Game Plan for Successful Dove Hunting on Public Lands

It was still dark when we arrived, but we rushed to load our gear, ice chest, dove buckets and folding stools into pier-fishing carts, then fit the e-collar on my Lab, Betty. I had drawn an opening-day permit for a public dove field in North Carolina, and since I was allowed up to five hunters in my party, I had invited my wife, my son and two of his buddies to come along.

We made our way around a locked gate to a stand of trees at the edge of the field that would provide shade as the sun rose and steadily climbed higher. After setting our decoys, we took our seats and watched other hunters arrive, their headlamps bobbing in the darkness and their muffled conversations punctuated by the occasional bark of an excited retriever.

A half-hour before sunrise, three loud bangs signaled the arrival of the first doves and the start of shooting time. The number of shots quickly grew until it reached a crescendo. Suddenly, there were doves in the air, doves falling from the sky and hunters looking for downed birds everywhere.

With Betty’s help, it didn’t take me long to reach my bag limit; She found my birds even when they fell into tangled weeds and briers. Then I helped others in my party and fellow hunters we’d befriended on site to find their downed doves. By about 8:30 a.m. hunters began leaving. Some happily headed home with their limits, while others planned to return for the usual afternoon flurry around 3 p.m.

PUBLIC VS. PRIVATE

Dove shoots are excellent for hunter recruitment and retention, so many states have some type of managed areas for dove hunting. Wildlife agencies, in fact, willingly take on the high costs of purchasing or leasing land and planting and managing fields in order to provide great wingshooting opportunities for the hunting public. If you haven’t yet experienced top-notch dove hunting, you really ought to try a nearby public land on opening day.

Some people pay to hunt on private farms or join dove hunting clubs, but both these options can be pretty expensive and there’s no guarantee of a crop that will attract doves or of a successful local dove reproduction effort. Meanwhile, hunters only need to pay $10 or so for a permit to shoot on public land, where they are certain to find a field specifically maintained for the purpose of dove hunting.

Public-land game managers go the extra mile, usually exceeding the efforts put forth by folks managing private fields, who often lack the expertise or the equipment to truly turn a tract into a consistent dove magnet. States will plant a variety of crops, including milo, corn and different varieties of millet, then manipulate the crop to ensure it offers the best possible dove hunting opportunity.

PICKING A SPOT

Finding one of these public dove areas requires no more than a visit to a state wildlife agency’s website, which will usually show the locations, acreage, crops planted and the conditions of the field for opening day. Maps are typically provided along with GPS coordinates. The only potential problems could be a summer drought that reduces the quality of the crop or any significant rain falling just before hunting season and preventing wildlife managers from mowing, burning or otherwise manipulating the field to make it most attractive to the birds.

Advanced scouting is important. I visit the area I consider hunting just before the season and check where crops have produced well and were managed properly. To settle on the best prospective spots, I look for features doves key on, such as dead trees and powerlines where they can land, and hedgerows and field corners they use as flyways. I also look for shade that will keep my dog and me a bit more comfortable.

Keep in mind that hunter access isn’t the same on every public tract. There are open-access fields that don’t require a permit. Hunters just show up and hunt when they want throughout the season. These can be the most crowded, but that doesn’t mean they lack opportunity. Often, they are large enough to accommodate plenty of hunters. And if you hunt them after opening week, you’ll generally find that hunting pressure wanes considerably as dove season progresses, especially after the initial two weekends of shooting.

The next least restrictive type of access applies to fields that are open on specific days at certain hours. A prime example of this type of management occurs in South Carolina, where the state’s Department of Natural Resources takes dove hunting very seriously. Wildlife managers there once protected public dove fields with electric fencing to prevent depredation by deer, hogs and other wildlife, and now most of the fields have high, webbed-wire fencing, which works better than electric fences at keeping grazing animals out, especially feral hogs.

In the Palmetto State, fields are planted and manipulated with the goal of providing dove hunting throughout the entire season. Hunting dates are announced along with the regulations, and the hunting occurs from noon until 6 p.m. on those set dates. On non-hunting dates, the gates simply remain locked to prevent access.

TYPES OF ACCESS

I once hunted doves at a military installation where hunter access was controlled by onsite personnel. They allowed only a certain number of hunters into the field. Then, as hunters left after filling their bag limit, others were allowed in to take their place. On public lands, however, the most common way of managing hunter numbers is with draw-permit hunts, which allow entry to a predetermined number of hunters chosen via a lottery to prevent overcrowding and ensure a quality wingshooting experience. Hunters can apply for these hunts online by visiting the state’s wildlife agency website.

Permit hunts can also include special opportunity hunts, such as youth-adult hunts and disabled sportsman hunts. Some dove fields even provide wheelchair access to their best hunting spots for disabled hunters.

Permit hunts offer party applications so that friends and family members may apply together. For these hunts, the number of hunters allowed per party is limited. In North Carolina, it is either three hunters or five. Of course, anyone can apply alone, but where’s the fun in that? Dove hunts are social events, and anticipating the arrival of swarms of the gray rockets frequently brings hunters together for the first time in many months. The number of hunters in a party does not have a bearing on whether or not they get drawn; the odds of winning are the same for a group of five as they are for a single hunter.

Usually, permits are required only for an initial period of the season. The fields I have hunted require draw permits for the first two, three or four hunting dates, which were staggered to allow two hunts per week. This spreads out the hunting pressure, enabling doves to utilize the field unmolested so the tract doesn’t get “burned out.” After the draw-permit hunt dates, the fields are either managed by allowing anyone to hunt on specific days and dates or without any restrictions.

There is one other type of permit, and it allows hunting an area for the entire season or during a long period of time during the season. That brings us to a discussion of regulations and how they apply to make sure hunters have a quality experience.

FOLLOW THE RULES

Either knowingly or not, some hunters break the rules and regulations established by the states for utilizing their public tracts. Remember that wildlife enforcement officers are sure to be out checking the permits of everyone hunting at a permit-only dove field on opening day and shortly thereafter. Hunters who try to sneak in without possessing a permit are bound to get a ticket.

It amazes me that some folks will even ignore the signs posted in the parking areas regarding the special permits required. While hunting doves, I’ve come across several hunters without the necessary permits. One told me he’d hunted doves at a particular tract on a day open only for deer hunting.

I have also seen hunters enter a dove field before a specified legal time. This incensed others who had been lined up for hours, waiting at the gate for legal entry. Another big no-no is shooting after the specified quitting time, which I have also witnessed. A dove field may be a hot place to be in September, but it’s no place for hot tempers.

Hunters who encounter blatant violations can and should report them to wildlife enforcement hotlines. After all, following the rules and regulations provides everyone with an equal opportunity to have a great hunt.

LOADING IN AND OUT

Public hunts usually require long walks. Therefore, a dove bucket or stool is not always the best option for carrying the necessities. I’ve seen dove hunters use children’s wagons and wheelbarrows, but I prefer a pier-and-beach cart or an aluminum folding garden cart, which are larger and allow me to carry an ice chest to keep my drinking water, a watermelon and the doves I down chilled.

DOG DAZE

• Keep things safe for your four-legged hunting partner.

September weather can be brutal, especially for canines. If not much shade is available at my chosen spot, I carry a portable canopy or beach umbrella. While scouting before opening day, I look for a ditch or pond where my dog can cool off. Should neither be available, I know to bring a couple of gallon-size water jugs on the hunt, along with a plastic concrete mixing tray. It’s the perfect size for a dog to lie in, and you can buy one for a few bucks at most home improvement stores. Since the tray weighs next to nothing, I just tie a rope to it and drag it like a sled.

I also take a long leash with a screw-in ground anchor. I have seen hunts ruined for everyone present by a single, out-of-control dog. No matter how well yours has been trained, you never know what someone else’s dog will do, and nothing ends a hunt faster than a pooch being injured in a fight with another. This is why I won’t even let mine out of the kennel in the parking lot if other dogs are nearby. Even if your dog wears an e-collar, like mine, and has been professionally trained, it’s smart to control it manually until you can guage how other canines behave.

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• This article was featured in the August 2025 issue of Game & Fish magazine. Click to subscribe.

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