Hunting the Georgia Dove Opener on Public Land
Eugene L. 09.12.23
The first Saturday is the first big day of the fall hunting season in Georgia, it’s the dove season opener. The first inkling of what’s to come for the rest of the year. While there are 90 days of dove season in Georgia split into 3 different sessions, for most hunters this is the only day that matters. While there are many paid hunts on private land available, spending $150+ a person to shoot is a bit more than a lot of people want to spend. Lucky for us the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Resources Division sets up public dove fields in Wildlife Management Areas or Voluntary Public Access area. These fields are tended and prepared by the agency every year to bring in as many doves as possible.
So the last-minute plan was to hit up the dove fields over in the Berry College WMA. We put together everything a couple of nights before the opener. The night before the open, I got my truck loaded up with all the gear I was bringing, a cart to haul the gear, shells, decoys, a good folding chair, and a small cooler. That way it would be quicker the morning of the hunt to get a move on to the WMA. Shooting light started at 6:45 a.m. that morning so we wanted to be there around 6:00 a.m.
Besides me running a little late, everything we pretty smoothly. We got everything transferred from my truck to my buddy’s then loaded up along with his pup, Violet. Luckily being still early and only being a 20-minute ride, we got there pretty quick. The way there and the road into the WMA were deceptively empty, we thought maybe there wouldn’t be as many people as we expected. We were very wrong, we were just late and everyone else was already waiting at the parking lot and gates. Lucky for us, we found a spot pretty quickly and got everything packed into the cart to roll out to the field. Bring a cart, it’ll make your life a lot easier. We didn’t know this when we got there but no one is allowed on the dove fields till an hour before sunrise.
So we waited at the back of the crowd at the gate till 6:15 a.m. rolled around when everyone started to move. It was a weird slow but rushed walk onto the fields. All these hunters trying to get to the spot they want or scouted but not actually run. We walked to the rear millet fields where we could see plenty of other hunters had already set up. You could see their lights set up to make no one sets up right on top of them. We got lucky and found a corner spot that didn’t have anyone set up to close, but then realized we were facing east. Which is probably why no one was set up there. Though it was fine with the forecast being overcast for the day, we got the decoy spread set up and waited. Shooting light came and went with no shots being fired around us. Finally, around 7:00 a.m. the first shots finally happened behind us in the sunflower fields we passed. You could feel the energy in the field change with those first shots, everyone livened up getting excited by what was to come.
The DNR forecast for doves on these fields was said to be good this year, but it was a slow start for the day. You would hear some shots here and there, but nothing steady till a good way past sunrise. The birds we did start setting were either to the right of us on the far end of the millet field or to the left of us closer to the power lines and a couple of big oaks. The doves that did start coming our way often got turned by the hunters set up on the hay bales in the middle of the field. Even with this, we did get to sling some pellets at a few birds. However, my inexperience with live birds vs. clays, and ammo issues for my buddy made things difficult. The Savage Renegauge Field that I was using had already made short work when I went to go practice on the clay fields, but a dove is a lot more active and squirrelly. At the least the Renegauge was a dream to shoot, the shotgun points incredibly well, is light, and light recoiling. Compared to my old O/U I could definitely shoot box after box of shells and not feel it the next day.
The first couple hours of the morning held this pattern. We did have a couple of doves come and try to land on the decoy spread, but for safety reasons, we held off shooting them when they were close. With all these other hunters in the field, you didn’t want to shoot low and pepper the other guys. At least it was cool to see the doves come in on the decoys showing they actually worked. But as the morning went on it started to pick up, could have been the moon or overcast conditions, the doves were just starting later this morning. Duos of birds started becoming small groups or 4 and even 6 or 7 birds would fly by. We even managed to down a couple of birds early on, but they went straight into the briars and woods behind us. Stuff so thick you couldn’t see more than 8ft in and Violet couldn’t push through.
While we didn’t have doves in hand yet, we still had got to shoot plenty and enjoy the morning. We even had some amazing snacks courtesy of my buddy bringing some amazing version snack sticks from a deer he got last season. Things changed quickly though, with the birds making a good showing finally. You could hear the excitement, people yelling, shouting, and laughing as more birds came in. While the crowds do have some negatives there is a charm to them, keeping the energy and birds up in the field. The other hunters were more than helpful when a bird would come in over our shoulders. One of those birds finally got a couple of birds for Violet to go retrieve. She was ecstatic finally getting to grab a bird after just watching all morning.
But just as the morning was picking up late, it started to slow down as it got closer to noon. So we decided to call it a day, no point sitting through the midday sun. We knew the amazing weather was only going to hold up for so long, so it was time to move. Packing up and grabbing all our emptied shells we walked out of the fields. Though of course as soon as we left another group of doves flew across. While we got nowhere near a limit of doves, we had a great time. It was a last-minute trip, that we went into blind with no scouting done. But often it is not about the birds you bring home but the time spent on the fields just enjoying being there. So personally I think I couldn’t have asked for a better opening day of dove hunting; great weather, great company, and loads of fun.
