Top 10 Dove Hunting States

It’s the song of September, the whistling of wings around Texas waterholes, along the edges of grain fields in the Carolinas, near the Pinewoods of Georgia and in the cactus country of Arizona.

That song, of course, is the serenade of the mourning dove, the most numerous and most popular game bird species found in America. And while 39 states allow hunting for this jet fighter of the wingshooting world, as with most game species in our grand land, some places are better than others as the September wingshooting bleeds into October, November and even beyond depending on where you live and hunt. 

With that idea in mind, here’s our look at the 10 best states to chase mourning doves in this fall:

1. Texas

There’s little doubt that Texas claims top billing for the premier dove-hunting state in America. And because of that, and because of the state’s dedication to dove hunting data, there’s plenty to back up that top-shelf status.

Frankly, dove numbers in Texas can literally dwarf numbers in other good states, so much so that the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department notes that the Lone Star State is “…a major player in dove hunting, accounting for 32 percent of the total mourning dove harvest and 87 percent of the white-winged dove harvest in the U.S. annually.” And considering the numbers in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's most recent Mourning Dove Population Status report for 2024, that's saying something indeed.

Such 10-gallon hat status in the dove hunting world brings a huge economic impact to Texas with TPWD reporting that its approximate 300,000 dove hunters deliver a staggering economic impact of $316 million (a figure that TPWD says adjusts to $508 million for inflation).

What those scattergunners find each year is an abundance of doves and plenty of X-marks the best hunting spots action., even in years where the population may have suffered a slight downward turn due to spring storms that impact nesting success, summer drought that impacts recruitment or even rare winter freeze events that cause some doves to succumb. 

But that’s only an occasional downward blip on the radar and certainly not this current year. Because, according to TPWD, the 2024 estimated spring mourning dove population survey was some 34.3 million birds this year in Texas, a 21 percent increase from 2023 and 24 percent above the 2008-2023 long-term average.

Because of roosting cover, food at backyard feeders, scattered patches of sunflowers and nearby grain fields, the highest population densities are found in and around urban areas (Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio and Austin) in a surprising twist. But some 89 percent of the state’s mourning doves are still found in rural areas, according to TPWD. 

Mourning doves aren’t the only game in town each fall, either. After a disastrous freeze in December 1983 wiped out historic roosting areas in the citrus-growing Rio Grande Valley, the loss of habitat began a steady push northwards by white-winged doves. Over the years since, the whitewing has expanded its territory dramatically, now being found in most of the state’s 254 counties, as well as in growing population numbers.

This year, TPWD’s annual spring dove survey found an estimated 12.8 million whitewings in Texas, the highest such figure on record and a 4 percent increase from 2023, and 27 percent above the long-term average.

While some hunters routinely find good concentrations of whitewings out in the country, the whitewing is a dedicated backyard bird feeder in the four big metro areas, daily whipping across serpentine concrete roadways at rush hour. TPWD says that whitewing distribution, unlike mourning doves, is actually 78 percent in urban areas across the state and that urban densities are an astounding 65 times higher as compared to rural locations.

The state has a bonus non-game bird dove species too, the invasive Eurasian collared doves that fly throughout most of the state now. Not protected by any bag limits or season framework, this exotic and invasive dove is open to hunting year-round, even if few Texas hunters take advantage of the opportunity.

“As far as Eurasians in Texas, we do not have any real precise estimates," said Owen Fitzsimmons, TPWD’s webless migratory game bird program leader. "Our best estimate is that (last) year, (we were) sitting at around 4.4 million. And out of that figure, about 50 percent of the Eurasians we have across the state are found in the Panhandle. We think it has to do with the agriculture out there, and it seems like we’ve got a pair of Eurasian dove at every little farmhouse and grain lot in that region."

After a bit of a downturn in dove hunting success following the disastrous two-week-long February 2021 freeze, the state’s dove population appears to be fully recovered now after examining last year’s harvest figures. Those figures from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service show that there were an estimated 6.48 million mourning doves harvested in 2023-24 (out of a nationwide harvest of 16.56 mourning doves), a tally that was up from an estimated 2.64 million harvested the previous year. Ditto for the white-winged dove harvest in light of Texas’ estimated 1.78 million whitewings taken by hunters in 2023-24 (out of a nationwide harvest of 2.10 million), a number that rose from the previous year’s harvest of 772,000 whitewings.

Because the Lone Star State is a pay-to-play stronghold (meaning leasing and outfitted hunts are a way of life in Texas), the only weak link in the state’s dove hunting report card is a lack of public hunting opportunities when compared to some other states. But Texas has made strides in that department—even though 97 percent of the land in the Lone Star State is behind private gates—with TPWD now offering more than one million acres of public hunting ground, including government properties and private land locations leased by the state for public hunting.

To get in on this public access, you'll need to purchase the $48 Annual Public Hunting (APH) Permit. Although this year’s deadline has now passed to enter, there are also some Private Land Dove Hunts awarded to lucky hunters each year thanks to TPWD’s popular Drawn Hunt System.

2. Georgia

The Peach State checks in with a solid #2 ranking this year, and after years of being near the top, Georgia certainly doesn’t play dove hunting's second fiddle to anyone else in our opinion. For starters, there are more than 300,000 resident mourning doves in the state, not to mention those that migrate southward through the fall months as they transition through the Eastern Management Unit (Editor’s Note: There are three management units, or dove flyways if you will, across the U.S. including the Eastern, Central, and Western Management Units).

And, according to USFWS data, they arrive in Georgia each fall where some 56,500 Georgia dove hunters welcome them, taking some 871,600 million doves last year in the state, a harvest figure that was up from an estimated 423,200 mourning doves taken the previous year. 

If there’s one area that Georgia dove hunting tops Texas in dove hunting, it may be in the preponderance of dove fields provided to the state’s wingshooters thanks to nearly 60 dove fields prepared by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources spots scattered across the state’s six regions and designed to legally attract doves and provide some quality shooting.

Do note that regulations vary with some of these dove fields open to quota hunts (often the first weekend of the season), although other state dove fields are open throughout the season. Either way, all are prepared to provide some quality dove hunting on some spots as small as 5 acres and some as large as 366 acres, thanks to such food resources as millet, sunflowers, wheat, peanuts, corn and dove proso to name a few.

3. North Carolina

The Tar Heel State has given us not only basketball’s GOAT in Michael Jordan but also some of the nation’s top outdoor scribes over the years too. And from Robert Ruark to T. Edward Nickens, there have been some great dove-hunting stories that have hailed from the state that falls away from the Smoky Mountains to the Atlantic coastline. From the former scribe’s September Song story to the latter’s Healing Hunt tale, chasing mourning doves in the grain fields of Carolina Country is pretty darned good.

So much so that the state ranked #3 for mourning dove harvest in 2023-2024, checking in at 759,100 according to the feds. There are some 60,200 dove hunters in North Carolina, according to the USFWS Migratory Bird Hunting Activity and Harvest Report for 2022-2023 and 2023-2024.

Expect much of the state’s best wingshooting east of the mountains. But even there, and along the Atlantic coastline, there can be some good hunting if you know where to look. If you want to sample dove hunting in the state, the season allowed by the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) is plenty long runs from September 2 through October 5 for the first segment, November 9-30 for the second segment and from December 16-January 31 for the third and final segment.

4. Arizona

While known for his big-game hunting prowess and expertise in sheep hunting, legendary outdoor writer Jack O'Connor first hunted doves in Arizona with his grandfather way back in 1908, witnessing wingshooting so good that few can comprehend it. O'Connor, for many years the nation's dean of hunting firearms writing as well as the champion of the classic .270 Winchester caliber, wrote about those early days in his 1939 classic, Game in the Desert.

"I don't know how old I was when I first started going out with him," penned O'Connor. "Probably I was barely six. I was not a hunter those first few years; instead, I was my grandfather's bird-dog. I wasn't much of a pointer, I'll admit, but I was an excellent retriever. He broke me on whitewings first. All afternoon we'd sit under cottonwoods while the birds streamed swiftly over. Grandfather would shoot and I'd shag. Sometimes he'd have four or five birds down at once. Sometimes other men would hunt with him, and I always took pride in the fact that the old man could shoot circles around them."

While the late writer would notice much regrettable change to the state since his time, he would still find plenty of doves streaming overhead where 29,800 active dove hunters wait to greet them. In fact, the state remains a top choice for dove hunters today a century later, thanks to a southwestern hunting opportunity that remains strong 50-plus years after O’Connor’s death. There’s plenty of public ground in Arizona, no shortage of mourning doves and white-winged doves that allows for a limit of 15 birds (no more than 10 whitewings), an early season from September 1-15 and a late season from November 15-December 29. 

Add in traditional hotspots like the Buckeye region and Yuma, home to the World Championship Dove Cookoff each year, and it’s easy to think that Jack would still be smiling about Arizona’s grand dove hunting.

5. California

Wingshooters back east might not think of California when it comes to the subject of dove hunting, but that’s a mistake, as last year’s harvest of 730,900 doves can attest to. In fact, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife describes its dove hunting as some of the best in the nation, with a  September 1-15 early season and a November 9-December 23 late season, urging wingshooters to hit the fields and look for a 15-bird limit (no more than 10 whitewings).

And with a surprising amount of public land spots and fields prepared to attract doves, there are plenty of wingshooting opportunities lying outside of Hollywood and the big cities, more than enough to suit the state's 45,700 active dove hunters.

Best of the Rest

How does the remainder of our Top 10 list for hunting doves shape up? Well, South Carolina checks in at No. 6 with 38,600 hunters, a 2023-2024 harvest of 658,900 doves, and a strong dove-hunting tradition. And if you're near the South Carolina Low Country, then a breakfast of shrimp and grits or a lunch/dinner of seafood gumbo–or catfish gumbo in a pinch–after the hunt is tough to beat. 

The remainder of our Top 10 dove hunting states aren't too shabby for their wingshooting either, with Kansas at No. 7 (a harvest of 638,400 doves and plenty of public hunting); Alabama at No. 8 (a harvest of 533,400, surely enough to tempt retired gridiron great Nick Saban into a dove field, right?); Tennessee at No. 9 (a harvest of 454,400 doves); and Mississippi rounding things out at No. 10 (415,000 doves harvested). 

There are certainly other worthy states to consider for the nation’s top dove hunting, places ranging from Kentucky to Oklahoma to Florida to Missouri and more. But for now, this is our Top 10 list for the nation's top dove-hunting states in 2024. 

Get out there and prove us right, or in a few cases, prove us wrong. But be sure to send an invite or two to our Game & Fish Magazine staff as you do so. After all, we’ve got to see firsthand just how good your favorite dove hunting state is this year, so we can be sure and get it right next fall for our 2025 Top 10 dove state rankings. It's a tough job, but somebody has got to do it, right?

---

---