Doves in a cut hay field

wildcat3

wildcat3

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
I wouldn't mind shooting a few doves behind the house this year. Im not serious enough to plant and maintain a "Dove Field" and its way too late anyway. We have a couple hay fields that we need to cut. Would I be wasting time waiting on a stray to fly by or would it be worth the sit.
 
bwfarms

bwfarms

Old Mossy Horns
If you have a line of cedars on the edge it's never a waste of time. I'm always flushing a covey as I walk along them. A sound I love because it reminds me of chasing roosters in SD. A few decoys and a mojo will get them to come fly in on an afternoon sit.
 
Downeast

Downeast

Twelve Pointer
I have a gravel driveway and if I get behind with my spraying it will grow a few weeds. I've mowed them down when they seeded out and the dove loved them. I guess they may be getting a bit of gravel too. Cut them as low as possible for dove.
 
Bailey Boat

Bailey Boat

Twelve Pointer
bwfarms said:
If you have a line of cedars on the edge it's never a waste of time. I'm always flushing a covey as I walk along them. A sound I love because it reminds me of chasing roosters in SD. A few decoys and a mojo will get them to come fly in on an afternoon sit.
Click to expand...

I hope you're joking......
 
turkeyfoot

turkeyfoot

Old Mossy Horns
You don't have to be sitting over a planted field to kill doves. I've shot them on edge lines and out of fescue fields with ponds. It might not be that traditional sit on bucket and have bunch fly over hunt but still fun. I'll take a walk on clear cut edge when weather cools and shoot a few this fall
 
Soilman

Soilman

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
I'm beginning to look forward to the opener...or whenever they cut the corn right beside my yard. Been seeing more and more doves arriving as of late. Also been watching a flock of pigeons across the road in the newly planted soybean field.
 
Eric Revo

Eric Revo

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Those hay fields frequently need replanted with tall fescue late season for a good hay crop next year.....a couple of bags of tall fescue and orchard grass seed would be a good payment for the landowner and falls well within regular agriculture practice. 30 minutes with a over the shoulder spreader and the doves(I mean the farmer) will sure appreciate it.
 
sky hawk

sky hawk

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Some spots hold birds naturally. Most don’t. Sitting over hay field is going to be a waste of time more often than not unless there’s a flyway there also. Or water, grit etc. that draws them.

There are few things better than a well-planned hunt over a GOOD dove field. And there are few things more frustrating than sitting in the heat wishin’. I’ve done both.
 
darkthirty

darkthirty

Old Mossy Horns
I had a good shoot over a cut hayfield. A crow shoot. For some reason, 2 or 3 crow decoys with a dove mojo in the middle is like crack to a crow.
A good food source is not hard to plant for doves. If it’s a hayfield, tell the guy who has the hay that you wanna plant an acre or two of Millet and let him mow it and bale it and have the hay.
Never had any luck sitting over a mowed hayfield (fescue/orchard grass).
 
41magnum

41magnum

Twelve Pointer
no, but its hit and miss, at least on our 11 acre pasture.
if there is an attractant of some kind close by it sure can help
 

Mack in N.C.

Old Mossy Horns
Back in the day I killed loads of Doves in Tobacco fields......they walk the rows under the tobacco and eat stuff and grit. we walk the rows and flush them plus shoot ones coming in.....had some of my best days hunting tobacco fields.
 
Bailey Boat

Bailey Boat

Twelve Pointer
bwfarms said:
If you have a line of cedars on the edge it's never a waste of time. I'm always flushing a covey as I walk along them. A sound I love because it reminds me of chasing roosters in SD. A few decoys and a mojo will get them to come fly in on an afternoon sit.
Click to expand...

Doves don't form "coveys" and they don't sound anything like Pheasants, I think you're confusing them with quail....
 
bwfarms

bwfarms

Old Mossy Horns
Bailey Boat said:
Doves don't form "coveys" and they don't sound anything like Pheasants, I think you're confusing them with quail....
Click to expand...

Since you would like to start the day with a pissing match...

So what if I used a generic avian term for a small group of birds and applied it to doves? Foremost you got the idea.

Second I didn't say flushing doves sounds like pheasants. I wrote I love the sound of doves flushing because it reminds me of roosters in SD. Reminds me of the rush of a flushing bird.

Now you're making the assumption I was talking about pheasants and not the chicken/poultry variety. To irritate you some more, we used to tie the chicken roosters in the corn stubble and cedar trees after we shot all the pheasants for the day.


.... don't think so much.. it looks like it hurts you.
 
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