[fabsroman]

The only thing I would take issue with is his selfishness to think that nobody else should shoot until he kills a bird. If you haven't limited out, you should continue to shoot even though he is struggling to hit anything. If he is struggling to shoot accurately, that is his problem. Maybe, just maybe, you could let him call the shot and let him take the first shot, and then the rest of you could shoot after he pulls the trigger. As long as he isn't trying to make really long shots and he isn't crippling a lot of birds, I don't think I would say anything, and trust me, I deal with this situation a lot. Plus, with the rest of you shooting after he starts, you might be able to finish off any cripples.

My dad hasn't been able to hit much this year. In fact, one day while dove hunting he was sitting in the hot spot, and I was only getting a little action. I ended up killing 7 that day while my dad struggled the entire day. He had 4 land on a wire right on top of him, and he knocked the feathers off of all 4, but not a single one dropped. I actually felt bad for him, and I was really getting frustrated because I knew he felt bad. He even called over to me to come and switch spots with him because he couldn't hit anything and I refused to switch, but told him I would sit with him at that spot. I would have paid $100 to have him hit a couple of birds that day.

Also, is your friend always a poor shot? Maybe he is just going through a little slump. I had a slump for a little over an hour on opening day of dove season, but I came out of it pretty quickly. If this was the first time you hunted with him this season, I'd give him a little time to see how things develop.

Remember, hunting isn't all about killing and limiting out every time, but about having a good time regardless of how many birds are killed on any given day.