September 11, 2026
There is a particular humility that dove hunting hands you on the opening flight of the season, and I got mine in spades. The first few birds that came off the fence line moved faster than my brain fully remembered doves move. I was behind on the first two and ahead on the third. The S&W Elite Gold is a 20-gauge side-by-side that has been in more than a few fields over its life, and it handled beautifully. The issue was not the gun. The issue was that you forget, between seasons, just how deceptively quick a dove moves.
The shooting tightened toward the end of the hunt the way it always does — once you stop thinking about it and start trusting the swing, the birds start falling. The Elite Gold has a narrow sighting plane and a lively feel in the hands that rewards instinctive shooting. Mount it, find the bird, trust the move. When I did that, I hit. When I tried to aim, I didn't.
“The first few birds were humbling. They were quick, the angles were deceptive, and I was a half-second behind my eyes. By the middle of the hunt, once I stopped over-thinking and committed to the swing, everything tightened up. That's dove hunting. That's always been dove hunting.” — KJ, Gun Talk Media, Oklahoma, September 2026
I ran one load through the Elite Gold: Fiocchi Field Dynamics and ran the new Fiocchi Golden Dove Duplex loads through a Weatherby 18i. The Field Dynamics are what most of us have been shooting for years — honest, dependable, 1-1/8 oz dove loads that pattern predictably and cost what they should. The Golden Dove Duplex was the one I was curious about, because it brings a concept to the dove field that has been working in the turkey world for a few years now.
The idea behind the duplex load is straightforward: two shot sizes in one shell. In turkey hunting, the duplex concept — mixing a larger pellet for penetration with a smaller pellet for pattern density — has been proven over multiple seasons. It extends the effective range of a single load by giving you the close-in forgiveness of the smaller shot and the downrange energy of the larger. The question was whether that concept translated to dove.
Short answer: it does. On the birds that came in close and dropped fast, the #8 component gave me the dense pattern I needed at 15–20 yards. On the longer crossers — the birds that came off a distant tree line and worked across the field — the #6 component had the energy to get there and do the work. I didn't change shells once. That is genuinely useful when the birds are coming from multiple directions and the opportunities are fast.
Duplex loads — shells that combine two different shot sizes in a single payload — have been in the turkey hunting market for several years. Manufacturers like Federal and Heavyweight have offered duplex turkey loads that combine a dense, small pellet for pattern density with a heavier pellet for deep penetration through a turkey's feathers and bone. Those loads changed the conversation about effective range in spring turkey hunting.
Fiocchi's Golden Dove Duplex brings that engineering concept to the dove field for the first time as a purpose-built dove load. The specific combination — #8 and #6 lead shot, 1-1/5 oz payload, 1,275 fps — is calibrated for the dove hunting scenario rather than the turkey scenario. The #8 handles the close-in birds where pattern density is what matters. The #6 handles the birds that are working farther out or crossing at angles where you need retained energy to finish the shot.
The result, as Fiocchi describes it and as the Oklahoma field work confirmed: a single load that covers more of the situations a dove hunter encounters in a typical day than any single-shot-size load can. You don't need to decide between loading close-in shells or longer-range shells based on where you're positioned. The Golden Dove Duplex makes that decision for you, in both directions, simultaneously.
“Golden Dove Duplex was developed for hunters who wanted one load that could do it all. By combining two complementary shot sizes into a single shell, we've created a load that offers dense patterns for close shots while maintaining the energy needed for birds that are working higher or farther out.” — Christian Hogg, Director of Marketing, Fiocchi of America
This is worth understanding before you take it to the field, because it's not magic — it's ballistics.
Shot size determines two things: pellet count and per-pellet energy. Smaller shot means more pellets in the payload and a denser pattern, but each individual pellet sheds velocity and energy faster. Larger shot means fewer pellets and a thinner pattern, but each pellet retains energy better and penetrates deeper at distance.
The classic dove hunting dilemma has always been which to prioritize. A field where birds are coming in close to a water tank or a sunflower field rewards #8 or #8.5 — dense pattern, forgiving on quick close birds. A pass-shooting situation where birds are crossing 35-plus yards away rewards #6 or even #5 — fewer pellets but enough retained energy to finish the shot cleanly. Most of us pick one and accept the tradeoff.
The Golden Dove Duplex — #8 for the close birds, #6 for the passing shots, both in every shell you load — is a legitimate engineering answer to that dilemma. You're not getting unlimited range or magic pattern density. You're getting a better average across the range of situations you'll actually encounter in a mixed dove field. On a day where the birds are coming from everywhere at varying distances, that average is worth more than optimizing for one scenario.
Fiocchi builds out the full spectrum of dove loads, from the new Golden Dove Duplex at the premium end to the high-volume Texas White Wing for the shooters who burn through shells. Here is the complete lineup:
The new load KJ ran in Oklahoma. Mixed #8 and #6 payload in a single shell: #8 for close-in pattern density, #6 for downrange energy on passing birds. The turkey duplex concept applied to the dove field for the first time as a purpose-built dove load. IC to Light Modified choke recommended. 1-1/5 oz at 1,275 fps delivers manageable recoil for all-day shooting volume.
The load KJ has been running for years and ran alongside the Golden Dove Duplex in Oklahoma. Dependable, consistent, honest dove load with predictable patterns and all-day shooting comfort. The chilled lead shot and carefully designed wads deliver reliable cycling. The workhorse of the Fiocchi dove lineup and the right choice when you know the birds are coming in at standard ranges.
Built for the hunts where you're burning through shells and need a lot of ammunition easily at hand. The 100-round packaging is the point — one box covers a serious morning, eliminates the logistics of counting boxes, and keeps you focused on the birds. Same reliable Fiocchi performance as the Field Dynamics in a volume-buy format.
The Smith & Wesson Elite Gold is not a gun you'll find on the shelf at your local sporting goods store. It was produced from roughly 2007 to 2010 — approximately 3,000 guns built — and then discontinued. It won Field & Stream's Best Hunting Shotgun award and has the reputation to back it up. The one KJ carried in Oklahoma is the 20-gauge configuration, the classic pairing for a field dove gun: light to carry, lively to swing, comfortable to shoot all day.
The side-by-side configuration is purpose-built for instinctive field shooting in ways that an over-and-under or a semi-automatic is not. The wide sighting plane gives you a natural look at the bird. The narrow profile doesn't obstruct your view the way a single barrel does. And the two-shot setup demands commitment — you've got two shells and that's it, which concentrates the mind on the mount and the swing rather than relying on a follow-up.
The 20-gauge version weighs 6.5 to 6.7 pounds with 26 or 28-inch barrels. That weight is right for a day of carrying and swinging on incoming birds. The fixed IC and Modified chokes are exactly what a dove hunter needs: the IC barrel for the close-in birds dropping into decoys, the Modified barrel for the passing shots and the longer crossers. The trigger is a single non-selective trigger, which means the first shot fires the IC barrel and the second fires the Modified — the correct sequence for most dove hunting scenarios where the first shot is the close one and the second shot is the follow-up at greater distance.
The Elite Gold is a collector's gun at this point, and the market reflects it. Shotgun forum members who paid $1,200–1,300 for them new have watched the value climb, with used examples selling for $1,500–1,800 or more in good condition. GunBroker is the primary secondary market source. If you find one in solid condition, it is worth what the seller is asking.
If you want the side-by-side dove gun experience without the collector market pricing, the CZ Bobwhite G2, the Stoeger Coach Gun, and the Rizzini Aurum are all in production and worth evaluating. The classic side-by-side for dove hunting remains one of the most satisfying ways to spend a September morning in a field.
Any shotgun works for dove. The question is which one works best for your shooting style, the terrain, and the volume you expect.
Dove hunting is a close-to-medium-range game. Most shots happen inside 35 yards. Most missed shots happen because the shooter over-estimated range and under-estimated bird speed, not because the pattern was too open.
Most dove hunters spend years picking a single shot size and sticking with it. Here's the quick honest guide:
| #8 or #8.5 shot | Best for: Decoy birds, close-in water tank hunting, sunflower field birds working in tight. Pattern density is the advantage. Less downrange energy for passing birds. |
|---|---|
| #7.5 shot | The all-purpose compromise. Enough pellets for forgiving patterns, enough energy for most dove field distances. What most hunters run for most of the season. |
| #6 shot | Best for: Pass-shooting, later in the season when birds are faster and spookier, longer-range crossers. Fewer pellets, more downrange energy per pellet. |
| Golden Dove Duplex (#8+#6) | Best for: Mixed conditions. You don't know where the birds will work. You want one load that covers close-in pattern density AND longer-range energy. New concept for dove, proven concept from turkey. |
| Shot weight | 1 oz standard in 20-gauge. 1-1/8 oz standard in 12-gauge. The 1-1/5 oz Golden Dove Duplex is on the heavier end for a dove load — manageable with the 1,275 fps velocity. |
| Velocity | 1,200–1,300 fps is the dove load sweet spot. Higher velocity produces more recoil for diminishing returns on the pattern. |
The lesson from Oklahoma that every dove hunter knows but forgets over the off-season: the first few birds will humble you. They always do. Swing through, commit to the move, and trust the gun. The shooting tightens up. It always tightens up. The Golden Dove Duplex takes the ammo decision off the table so the only variable is you behind the gun. — KJ
Dove hunting is the unofficial start of fall. It's the hunt that brings people back to fields they've been hunting since they were kids, with guns that have been in the family longer than they can remember, with the same group of people who show up every September opening weekend. The S&W Elite Gold side-by-side in a 20-gauge Oklahoma field is exactly that — a gun that belongs in a field, connected to a tradition of wing shooting that goes back farther than any of us.
The Fiocchi Golden Dove Duplex is something new in a tradition that doesn't usually invite new ideas. The turkey duplex load concept proved itself over several seasons before anyone questioned it. The Golden Dove Duplex brings the same engineering logic — two shot sizes solving two different problems simultaneously — to the dove field for the first time. At $19.99 a box, it's priced to try rather than priced to debate.
Pick up a few boxes before opening day. Run some Field Dynamics alongside them so you have a comparison. Pay attention to the close birds and the passing shots and notice which load feels right for which situation. Then decide for yourself.
The birds don't wait. The season is here.
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