activity. Probably the two most recognizable brands are the aforementioned MOJO Outdoors and Lucky Duck. You can usually find both brands, along with Avian-X dove decoys, available from the major online and big box outdoor retailers.
I have hunted with the MOJO Dove A Flicker, MOJO Clip On Dove Decoys, and MOJO Voodoo Dove, along with their MOJO Dove Tree to get the Voodoo and Clip On decoys up off the ground and higher in the air. They are real easy to pack in, setup and use. You just need to make sure you have fresh batteries…ask me how I know.
While I have not had the pleasure of hunting with any of the Lucky Duck dove decoys, they offer similar versions of the MOJO products, such as the Rapid Flyer Dove, Lucky Dove HD, and a Dove Tree. I wouldn’t mind hunting with the tiered design of the Lucky Duck Dove Tree which includes 2 decoy adapters if you have Mojo Dove spinners, though it will not work with the Avian-X spinner.
MOJO decoys range in price from $19.99 to $59.99 with the Dove Tree coming in at $64.99. The Luck Duck decoys range in price from $19.99 to $39.99, with their Dove Tree at $89.99 and their Dove Flocker at $129.99. They also offer a Lucky Field Flashers w/ Remote – 3-pack for $199.99 that’s worth taking a look at as well. Avian-X’s AXP Full Body Doves 6-pack has an MSRP of $49.99 and their Powerfligt Dove goes for $64.99.
If you are lucky enough to have a good local outdoors retailer nearby, or on the way to your favorite dove field, be sure to stop in and pick up the gear you need. And remember, you do indeed need this gear. That’s our story and we’re sticking to it. Okay?
For those who have to or prefer to shop online, be sure to check out Academy Sports+Outdoors, Bass Pro Shops, Cabela’s, Mack’s Prairie Wings, MidwayUSA, Scheels, and Sportsman’s Warehouse.