nap

I hunt a lot of pheasant and want to start dove hunting. I was wondering if it was the same thing as pheasant hunting. You know..... walk through a field, spook a pheasant up and shoot. Is that what you do when you dove hunt?

zrexpilot

Nope.
Best way to do it is find the food source, like milo fields or sunflower fields or dove weed. Sit near the field and watch their patterns, they fly to and from the field from somewhere I.e. there roosting sights or water holes. The best dove hunting always seems to be on out skirts of a town, doves live in town but feed out in the fields. catch their flyways and shoot them as they come and go. Morning seems they fly one way and evenings they fly exactly the opposite. going and coming.

nap

Thanks

Chris_H

The easiest way ive done it was to do what zrexpilot says, but have the food source on a powerline. The dove fly straight down the power line to the source. Just setup in their flight path.

Icetrey

Well, its different for different areas. One properety we dove hunt at there is a 100 or so acre field and the man that has leased our place plants oats during the winter but nothing the rest of the year. This field grows into sunflowers. In July, well preferably August, he shredds the entire field leaving the dead dried up seeds behind. Then comes the doves. As for hunting these doves we have at one corner there is a wooded section that used to floood and is now dried up and growed up. In the evenings as they head to roost, lots will come over these woods and head home. Also there is creek that runs down a part of the field. The creek drops of and comes back up on the other side. The creek is about 30 yards wide and drops about 10 foot from the field. We can set up in the creek which only has 2 big pools near the creek and have a man or so up top as well.

Another property there is a big tank. Back off to the side and running down the property line is property full of weesatch and other wild plants. This is where these doves roost. With me on the side of the tank that is about 40 yards from this line and a section of woods running perpendicular to this tank, the doves will come down the trees and head to the roost and turn off right in my spot. With someon else on the other end, they can catch doves coming from the opposite way heading to far away roosts.

However I have dove hunted as you said. The field wasnt cut and they would not get up so we just got in a line and walked it and did pretty good but its more walk than shoot.

bcvd45

Same as everyone else. Find yourself a food plot they like and watch where they go. Sometimes you can find a natural funnel and sit right below em as they fly over the top of you. Sometimes in the afternoon I take to spooking em up out of corn fields and such. It works sometimes, but usually it is a last resort.

bcvd45

but remember Doves are migratory so I dont know if there are any left in Wisconsin. I am seeing depleeting numbers here in Missouri already.