Planting for dove season
 

I plan on planting my back couple of acres for dove season this year. Thinking about sunflower but haven't decided yet. When should i start prepping and planting? I might even just disk up whats there already(goatweed)....what yall think?

Not sure of the laws, but I would personally plow it a couple of times a few weeks before season opens. From what I've seen in the past, the love coming in to fresh plowed fields. I'm surrounded by fields at my house, and after they plow it all up, they are everywhere.

I'll prolly just plow it up....less hassle that way.

Yup

If you have goat weed I wouldnt plant anything.....just run a disk thru it several lanes at a time starting several weeks before the season.

Bush hog that goat weed and don't worry about the seeds.

Thanks guys.

We need directions to your place before September 1st

If you have goat weed all i would do is bushhog it them suckers will be in there tick, but if you change your mind and want to plant think about birdseye it's like crack to them.

X100!!!!

I'm a member of a dove club that has 5 different fields in our area. We start disking around this time along with applying herbicides (the same process as if you gonna plant soybeans). We plant brown top for the early season along with sunflower. Most of our fields have huge amounts of birdeye...dove cocaine! 10 days before the season opener we sickle cut strips and burn the cuttings. The fields are managed to have fresh cut every week during the seasons. A lot of work but we hunt every weekend and once during the the week all season long. Good luck!

Just a few added thoughts. Don't plow before the season..bushhog and burn will keep the seeds available for the doves for weeks. Hunt only afternoons and shut it down at least 1 1/2hrs before sunset to allow birds to feed. If you are 8 hunters only hunt when population exceeds 200 birds. That way you always maintain a returning group that will attract other doves in the area. If your field is managed right you can expect to harvest 1,000 birds in the seasons.

Do you have any openings in this club? Would rather dove hunt than anything

I'm asked this all the time! The small group I hunt with has been together for over 40 years! Death seems to be the only way an opening comes up but is quickly filled by immediate family members. I count my blessings to be included with these guys! Like you, my favorite hunting is doves (eating too). I'll leave a duck blind with pintails coming in to shoot doves!

The key to dove fields is to keep your group small enough where you don't push too much pressure on the resident birds.

Chris, you'll one of the first I call.

that's what i like to hear! If you need some help getting the land ready or me to pitch in some $ on seeds let me know i'll be glad to help.

Thanks for the info.

Will do. September can't get here fast enough!!!!

no doubt!!!! I love to fish, but i'm ready to bust some doves and teal. A guy my wifes uncle works with plants birds eye and he's been invited a couple of times and said he has never seen so many and so many big groups of doves in all his life coming into this field. He said they were coming in so fast and so many at one time you didn't know what direction to shoot. He told me they killed over 400 in one day, and like reefman said they managed this field only for doves and it held them all season long.

Here are some "back yard" pic. to get you ready.

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I'm gonna look into this birdeye stuff.