Texas Parks and Wildlife and Dove Season

The early dove season in the brush country of Jim Hogg and Brooks Counties has always fit like a badly made boot. When the season starts in the South Zone, unless you are shooting over a cultivated field, all you have is a few native birds hanging round each windmill or tank. Once the first shot is fired, off go the birds to the next water hole. Your hunt is over. This is the way it is every season.

Every year in late October, after the cold fronts start rolling down from the middle of the country, there is an abundance of big fat northern dove in South Texas. Now it is possible to have some very good shooting. Unfortunately, the early season ends within two or three weeks. Not very good timing for the hunters.

For years, I have been lobbying for a longer dove season in November. Why not keep the season open until the end of Thanksgiving weekend? There are several good reasons to do it. First, there would be more hunting days when the birds are actually in South Texas. Second, it would take some of the pressure off the quail for the first month of that season. If people are concerned about declining quail numbers, this would certainly be a help.

All of a sudden, Texas Parks and Wildlife has a new proposal for the coming season. They want to move a week from November to the late season in January. This doesn't make any sense for many reasons. Don't let them take away some of our best November dove shooting days. If you agree with me, please contact someone at Texas Parks and Wildlife. We need to make them understand this is not a good idea.