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Keeper
It's Dove hunting food plot planting time again
This year I'm going with 3 sunflower plots of about 5 acres each scattered around an 80 acre corn field and an adjacent 50 acre milo field. I also have a 4 acre plot of winter wheat next to sunflowers that will be left standing until August 1st when I'll spray it with round-up to kill the weeds, mow the wheat 2 weeks later then burn the mowed straw 3 days later. I'll also mow 15- 30 foot lanes thru the dried up sunflowers to put more seeds on the ground and open up more bare ground for hungry doves ( and making it easier for us old guys to find our fallen doves). Also, about August 15 I'll sandbag 2 small ditches near a sunflower plot and turn on an irrigation pump to fill the ditch for thirsty birds...…oh yes, I have several artificial power poles placed along plot edges holding up "resting" wires. I'll order a dozen round hay bales from a neighbor to be delivered and strategically placed around the plots for hunters to sit by while hunting......then, of course, planning for the grilled dove lunch/ fried crappie filets late that afternoon at the farm shop just a 2 minute UTV drive away from the hunting fields...….. been doing this for friends and family for 30 years now.....NAVY son tries hard not to miss opening day... hopes to bring 4 or 5 Marines / Sailors with him to "The Hunt" opening weekend this year...….
SpeckledSlab, Central Minn, Redge, bprice1031, hdhntr, mike243, BIGFISHNFREAK, Bob58, Micmac LIKED above post
Keeper
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I can’t figure it out. I’ve planted sunflowers, milo, wheat and combinations of each. I’m surrounded by corn and beans. Hardly ever have any birds.
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Keeper
I’m fortunate that several of my fields are within a mile of 2 towns that have large populations of resident doves that fly out of town attracted to “my grocery store”. It also helps being next to a natural migratory flyway.
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That sounds like a great plan!! I have never seen anyone put up fake poles and wires. We used to have 25-30 dove fields back in the 70s-80s, but when we started planting corn,milo and early group beans that are harvested before dove season. It has scattered the birds so bad we don't have any good hunts anymore. Hardly anyone bothers anymore. Most of the farmers are too busy to hunt during the first season anyway.
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Awesome job! Lots of work goes into that but great dividends will be had! Traditions like that are hard to beat! We do one every year at my home place in Tennessee only 5 of us left but we have a great time !
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You should have a great hunt. It's not as popular as it was 20 years ago. Not as many farms as there used to be. The few that do dove hunts around here charge more $ than it's worth.
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I wish I lived closer. I had ten years of great dove hunts when I lived in TN, and have missed it dearly since moving back here. Folks down here are downright stuffy about their dove hunts. Hope your foodplots draw them in like a few of the better ones I was invited to, I still smile when I think about them.
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Keeper
Photo shows one of my "resting wires" a few years ago......2-3 dozen birds had flown off the wire as I walked up to take this photo. FYI: The Mississippi River is 200 yds behind the picture-taker.
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I used to have a Justice of the Peace hunt with me and he always want to be under a light line or a thorn tree. Since if I got a ticket for anything, I would be in his court, he could hunt where ever he wanted. We also knew if the Feds were in our area too.
