Planting for dove season

[Reefman]

Originally Posted by DUCKGOGETTER

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.

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.