HUNTING WITH YOUR BEST FRIEND adds another dimension of enjoyment to hunting, plus a lot of help in recovering downed game. But chasing down wounded doves in hot weather can wear down your dog in a hurry. Heat strokes occur every year. Try to keep it in the shade and provide plenty of water and a damp towel for it to lie on. And drink water and Gatorade, yourself. (Photo by John Jefferson)

by John Jefferson

A church friend last Sunday asked if I were ready for dove season. I fibbed and said, “You bet!”

He jerked his head and said, “Great! Now tell me where you’ve seen enough to shoot at besides your backyard feeder?”

For the record, I have never shot a dove anywhere near my backyard. But I have only seen one of the two resident whitewings that make a living in our back yard, near our feeders. And no mourning doves; they’re country folks.

Last week’s rains – blessed though they be – may have changed my hunting plans. Before the six inches of rain fell, I had the doves patterned. Or so I thought. The only standing water around other than our bird baths was beneath a few radiators that boiled over in the 105-degree heat. So, I planned to head to a friend’s place in the country that has a nice pond and stock tanks.

Doves would be attracted to the pond – especially to the end of it that has that dead tree standing at its edge with several good, bare “resting branches.” Currently, after all the rain throughout Texas in mid to late August, there’s standing water in many places. The doves scattered.

But then drought returned temporarily. Heavy rains have fallen right before dove season in many previous years. And more rain is forecast for much of Texas this week leading up to Thursday’s opening of North and Central Zone dove seasons. But that just insures the fairness of Fair Chase Hunting!

And that’s a laugh! Shooting fast flying, dipping, and darting doves when they detect a hunter raising a shotgun gives all the advantage to the birds. “Fair Chase Dove Hunting” is humorously redundant. But that’s part of it.

My friend, Owen Fitzsimmons, TPWD’s Dove Program Leader, says agriculture suffered during the summer, so doves will shift from maize fields to croton patches and native sunflowers. Even though there was sufficient standing water recently, ponds and stock tanks could still be productive if God turns off the faucet.

Owen says doves get really romantic in dry years, and TPWD is seeing many young birds this summer. Expect ‘em!

I also heard from another friend who guides dove hunters. Rick Hodges knows dove hunting. “The drought has really impacted the hunting of all the outfitters between Austin and Uvalde,” he said. “Most of the outfitters I know expect to have half the fields they had last year.” That means room for only half the hunters.

Hodges is booked for opening day and Saturday, 9/3. He’s still working on new properties and making fields ready. Hunting may get better — and COOLER — after the first two weekends. It usually does.

The North Zone season is Sept. 1 – Nov. 13; Central Zone, Sept.1 – Oct. 30; South Zone, Sept. 14 -Oct. 30; plus, winter seasons. Check TPWD Outdoor Annual for Zone boundaries, bag limits, and Hunter Education license endorsement and HIP certification. Special Whitewing season is Sept. 2-4 and 9-11, noon – Sunset only.

JJ