Dove hunt suggestions

I've never hunted dove mainly due to lack of place to go but also just always deer hunted. I hunted quail and pheasant in my younger years in Missouri with friends. Club I'm in now had about 200 acres clear cut within the last month. Guy that runs the club said last time they clear cut he threw out a bunch of brown top Millet and had lots of dove that season. So a few weeks ago I did that same thing. Threw out about 120lbs of millet over probably 50 acres. Now this is not a clear field it's just thrown in the bare spots of all the limbs and tree tips that were left. Millet is coming up good but is there anything else I can do to either help the hunt or entice the birds to come and stay?

doves like a fresh burned cutover but what you did sounds like baiting

How is it baiting when it is growing naturally?

Yeah I wouldn't advise doing that anywhere remotely close to opening day

I guess you guys are taking this wrong. I threw millet seed out to grow millet. I'm not continuing to throw it out and not talking about throwing it out to hunt over. Just to grow it and hopefully attract more dove to the area and looking for other things I can do.

I get that it's growing but what you did was baiting. Scattering 120lbs of seed over a 50acre clear cut is not a normal ag process. 120lbs isnt even close to enough to attract doves in enough numbers to shoot on 50 acres anyways. Your best bet would be to burn it if possible, and then disc as much of it you can and top sew wheat.

It takes 60 days for BTM to go to seed, so unless it gets seed heads, it wont attract birds anyways. Cutovers attract dove anyways, it's just hard to find them when you shoot them.

Ok well thanks for the Input. Like I said I've never dove hunted and since they had successfully done this in the past it sounded like a logical plan at least for what we have to work with anyway. I don't think burning is an option. There is so much debris and small trees all over the place they will be planting pines next spring. I still don't grasp the concept of this being baiting regardless of it being a natural ag process or not it is still growing naturally and our local game warden says if it's growing in the ground its not baiting for deer anyway. I appreciate it

it has to be normal ag process to be legal for doves. you need a prepared seed bed. now personally i think its stupid because you can only kill 15 anyway

I'm curious about this? It says all bait (I take that to mean anything not done in a normal agricultural practice) should be removed 10 days prior. My understanding that growing millet wouldn't really be considered "bait"...much less if it's been growing for 30-40 days.

Why can't he plant millet back in July (I haven't looked up the recommended dates for planting millet) and hunt over it when it goes to seed? Because he didn't have a nice, pretty, firm seedbed? What's the difference in what he did and throwing out wheat on a roadbed running through the cutover for a deer food plot? Scratch the ground with a rake and throw out some seed. He would be legal to do that.

I honestly want to know the answer to this? I know we covered the throw and mow before, but I don't know why he couldn't hunt this once his millet dried and went to seed? Or even before...not that growing millet will attract any birds...but would he be in violation to go sit on the cutover opening day?

Ya that does sound kind of dumb but it is what it is I guess.

First, I am not an expert here but have looked into this quite a bit and have some thoughts.

Migratory birds are managed by the feds. As such, they require all plantings that are to be hunted over to be planted in accordance with normal ag practices. This is not the case for deer and using deer food plots is a bad comparison because the same rule does not apply.

In the example above of wheat on a roadbed; that would be LEGAL for deer hunting, but ILLEGAL for dove hunting.


That's not to say that he WILL get a ticket for baiting, only that he COULD.


I am also not defending the minutiae here, just pointing out that there is a difference, and the method that he is using would count as baiting per the feds because the application of millet in the manner described is NOT a legitimate ag process or naturally growing forage. If it were either of those it would be legal to hunt.

Been planting dove fields my whole life and I think that as long as it is growing and there is not any seed laying on the ground you should be ok.

I think the normal ag practices clause comes into effect when there are seeds laying on top of the soil.

This has been crazy for years. Why not allow baiting and enforce the limit? We allow bait for Deer. If you grow 20 acres of any crop and bush hog or burn the field. You have legal bait. Once the crop is planted you can do whatever you want and it is legal (as long as it fall in normal ag practice). Remove it and bring it back not legal, add seed to the field not legal. Makes no sense. How many people have been ticketed for the game warden interpretation of "normal ag practices"? Make it simple.

Exactly my take on it as well. A guy hunting a green millet patch that is knee deep isn't what I would call baiting doves.

Scratch the surface, throw some wheat out for your "deer food plot" and you are good to shoot doves over it as well.

Well I don't think I'll have a problem in our area with anyone calling it baiting. Now whether or not it will do any good I don't know and I guess I have a lot to learn. I have several hidden food plots in the woods for deer so just thought I'd give it a try. So what would you say the minimum size area would be to plant a dove field? We do have one area that is about an acre that I could work on for next year but that's about all.

I don't see how they could get you baiting if you are hunting over the millet you planted in July. Not everything legal is "normal agriculture" practices. Some of the sections in the linked PDF say "managing agricultural fields and food plots." Tour food plot just happens to have a lot of hills and valleys.

Going back to your original question, dove are looking for food, water, and somewhere to perch/roost (dead trees, powerlines, etc.) so perhaps look into improving the other two if needed. Might be way too much work for a dove hunt that might be hit or miss though.


Legal Dove Hunting

i went on one of those state sponsored dove hunts for youth a few years ago. it was ran by game wardons and they said millet seed was thrown on the field 2 weeks before. so I would asume its okay. of course he also said i broke the law by shooting at a dove while the sun was still pretty high above the horizon, so who knows.

What is the Best Management Practice (BMP) for the cutover. If the millet is thrown out to reduce erosion and part of the BMP plan then it would be legal to hunt over. The same with strip pit erosion control on a WMA. Erosion control would be an acceptable process.

I don't think you can legally throw millet out on a pond bank because it's eroding and hunt over it

How'd the hunt go mudlife?

I somehow missed seeing this thread earlier. Hunting over any standing crop is always legal; doesn't matter if it's normal ag practice or not. Nothing planted for wildlife is normal ag practice, but planting millet in cutover is just as normal as the corn and sorghum I have in my thread below. Planting browntop in cutover is a good idea. I hope it worked better than all the stuff I grew. I didn't even have enough birds to shoot.

cracked corn and lots of it... lots........... lots!!!!!!!!