By Jessica Domel
Multimedia Reporter

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) is forecasting a favorable dove season for hunters this year, and the Texas Dove Hunters Association (TDHA) is offering a few tips for people who may want to try dove hunting for the first time and for those who haven’t hunted in a while.

Preparing for the hunt
“Whether it’s the first time or even one of the first few times, number one, practice,” Bobby Thornton, TDHA co-founder, said in an interview with the Texas Farm Bureau Radio Network. “Get used to your gun. Get it out of the closet, dust it off so-to-speak, and shoot it for a while.”

It’s also important for hunters to check their ammunition before heading out to the field.

“Some people are using borrowed ammo or hand-me-down ammo-shotgun shells they found in their grandfather’s closet, and that’s not recommended, especially if they have years under their belt,” Thornton said. “Sometimes those primers get rusted. There’s lot of issues that happen with old shells and old ammo.”

Novice dove hunters are also encouraged to go with an experienced hunter for the first hunt or first few hunts.

“Go with somebody who knows what they’re doing or has been out in the field a number of times before,” Thornton said. “They can help you with things like safe zones of fire, where you’re shooting, what you’re looking for, avoiding low flying birds, watching your neighbors and paying attention to where they’re going.”

Those can get overlooked with a new or inexperienced hunter and can cause accidents.

Hunters, regardless of experience level, are encouraged to know the laws and buy a hunting license before ever heading out to the field.

“Know your bag limits. Know your shooting times and your season dates by zone,” Thornton said.

Season dates by zone, as well as bag limits and other regulations, are available on OutdoorAnnual.com and on the Outdoor Annual app.

Hunters must have a valid Texas hunting license, and those born after Sept. 2, 1971 must take a hunter education course.

“In hunter education, you can learn an awful lot about gun safety and wildlife,” Thornton said.

All hunters must also remember to plug their guns.

“You’re only allowed three shells. That’s generally, if you’re not shooting an over-and-under or side-by-side, you have a plug that will limit two shells in the magazine and one in the chamber,” Thornton said. “You’d be surprised how many people either don’t know that’s a law or don’t know to check their gun for it.”

A plug is required for the safety of hunters.

“There’s a lot of people in dove hunting, and you’re shooting a lot. You’re going bang, bang, and you throw two more shells in, bang, bang, and then you only have time to put one more in. You’re shooting on and off, and you forget or lose track of how many rounds you actually still have in your gun,” Thornton said. “Without a plug, if you’ve put three or four in there, or you’ve put three in any loads count and you end up having four, it’s that last shell that you don’t know about. That’s where accidents happen, and they can get hurt.”

Inexperienced hunters may struggle with hitting a flying dove on their first hunt. Thornton said a football may help.

“Whenever we do youth events where we’re talking to them about the first time, we get out in the field and we throw a football. We have them stand still, and you throw a football to them, and they catch it right where they are,” Thornton said. “Then we have them run. If you throw it right to where they are while they’re running, you’re going to throw it behind them.”

Thornton encourages people to go into a field with a ball and get used to working with a moving target.

“Get used to the fact that if you want to throw it to someone running, you have to throw it out in front of them. It’s a good way of letting a kid get a visual of what it means to put a lead on a bird,” Thornton said.

The time and place
As to what time of day is best for dove hunting, Thornton said that depends on the person and the location.

He prefers afternoon hunts.

“If you’re hunting birds that are feeding, if you go in the afternoon, then the birds have probably, depending on when you go, already made their way to that field to feed,” Thornton said. “When they come out of that field, they’re headed to water or to roost. If it’s a late afternoon, they’re headed to roost.”

Dove require an ultraviolet ray to see at night, so they usually don’t fly at night.

“In the morning, if you’re hunting a field, then you’re in the field before the birds are moving to the field because they’re waiting for it to get light, and so it’s hit or miss,” Thornton said. “It depends on what you like.”

Where you hunt also depends on preference. Some dove hunters like to hunt near a body of water like a stock tank. Others may prefer a tree or a field with hay.

“It’s all a matter of timing, catching the birds coming in or out of the field, to or from the water and where you’d like to be,” Thornton said. “I would recommend not hunting where they feed.”

He said it you hunt in the middle of a field or a crop the dove won’t come back.

“Hunt around the perimeter of the field. Let them have a chance to go in, eat and come back out,” Thornton said.

Hunters should respect private property and have landowners consent prior to the hunt.

Hunters should also be mindful of property lines as shooting across a fence line is illegal.

Dove season for the north zone runs Sept. 1 through Nov. 12 and Dec. 18 through Jan. 3, 2021.

Hunters in the central zone may hunt dove Sept. 1 through Nov. 1 and Dec. 18 through Jan. 14.

The south zone opens later, on Sept. 13, and runs through Nov. 1. It re-opens Dec. 18 through Jan. 23, 2021.

Hunters are encouraged to check the Outdoor Annual to verify what zone they are in, because some counties may be split into two zones.

The special white-winged dove days in the south zone are Sept. 5-6 and Sept. 12-13.

The bag limit this year is 15 birds per person, and no more than two may be white-tipped.

Eurasian-collared dove, which are an invasive species, do not count to the bag limit, but hunters are encouraged to keep part of the plumage on the bird in the event they’re stopped by a Texas Game Warden.

The hunt
While in the field, Thornton said it’s important for hunters to keep an eye on where they’re shooting and where birds are landing.

“We saw this a lot with my kids when they were young. They would go out, and they’d hit a bird. Then they’d see another one coming and take their eye off it to shoot the other bird. Then all of a sudden, they’re going, ‘Uh oh, where’s that first bird?’” Thornton said. “That happens quite a bit.”

Whether you hunt with or without a dog, always pay close attention to where the bird goes down.

Some hunters use moving targets to help in their hunt.

“They have a white wing on one side and black on the other, and they’re spinning. It’s a flash of white. It catches the attention of the bird that’s flying overhead,” Thornton said. “It shows that other birds are feeding right there, so they will come to it.”

Thornton said the moving targets typically work better for mourning dove than the white-winged doves.

Bagging a dove
Hunters who do bag a dove, or several, are encouraged to use that game. Don’t let it go to waste.

“I can tell you nothing irritates me more than to shoot an animal—whether it’s dove, a deer, or pigs—and not harvest the animal,” Thornton said. “We try to teach our kids this, or anyone whether they’re youth or adults, to have a healthy respect for wildlife. Respect means respect of what God gave you, and use it to fill your plate, if you will.”

Never shoot more than your limit, and always pick up what you harvest.

If you bag a dove with a band on it, Thornton encourages hunters to report the band.

“Whether it’s a TDHA banded Eurasian-collared dove or it’s a federal band found on mourning dove, white-wings or any other game birds, I strongly urge you to report that band,” Thornton said. “Go to ReportBand.gov on mourning dove and white-wings. Of course, call our phone number on the Eurasian-collared dove. Those birds are banded for a reason.”

Dove hunters who enter TDHA’s Banded Bird Challenge and bag a banded Eurasian-collared dove could win one of several prizes, including a new truck, UTV and hunting packages.

Cost is $20. Youth under 13 may enter for free.

The challenge is a research program designed to gather data on the invasive Eurasian-collared dove, their preferred habitat, movement, ages and other patterns.

Hunters may enter at BandedBirdChallenge.com.

Click here for TPWD’s guide for cleaning and storing dove.

Additional hunter resources are available on the hunting page on the TPWD website.