South Carolina mourning dove season to open September 2
*** EDITORS, PLEASE NOTE: An earlier version of this News Release contained an error in the final paragraph. Legal shooting hours for mourning doves always ends at official sunset. ****
Columbia, S.C (July 23, 2019) — It will probably still be quite warm, but nonetheless thousands of eager wing-shooters will be eager to take the field for the start of the mourning dove season in South Carolina in early September. For many in South Carolina, the opening day of dove season is synonymous with the beginning of fall and all of the great outdoor activities that come with it, and if the weather cooperates, this year’s birds promise to be plentiful, according to biologists with the S.C. Department of Natural Resources.
“We just recently completed our annual pre-season mourning dove survey,” said Michael W. Hook, Coordinator for the SCDNR’s Small Game program. “The current estimated dove population should provide very good September hunts provided we have no widespread adverse weather events.”
Opening day of this year’s early dove season in South Carolina will once again coincide with the Labor Day holiday on Monday, September 2. The S.C. Department of Natural Resources Board has approved all migratory bird hunting seasons in South Carolina for 2019-2020 based on the federal framework for migratory gamebirds. The seasons, daily bag limits, and methods of harvest have been published in the federal register by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The daily bag limit for 2019-2020 will again be 15 birds, and legal shooting time for the early season (September 2 - 7) will begin at 12 noon. Legal shooting hours for the later seasons will begin at 1/2 hour before legal sunrise. Legal shooting time ends at official sunset during all season dates:
Sept. 2–7, 2019: 12 Noon until Sunset
Sept. 8–Oct. 12, 2019: 1/2 Hour before Sunrise until Sunset
Nov.16–Nov. 30, 2019: 1/2 Hour before Sunrise until Sunset
Dec. 28, 2019 --Jan. 30, 2020: 1/2 Hour before
Thanks admin,I’m with qdma ,the quality dove management association. I’d just like to ask all you dove hunters to only shoot trophy doves and only shoot doves that are sitting still and certified to be a trophy worth bragging on.Our website will show you how to judge a doves weight and determine if he is worth shooting.Please don’t go out partying with your friends and shooting doves indiscriminately,we would like the low country to become a muy grande dove Mecca.
At least a minimum wing span of 18" is a good rule of thumb! 5 1/2 year old doves and up generally have that wingspan mentioned above if not larger. Once they get above 8 years old they have completed their fair share of vast non-monogamous breeding and they tend to go downhill pretty fast and become very leery of powerline perching and sunflower / corn consumption. Sman said it the best. If you can catch them sitting still judging their age is a little easier since your adrenaline hasn’t fully kicked in yet.
“If you can’t fix a woman, chase some tail with fins and fur!!!”
2008 Sea Pro 1900cc w/115
(2) Daughters that make the boys cry
(1) wife that makes her husband take the kids outdoors to chase their dreams!
I’ll bite, why not? Just so you know, doves only interest me in watching them. Wife and I counted 40+ just a few minuets ago walking the dogs.
Were y’all dancing, or walking? Do you know what a minuet is, Freddie?
min·u·et
/#716;miny#601;#712;wet/
noun
1.
a slow, stately ballroom dance for two in triple time, popular especially in the 18th century.
verb
1.
dance a minuet.
I’ll bite, why not? Just so you know, doves only interest me in watching them. Wife and I counted 40+ just a few minuets ago walking the dogs.
Were y’all dancing, or walking? Do you know what a minuet is, Freddie?
min·u·et
/#716;miny#601;#712;wet/
noun
1.
a slow, stately ballroom dance for two in triple time, popular especially in the 18th century.
verb
1.
dance a minuet.