Doves are the most abundant game animal in America. Good dove hunts are dependent on field location and the quality of the crop, of which corn and sunflowers are preferred.
The opening day of dove season in early September signals the first harbinger of fall to the South Carolina sportsman. Along with the kickoff of Gamecock and Tiger football, the start of dove season is a South Carolina tradition going back many years. In fact, the two go together with dove hunters and football fans being one in the same in most cases. Many dove clubs schedule their hunts around home games so the hunter does not have to make a tough decision. Also on opening day, hopes run high that both the football season and the dove season will meet with success. No matter how successful though, dove hunters and football fans can count on having a good time, but probably the dove hunter has more assurance.
Dove hunting is primarily a social event in which friends gather to enjoy a pre-hunt barbecue lunch and shoot the breeze before entering a scorchingly hot field and setting up for the soon-to-be flying doves. Depending on the weather, the birds usually start trickling in around 2 p.m. with the best action taking place from 3 to 6 o’clock. Most hunts end around 6 p.m. so the remaining doves have time to feed before going to roost.
Different clubs have different rules on where hunters can shoot. Small clubs with only a few members and guests may not have any rules, so hunters just fan out into the field and keep a safe distance from one another. Other larger clubs have spots staked out, and hunters draw for their stands before the hunt. One strict rule obeyed by all, however, is never to shoot at low birds. A shot taken at a dove that has dropped below the tree line risks danger to other hunters from stray pellets.
The après-hunt usually consists of a cold beer and discussions about the number of birds that came in, which areas of the field got the most shooting, how the birds flew, and countless other specifics about the day. As the sun sinks lower in the sky, a relative coolness returns, and that bewitching hour of soft golden light blankets the field and surrounding woods.
The remaining dove hunters continue enjoying the last bit of day watching the squadrons of birds descend upon the field. South Carolinian hunters, a gregarious group, love dove hunting because of the camaraderie, friendships, and laughter that take place. The seriousness of work and the pressures of life take a back seat during these few hours of fun trying to hit a small brown bird that can fly 55 mph while moving as erratically as a bat.
About 45,000 dove hunters are registered in the Palmetto State, and by the end of the season they have taken approximately 1 million birds. That sounds like a lot, but the estimated continental population of mourning doves is 375 million. The mortality rate for doves is 60 to 70 percent per year, of which hunting reflects 11 percent. Doves are the most abundant game animal in America, and all but a few states have hunting seasons for them.
The limit in South Carolina is 15 per day, but many hunters stop at 12 — the old limit — in hopes of keeping the shooting good for as long as possible during the lengthy season that runs through January. Although doves are migratory, extensive banding surveys conclusively show that most birds recovered in South Carolina were banded in the state — a strong indicator that the vast majority of birds shot in South Carolina were born and raised here. Even though doves make flimsy nests that a good wind can blow away, they are remarkably prolific with high rates of brood survival.
Good dove hunts are dependent on field location and the quality of the crop planted in that field. Although most dove hunts take place in managed fields specifically planted and manipulated for doves, natural areas can also attract enough doves for a hunt. Doves must have grit for their gizzard in order to digest the seeds they eat, so sandy areas next to a watering place can produce wonderful results. When I was young growing up in north Louisiana, we used to hunt sandbars in the Red River where the birds came to consume sand and water late in the day. Some of the best hunts I’ve ever been on took place in old pastureland with an abundance of tickle tongue trees. These trees produce a black seed that the doves can’t resist.
Sometimes even cotton fields can be good for dove hunting. It’s not the cotton the doves are coming for but the woolly croton — a weed — that grows underneath. I’ve also hunted doves over a harvested tomato field in Summerton, South Carolina. The doves were coming for the tomato seeds from the unharvested tomatoes that were rotting, and stinking, out in the field. Harvested peanut fields that have been lightly disced can produce an incredible amount of birds, especially late in the season. Peanuts are a high energy food that doves crave when the weather gets cold.
However, planted fields are the norm with sunflowers and corn the preferred crops. A field of 10 acres or more is usually sufficient to attract enough doves to ensure a good shoot. Deer also love sunflowers and corn, so a dove field with a high deer population requires a fence with either electric tape or wire high enough that a deer cannot jump over. An acre per hunter for adequate space is a good rule of thumb, with the goal of having 48 birds per hunter. If you have 10 hunters, you would like to have at least 480 birds using the field. This formula anticipates the average hunter hitting one bird out of four shots. A few have better shot/hit ratios and some have a lot worse.
A good bit of time, effort, and expense goes into preparing and planting a field, especially if the club members are weekend farmers at best. Not only does the field need planting in the spring, it also needs maintaining and manipulating throughout the summer. This entails spraying, discing, and mowing. The earlier a field can attract doves the better so that the birds frequent your field and not your neighbor’s. Unlike fields planted for ducks, you can legally manipulate fields for doves.
This does not mean seeds can be spread out in a disced up field right before the season and shot over — that is baiting, which is illegal. Mature crops, however, can be mowed and disced to get seed on the ground for the doves. Doves love freshly disced soil that is clean from grass and weeds with fresh seeds scattered about.
During the hunt itself, traditions vary from club to club and from different areas of the country. When birds fly into the field, hunters will alert the others. In some places, hunters will whistle or shout out “over you!” I once took my sister from Louisiana on a hunt in South Carolina, and we were sitting together at the same stand. As doves began to fly into the field, hunters would yell out, “Mark!” As everyone kept hollering “mark,” my sister looked at me and said, “Who is this Mark fella?”
As important, if not more so, is the location of the field. Doves like high land in either an agricultural area or not far from a city. Fields in heavily wooded areas or in low spots close to creeks usually do not perform very well. Fields on the outskirts of cities do exceptionally well. These fields attract “city birds” that may have spent the morning in some neighborhood park or backyard. The late Burwell Manning had one of the finest dove fields anywhere adjacent to Heathwood Hall where hunters quickly filled their limits. The beauty of these fields is that people can work most of the day, check out a little early — say 2 p.m. — go out and shoot their limit, and be back home for dinner.
Speaking of dinner, doves are delicious and can be prepared a number of ways. Grilling, roasting, slow cooked in a cast-iron skillet, and even sous vide are popular methods. A favorite, especially for cocktail parties, is grilled dove poppers. Simply season the birds with Cavender’s, smear cream cheese all over, place a sliced jalapeno on top, and wrap a piece of bacon around it held in place with a toothpick. Place the doves on the grill and cook until the bacon is done but the birds are not overcooked. Serve and enjoy while reminiscing of the day spent with friends in pursuit of these masters of the sky.
