Check your dove fields for bait before heading afield
The University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service has established a list of general guidelines for planting rates and dates for all cover crop species that fall within the bounds of normal agricultural practices. A search on their website www.uada.edu or visit to one of their county offices can guide you through the planting process.
Quite a few hunters who don’t have friends or family with agricultural land join in on dove season through pay-to-hunt operations on opening weekend. Hunters visiting a field for the first time on opening weekend still have a responsibility to learn about the field’s preparation to protect themselves from fines and penalties:
- Ask first: Send a friendly email or text to the landowner to ask if any grain or feed has been on the area for the past 10 days. The response, in writing, can help if there’s a problem later.
- Take a stroll: Inspect the area before bringing a gun to the field. Any type of grain that was not grown in the field or is unevenly distributed is an indicator of baiting.
- Look closely: Pay attention to any spots with unusually heavy concentrations of doves. If the field is freshly plowed, check both the surface and under any loose soil for grain that may have just been turned over.
Visit www.agfc.com/dove for more information on dove hunting and public dove fields in Arkansas.
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CUTLINES:
TWO HUNTERS IN FIELD
Keep an eye out for piles of grain or other indications that a field has been baited. AGFC photo.
HUNTER SHOOTING
Doves may be hunted over manipulated agricultural crops and topsown fields; waterfowl may not. AGFC photo.
DOVE
Arkansas dove hunting season opens Sept. 6, 2025. AGFC photo.
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