By Steve Weisman
Photo by Bill Beardsley
Last week we previewed the early teal season. Now this week, we’ll look at the other season than opens on September 1: the dove season. We’ve now had a dove hunting season in Iowa for 10 years. In addition to the mourning dove, there is also the Eurasian collard-dove, which is similar in appearance but has a distinctive mark or “collar” on their neck, and are a little larger than the mourning dove. They can be legally bagged. Dove season is Sept. 1 to Nov. 29, with a daily bag limit of 15 doves, and possession limit of 45.
Shooting hours are one-half hour before sunrise to sunset. Hunters must have a plug in their shotgun just as they would during the waterfowl season later in the fall. Since doves are considered a migratory game bird, hunters will need to have a plug in their gun limiting them to three shells and must register with the Harvest Information Program before they go hunting.
The cool thing (even though it will probably be warm and humid) about the dove season is that you don’t need a lot of equipment. Just you, your shotgun, a lot of shells, a bucket to sit on and to carry out the bagged doves and a spot that has doves using the area you plan on hunting.
Scouting
We’re only about a week away from the dove opener, so now is the time to get out and scout where the best spots to hunt doves in your area. Even though they are pretty much anywhere, concentrations of doves occur based on certain factors. When scouting, try to check your potential spots in the early morning and early evening. Look to figure out their flight pattern.
Mourning doves prefer feeding on open ground and eat a variety of seeds and grains. As a result, several DNR wildlife areas in each county have food plots that have been planted to attract doves. Portions of these food plots will be cut down/disked a few days prior to the season to help attract doves to the area.
The Iowa DNR has a list of public wildlife areas and private land enrolled in Iowa Habitat Access Program (IHAP) where dove plots – primarily sunflowers – have been added. To find these food plot areas, just go to the Iowa DNR website, click on hunting and search for mourning dove hunting in Iowa. There, you will find a PDF of “Food Plot Sites” by county.
Clay count has three areas: Barringer Sough, Fen Valley and Hawk Valley. Dickinson County has Cayler Prairie, Christopherson Slough, Diamond Lake, Kettleson-Hogsback and Spring Run Complex (2 fields) Click on them and you will be sent to a topo map that shows a “Dove Plot Access Point.”
Once you find those areas, I’d suggest visiting the public area to actually see the plot itself.
An ideal hunting spot would be a harvested/disked sunflower field, a supply of water (pond or slough) in the area and a nearby roosting area. Check to see what hiding spots are available. Standing corn? Standing sunflowers? Good fence line cover? Some tall grass prairie? Maybe a thicket or tree?
Look for multiple hiding spots, because these areas often will have multiple hunting groups in the same field. Check out where the sun will be when you hunt. If possible, avoid having to look into the sun. Best hunting times are early morning (the first two hours) and early evening (the last 1-2 hours). However, if you’re hunting a popular public area, don’t expect to just show up at sunrise or an hour before sunset and get your preferred spot.
The hunt
Make sure to get to the area before the “optimum” hunting time and get concealed in a place where you can readily bring the shotgun up for a clear shot. Set up so that the shot will be inside 30 yards. When the doves do come through, expect them to come zipping through like little missiles. Veteran dove hunters know it’s not unusual to go through at least a box of shells or more during a hunt. Unless you have a dog with you to retrieve downed birds, make sure to mark the downed bird. A good hunting dog will mark and then find downed birds.
