Dove Hunting?

[Dove Huntress]

Why do we not have dove hunting?  is a frequently posed question, that often receives various, sometimes serious, sometimes sarcastic answers that nonetheless eventually subdue the question poser into thinking that dove hunting is just something that is done in another state.

 

New Jersey is one of the 8 non-dove hunting states in the lower 48 contiguous states. 

 

New Jersey, unlike the other 8 non-dove hunting states, as of 2012, has had the mourning dove reclassified as a gamebird. 

 

This re-classification removes a huge stumbling block on the road to a dove season.  (New York still does not classify the mourning dove as a gamebird).

 

New Jersey sportsmen interested in establishing a dove season, should refer to the NY Dove Hunting website (www.nydovehunting.weebly.com) and "LIKE" NY Dove Hunting's Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/pages/NY-Dove-Hunting/365031743546569?ref=hl) for information and updates on dove hunting. 

 

[Bucksnbows]

I think it should be a bird we hunt here in NJ and have said as much to several F&G Council members over the years.  But it's not something I'm passionate about, and I never follow it up myself.  That said, I've dove hunted in both Missouri and in PA and have had a good time.  Dove season often comes before my other fall seasons which is what I liked most about it.  They also taste great.  But the truth is that where I live and hunt, I don't see a lot of them except around backyard bird feeders.  I don't hunt those nice open fields where dove hunting would be so much fun and can be very productive, especially if you are on one of their food sources.  When I lived in MO, that state's equivalent of our WMAs were heavily planted with cover crops for game birds and animals and dove season was seldom crowded in those areas.  I'm talking about sunflowers, sorghum and corn crops among others.

[Axiom]

Dove season often comes before my other fall seasons

 

 

 Yup..  Looked forward to it every year...Opens up in VA and NC first week of September.. I remember back in the day my Grandpappy would turn the hogs into one of his corn fields about a month before the season opened.. After about a month they would have knocked down a good portion of the stalks making the corn easy access for the birds..  Me and my friends use to sit under an old pine tree for shade every year on opening day beginning at 12 with a case of 81/2 and just shoot them out of the sky all day long.. We would shoot 12 gauges and our shoulders would be bruised and sore by the end of the day.. Granny made stew out of what we brought back... ummmmm some good eats..

 

But if you are a dove hunting fanatic you might consider looking into a dove hunting trip in Uruguay or Argentina.. Dove hunting there is year round and the birds are so plentiful around some of those grain fields you don't need a gun to shoot them.. Just a hand full of rocks and a good arm will guarantee you a full game pouch...

[Palawman30]

Dove hunting is awesome! Just have to have a good cornfield to hunt over and it's game on!

[82ndAbnRVN]

Just came back from a dove hunt in South Texas. Fun. Might go back for the 2nd season in January.

[Rusty]

Just came back from a dove hunt in South Texas. Fun. Might go back for the 2nd season in January.

 

Dove hunting is a blast, wish we had a season here in NJ.  

[Dark meat]

Stupid laws here in nj 

Edited March 11, 2019 by Dark meat