Dove Season Set to Begin September 7 in North Louisiana

Saturday, September 7. That's the day every hunter in Northwest Louisiana has been waiting for! It's opening day of dove season and that means Hunting Season will have officially begun.

Early that morning, every red-blooded, camo-wearing, snuff-dipping, pickup truck-driving, shotgun-toting, Southern-by-the-grace-of-God, hairy-legged boy will drag out the barbecue pit, the 12 gauge and a case of Number 8's!

The Perks of Dove Hunting Season

Since dove hunting season doesn't actually start until noon on September 7, the annual "Gathering of the Guys" and "Lunch in the Field" brings out some of the best BBQers, fish fryers and dutch oven chefs ever known to whip up a batch of jambalaya, gumbo or red beans and rice!  Let the games begin.

We'll sit around pickup trucks, tell lies and a lot of guys will drag out the trap throwers and clay pigeons to kill time while waiting on the birds.

Course, when the birds begin to take flight, it doesn't take bionic hearing to pick up on language stout enough to make a sailor blush. And it's never the hunter's fault their shot missed its mark. It was that &*^% gun or that idiot on the other end of the field that made the bird flair.

I've hunted this way my entire life and have yet to hear one single hunter holler out to the rest of the field, "Hey, all my fault.  I'm just a terrible shot."  That kind of self imposed ego wound just doesn't happen here in God's Country.

Keep It Legal

When it comes to dove season though, you have to be extremely legal.  Game wardens love dove season. I'm living proof of the joy they can derive from playing G.I. Joe in a dove field for an entire afternoon in 90 degree weather.  They love idiots and that's where God blessed me, but that's a different story. Remember this simple rule: Ask and Inspect! 

Ask any of the parties hunting and the land owner if any bait has been placed in the field.  If somebody fesses up, get the heck out of there. Don't even load your gun. If no one owns up to the action, then inspect the field. And if you find any sign of bait, repeat the previously described actions.

Game wardens don't have a sense of humor -- ever!   And it's up to us to play by their rules. Or get out your check book and prepare to spend a day with the Federal Magistrate.  Trust me, that's about as much fun as hemorrhoid surgery.

Most of all, enjoy the day and take a kid with you. That's the only way to keep the tradition alive.