Dove season, what have y’all planted and do you have any birds?

[M R DAWGS]

This seems a better topic than most on here lately. Let’s hear the secrets.

I’ve always been a 12 gauge fan, but the 20 gauge has been my go to gun for the past 2 season. It gets it done with much less recoil and less weight.

Supplementation of a field? How do you keep it legal?

 

[greenbean.sixpack]

My best luck dove hunting was during a snow/ice storm in 83, 84 or 85, I rode in the back of a pickup and shot doves (too cold to fly I guess?) out of cotton fields where the stalks had been cut (I'm not much of a rule follower). We racked up, killed dozens, it was easy to pattern shots in the snow. The roads were so bad that the only folks out were the dudes delivering propane. It was glorious.

 

[Pilgrimdawg]

Disc your field and spread wheat seed. Just dont cover it up. Broadcast the seed normally with no piles and no added attractants like chopped corn which is obviously not a normal farming practice. I haven’t done a field in a few years, but I think this will keep you legal. There is a Mississippi outdoor forum called The Bullnettler that discusses hunting and fishing topics. You can find some knowledge help there, or call your local game warden if you are really concerned about making sure that you follow the letter of the law.

 

[Lowdog]

One year I planted 3+ acres in sunflower. Spent aprox 1k on the field. Lime, fertilizer, post emerge herbicide, pre emerge herbicide, seed, hours and hours of disking ect. Had a beautiful field full of sunflowers. Aprox two weeks before opening day of dove season the deer moved in and ate every sunflower seed head. All I had left was a field of stalks with not one sunflower head remaining. Last time I ever did that!

 

[Dawgbite]

This seems a better topic than most on here lately. Let’s hear the secrets.

I’ve always been a 12 gauge fan, but the 20 gauge has been my go to gun for the past 2 season. It gets it done with much less recoil and less weight.

Supplementation of a field? How do you keep it legal?

I grew up with a 16 ga but transitioned to a 12 when I finally could afford to buy a gun. I bought a 20 about five years ago and love it. I’ve found that the secret to killing birds has more to do with the ammo than the gun. If you buy that cheap crap from Walmart you may make a lot of noise but you’re not killing a lot of birds. Good quality ammo will net more birds per dollar in the long run.

 

[Car Ramrod.sixpack]

I grew up with a 16 ga but transitioned to a 12 when I finally could afford to buy a gun. I bought a 20 about five years ago and love it. I’ve found that the secret to killing birds has more to do with the ammo than the gun. If you buy that cheap crap from Walmart you may make a lot of noise but you’re not killing a lot of birds. Good quality ammo will net more birds per dollar in the long run.

You really have to watch what ammo you are buying now a days. Powder is a lot cheaper than lead and manufactures are pushing these high velocity rounds but all they are doing is reducing the amount of shot to increase the velocity. When ever I find a 20 gauge 1 oz # 7.5 or 8 shot around 1200 fps I will buy every box or flat they have because 20 gauge is getting harder and harder to find.

Bercause of the scarcity of 20 gauge ammo over the past 2 years I have started shooting a 28 gauge more.

 

[ronpolk]

Is riding around shooting them off power lines legal? That’s my preferred method*****

 

[uptowndawg]

We put two telephone poles 100’ apart with a piece of romex strung between them out in the middle of a cow pasture. A few of us figured out how to rig decoys on fishing poles so we toss a few up there and perch them on the line when we hunt. This setup works better than chopped corn.

 

[Marler]

Put a tarp down fill it with chops. Pull it the afternoon before

 

[maroonmadman]

I live in a subdivision so I've been practicing my blow dart gun skills for the many fat dove that come eat from my bird feeder.

 

[Choctaw Dawg]

One year I planted 3+ acres in sunflower. Spent aprox 1k on the field. Lime, fertilizer, post emerge herbicide, pre emerge herbicide, seed, hours and hours of disking ect. Had a beautiful field full of sunflowers. Aprox two weeks before opening day of dove season the deer moved in and ate every sunflower seed head. All I had left was a field of stalks with not one sunflower head remaining. Last time I ever did that!

Man that sucks. When planting sunflower you have to overcompensate for the deer that will come in and eat it. Planting less than 5 acres is a recipe for deer tearing it up.

 

[Choctaw Dawg]

Disc your field and spread wheat seed. Just dont cover it up. Broadcast the seed normally with no piles and no added attractants like chopped corn which is obviously not a normal farming practice. I haven’t done a field in a few years, but I think this will keep you legal. There is a Mississippi outdoor forum called The Bullnettler that discusses hunting and fishing topics. You can find some knowledge help there, or call your local game warden if you are really concerned about making sure that you follow the letter of the law.

At this point of the year this is the way to go, however after disking the field if you have access to a do all or even a harrow you need to use it before putting seed out. Doves love landing on as smooth of a seed bed as possible.

This year we have thrown out close to 7 acres worth of a mix of brown top millet, sunflower, and sorghum. We planted that around Memorial day and the millet looks fantastic while the sorghum and sunflower are just now making a head. Next year we will know to plant sunflower and sorghum earlier so it will be mature by opening morning. I will mow lanes down in it tomorrow or Friday.

 

[M R DAWGS]

I tried sunflowers and of mix of millet and milo last year. I just broadcasted all of it. I didn’t plant the sunflowers like I think you are supposed to.

The sunflowers came up and looked great for a while but as soon as they started heading out, the deer demolished them.

The millet and milo did pretty good last year, and I broadcasted some wheat a week or two before the season and we had a decent hunt.

I’ve got some standing millet that I may burn or cut, and I’m broadcasting wheat again this year. I’m seeing some decent numbers of birds. I’m looking forward to it.

 

[cowbell88]

One of the best hunts I ever had was on catfish ponds at levee intersection. They had put out salt a couple weeks before (normal agricultural practice) and tender trailers always leak some.

We just sat beside the paddle wheel tractors that were parked around intersection.

 

[maroonmadman]

Does anyone hunt Quail anymore? Have fire ants wiped them all out?

 

[LordMcBuckethead]

This seems a better topic than most on here lately. Let’s hear the secrets.

I’ve always been a 12 gauge fan, but the 20 gauge has been my go to gun for the past 2 season. It gets it done with much less recoil and less weight.

Supplementation of a field? How do you keep it legal?

Nice try Game Warden.

 

[Car Ramrod.sixpack]

Does anyone hunt Quail anymore? Have fire ants wiped them all out?

A suitable quail population is a thing of the past in the southeast. I do a fair amount of set bird hunts since I quit duck hunting and wish I could experience quail hunting the way father did growing up. I've talked to biologist, preserve managers and upland guides and now the consensus is how modern farming practices have destroyed their habitat. Fire ants haven't helped the issue but the regression of vegetation along fence rows, the absence of native grasslands and predators seem to be the biggest issues.

My parents purchased a track of land in south MS and have been working with a federal biologist thru federal programs to turn it into a reserve for a sustainable quail population. This will be their second year in the process and time will tell if it is possible. Jimmie Bryant over in West Point at Prairie Wildlife has been funding a lot or research with MSU and TAM to bring back the quail population.

Something to keep in mind how rare wild quail are now a days is millionaires make deals on golf courses and billionaires make deals over wild quail hunts.

 

[uptowndawg]

A suitable quail population is a thing of the past in the southeast. I do a fair amount of set bird hunts since I quit duck hunting and wish I could experience quail hunting the way father did growing up. I've talked to biologist, preserve managers and upland guides and now the consensus is how modern farming practices have destroyed their habitat. Fire ants haven't helped the issue but the regression of vegetation along fence rows, the absence of native grasslands and predators seem to be the biggest issues.

My parents purchased a track of land in south MS and have been working with a federal biologist thru federal programs to turn it into a reserve for a sustainable quail population. This will be their second year in the process and time will tell if it is possible. Jimmie Bryant over in West Point at Prairie Wildlife has been funding a lot or research with MSU and TAM to bring back the quail population.

Something to keep in mind how rare wild quail are now a days is millionaires make deals on golf courses and billionaires make deals over wild quail hunts.

I remember when I could sit on the porch of our deer camp and hear bob-whites and whooperwhills almost every evening. I’ve heard people blame herbicides for eliminating the weeds and grasses between row crops for the cause of the quail decline but my area is mostly pine timber and I wonder if our problem is the invasive privet and yaupon that crept up in the last 20 years but really exploded when Katrina knocked down every 1/3rd pine and let the sunlight hit the ground.

 

[DeltaDawg22]

Does anyone hunt Quail anymore? Have fire ants wiped them all out?

I was up at my folks place a couple weeks ago and heard quail whistling. I’ve always heard from the old timers that they go in-out of 60 year cycles so maybe there is hope.

I grew up hunting doves with a 28 gauge over and under. Awesome times. Wish still had the birds like that.

 

[StumpNewGround]

This seems a better topic than most on here lately. Let’s hear the secrets.

I’ve always been a 12 gauge fan, but the 20 gauge has been my go to gun for the past 2 season. It gets it done with much less recoil and less weight.

Supplementation of a field? How do you keep it legal?

Depending upon location, best way to do it is plant a sho nuff sunflower field. Now, it costs some money to do it right. Pre-emerge, post emerge herbicide along with seed alone is enough to kill you. Desoto can chime in here anytime he wants but, to do it right on about 10 acres is going to cost you 6 grand. And I think I’m being conservative.

BUT, you’ll never have a better hunt. Plant next to a gravel road and water…….with power lines. I’m spoiled because not everywhere can bring em in like the delta, but that’s what works for us.

And by sho nuff I mean we plant it like a crop to harvest. Run the para-till, hipper, do-all(dooz Mo for the uninitiated) and plant.

 

[DerHntr]

Depending upon location, best way to do it is plant a sho nuff sunflower field. Now, it costs some money to do it right. Pre-emerge, post emerge herbicide along with seed alone is enough to kill you. Desoto can chime in here anytime he wants but, to do it right on about 10 acres is going to cost you 6 grand. And I think I’m being conservative.

BUT, you’ll never have a better hunt. Plant next to a gravel road and water…….with power lines. I’m spoiled because not everywhere can bring em in like the delta, but that’s what works for us.

And by sho nuff I mean we plant it like a crop to harvest. Run the para-till, hipper, do-all(dooz Mo for the uninitiated) and plant.

The best hunts I’ve been on were done this way. Only in Kansas have I shot as many birds without all the work.

That being said, do you sell any hunts on your field? There seem to be less and less places to toss in a hundred a gun. Growing up in the 80s & 90s, we had ample opportunities to shoot dove. It seems like the culture around it has died.

 

[StumpNewGround]

This seems a better topic than most on here lately. Let’s hear the secrets.

I’ve always been a 12 gauge fan, but the 20 gauge has been my go to gun for the past 2 season. It gets it done with much less recoil and less weight.

Supplementation of a field? How do you keep it legal?

Depending upon location, best way to do it is plant a sho nuff sunflower field. Now, it costs some money to do it right. Pre-emerge, post emerge herbicide along with seed alone is enough to kill you. Desoto can chime in here anytime he wants but, to do it right on about 10 acres is going to cost you 6 grand. And I think I’m being conservative.

BUT, you’ll never have a better hunt. Plant next to a gravel road and water…….with power lines. I’m spoiled because not everywhere can bring em in like the delta, but that’s what works for us.

The best hunts I’ve been on were done this way. Only in Kansas have I shot as many birds without all the work.

That being said, do you sell any hunts on your field? There seem to be less and less places to toss in a hundred a gun. Growing up in the 80s & 90s, we had ample opportunities to shoot dove. It seems like the culture around it has died.

We’ll sell a field. Too late for this year. We get it done in spring before planting.

 

[dogmatic001]

I've always wanted somewhere to hunt doves during the second and third seasons in Mississippi. This year I have a 3-acre field I held out of soybean production - I planted strips on either side in sunflowers, then left the middle half open. I've kept it pretty clean. Aug. 1 I broadcast wheat over the top on the open middle with the idea of drawing birds.

I meant to have the place for the later seasons, but I did want the sunflowers to be ready earlier than they will be. I was late getting them in. The sunflowers won't be mature for the first season, so we'll see. I don't really have any doves yet. My family did dove fields in that general area when I was a child, but we haven't done one there in decades, so I don't have any birds that imprinted on the field last year. May take a few seasons to get the flow of birds built back up. I don't think I really have any doves yet. I'm planning to go tomorrow morning at sunrise just to check.

There are a very few deer that use that area, but they haven't bothered the sunflowers yet. The sunflowers just began to bloom last week, so they're a while from maturing. If the deer mob the field it will be a surprise. I may have to twang a few with a crossbow.

 

[greenbean.sixpack]

Growing up in the 80s & 90s, we had ample opportunities to shoot dove. It seems like the culture around it has died.

Concur. There's much more competing for our time now (100s of channels, youth sports, internet, etc) and deer season has gotten super easy and comfortable and doesn't interfere with youth sports as much being in the winter. Also folks are spending tons of money and time on deer hunting, so that leaves less resources for other hunting.

plus

 

[dogmatic001]

Concur. There's much more competing for our time now (100s of channels, youth sports, internet, etc) and deer season has gotten super easy and comfortable and doesn't interfere with youth sports as much being in the winter. Also folks are spending tons of money and time on deer hunting, so that leaves less resources for other hunting.

That's been my experience. I'm fortunate to have somewhere to put a dove field. I've meant to do it for years but haven't made the time until now. Looking forward to a multi-year process developing the place.

As far as I know, nobody anywhere close by the spot I've picked messes with doves. I'm hopeful I'll be able to make a second season hunt a thing.

Some folks may not know - dove season is federally regulated like duck season in coordination with the state. The upshot is, the days allowed to hunters are broken into three segments and subdivided north and south. In the north section, which for this purpose is all but the bottom-right corner of the state, the season dates this year are these:

Sept. 2 - Oct. 15
Oct. 28 - Nov. 26
Dec. 30 - Jan. 14

Some of the very best dove hunts I've been on in Mississippi have happened in November, but they've been done on fields left over from work pointed at the Labor Day Weekend opener. I've wanted to build a field manicured for the later seasons specifically. I'm in Lee County, so we'll have migrating doves coming through by November. At least, the birds we've shot in the later seasons have been mature birds at any rate.

One thing that seems to escape so many in online conversations about the outdoors is, not every thing is for every one.
I'm satisfied I've shot enough whitetails to hold me for the rest of my life. My interest in sitting still in a deer stand for hours on end is so low as to be unmeasureable by science. That leaves much of the rest of the field (no pun intended) open though.

That said, if the deer demolish my sunflowers as seems possible, I may work the whitetails over pretty hard this fall.

 

[IBleedMaroonDawg]

That's been my experience. I'm fortunate to have somewhere to put a dove field. I've meant to do it for years but haven't made the time until now. Looking forward to a multi-year process developing the place.

As far as I know, nobody anywhere close by the spot I've picked messes with doves. I'm hopeful I'll be able to make a second season hunt a thing.

Some folks may not know - dove season is federally regulated like duck season in coordination with the state. The upshot is, the days allowed to hunters are broken into three segments and subdivided north and south. In the north section, which for this purpose is all but the bottom-right corner of the state, the season dates this year are these:

I enjoyed late-season hunts when I was a kid, and farmers didn't care about 2 or 3 kids shooting doves on their harvested fields. Two of them stand out in my memory. One was a sorghum field harvested about 2 weeks before opening day. The best was a small field with wheat, power lines about 200 yards away, and a large pond at the end of the area. Daylight came, and there were no birds. About an hour later, a couple of birds flew, and I got one. I was walking out to get the bird and looked up to seed doves on the horizon in every direction. I hurried back to my spot. We had hot barrels for the next couple of hours. We limited, and they were still coming in.

I miss bird hunting, both doves and quail. A neighbor raised bird dogs and took me and some dogs out after school all January and February to train them. Both of those hunts are pretty much gone. Between fire ants and lacking habitat, they knocked quail hunting down to almost nothing. I didn't dove hunt much as I got older. I didn't belong to a club, own land, or have time to search for alternatives because I was chasing three kids. Luckily, there were much nearby public lands to hunt deer and turkey back in Mississippi because there is zero I've found here close to Austin. We may move to a rural setting and subsequent opportunities soon, and I might get able to get back in the game physically as well.