Anybody ever tried Pigeon?

2315 Views 16 Replies 9 Participants Last post by Birdbrained, Oct 16, 2003

pigeonhunter

Discussion Starter · Oct 12, 2003

When I made my post about the best tasting gamebird I frogot abut the best one on the planet the common pigeon.Not the one's you see at fast-food resturants eating old fries but the one's out in farming areas where they eat the same things as the doves do.Man they are good like a cross between a dove,a chicken and a pheasant.I haven't had them in awhile because of the newcastle scare we had in CA(pigeons can be carrier's) I didn't want to transmit it to the local preserve I go to and run it out of business all because I wanted a pigeon dinner.So next time you guy's are afield and you have a chance to take a pigeon....do it! You'll be surprised at how good they are.
And any of you who have tried them tell us what you think.
If your out here on the west coast and you see one make sure that it is not a bandtailed pigeon.

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Rick618

· #2 · Oct 12, 2003

Oh yeah, we shoot them around the grain barges....about 100 or so at a time. Make great grill fare.

cordite

· #3 · Oct 12, 2003

Yeah ...they are good fare for the smoker !....

pigeonhunter

Discussion Starter · #4 · Oct 12, 2003

hey cordite,any places where we can still hunt them here in CA.
I lost my old haunts when the dairies I hunted at changed formans.

HunterJon

· #5 · Oct 12, 2003

My friends and I shoot them when we are out dove hunting, and also on Sunday and during the summer to get into the field when any other game is illegal to shoot. They are very tasty. We cook ours on the grill by wraping the breast in bacon and puting barbecue sauce on them. Some of the finest eating on wings.

soreshoulder

· #6 · Oct 12, 2003

I shot a "Rock Dove" two weeks ago after shooting seven Mourning Dove and cooked it with the others. I too was curious about their cullinary qualities. IMO the taste was much the same.

There were huge flocks of these birds passing through our field. Normally, we don't shoot them, but I will probably take more of them in the future.

"Pass me the Number Sixes, dear."

Mike

cordite

· #7 · Oct 13, 2003

pigeonhunter said:
hey cordite,any places where we can still hunt them here in CA.
I lost my old haunts when the dairies I hunted at changed formans.

Pigeon, uh...I mean Rock Dove is aplenty here. They fly higher, faster, and can be a little tougher to bring down...

pigeonhunter

Discussion Starter · #8 · Oct 13, 2003

Same thing as the chukar hunt.
Take me with you! I'll pay you...with old winchester AA hulls

The only time you get to shoot pigeon down here is if your at a dairy or you pass shoot them while they're on the way to a dairy.Cordite, if your in the high desert your out of the quarantine zone for newcastle.
Its been a while since I went on a pigeon only hunt just been doing pass shots.

TOQUA

· #9 · Oct 13, 2003

I cut them up in sugar cube size chunks and fry them and put them on noodles with sour cream

TOM

duckriverdave

· #10 · Oct 13, 2003

Cook them in the crock pot all day and make a quick dove/pigeon casserole when you get home. Mighty tasty.

duckriverdave

G

· #11 · Oct 14, 2003

Remember that pigeons call be dirty and carry desease, but I once killed and ate a pigeon too. When out dove hunting one year, I was able to bag a Rock Dove that came too close - and took it home and prepared it.

It indeed tasted like dove. Many a time I've read accounts that squab was often eaten in this country's restuarants.

Robins and crows are sometimes killed and eaten by "adventureous folks" as well.

soreshoulder

· #12 · Oct 14, 2003

Cougar said:
Robins and crows are sometimes killed and eaten by "adventureous folks" as well.

Not the robin, God save us, not the State Bird of Michigan!

Nay, I shall never dine on these.

Mike

cordite

· #13 · Oct 14, 2003

Cougar said:
It indeed tasted like dove. Many a time I've read accounts that squab was often eaten in this country's restuarants.

Rock Dove, Squab, pigeon, etc. is a cousin of the dove. Just has more meat to them...

pigeonhunter

Discussion Starter · #14 · Oct 14, 2003

Actually "squab" is young pigeon that is still in the nest.The reason why squab is so tasty is because they are harvasted before the fly so the meat is very tender.
Fried squab is a damn fine meal.

Budd Lake

· #15 · Oct 14, 2003

soreshoulder Not the robin said:
There used to be this old Italian gentleman in my neighborhood that would eat just about anything with wings. This guy used to sit in his yard and prop up the equivilant of a large screen door, on a stick. He would throw some hard bread under that screen, then tie a long string to the stick and hide off to the side around 10 to 20 yards away. He'd sit back and wait for a gang of ANY type of bird to start eating the bread. Once there was enough to clean he'd pull the string and gather dinner :shock: He'd twist their necks, gut them, and cook em head and all! He would use a nut cracker to get the head open and eat away.

True Story.

I used to offer this guy venison and he would only want the head. We made it a point never to nap anywhere near this guys house!

pigeonhunter

Discussion Starter · #16 · Oct 15, 2003

What tht F :shock: :shock: :shock:

Birdbrained

· #17 · Oct 16, 2003

Man, talking about not letting anything go to waste... ewww.

Here in WA/OR., we hunt wild migratory band tail pigeons that have a special season in Sept. In WA. you have to apply ahead for a permit because the numbers are down. Mostly you see them in timbered valleys, and they can really jet. And yes, they are tasty.

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