Dove Hunting in Missouri: How to Open Your Hunting Season Right

For a lot of Missouri hunters, the season doesn't really begin until September 1 — the traditional dove opener. It's a social, fast-paced, warm-weather hunt that shakes off the summer and gets everyone back in the field. Mourning doves are small, quick, and maddeningly hard to hit, which is exactly what makes dove hunting so much fun. Whether you're a seasoned wing-shooter or looking for an easy, exciting hunt to try, here's how to make the most of Missouri's dove season.

Find the Food and Water

Doves are all about food, water, and open perching spots. The best hunting is over harvested or standing grain fields — sunflowers are the gold standard, but wheat stubble, silage, and milo all draw birds. Missouri's conservation department manages a number of public fields specifically for dove hunting, often planted with sunflowers, and these can offer excellent opening-day action. Doves also key on water sources and gravel for grit, so ponds, mudflats, and gravel roads near feeding fields are worth watching. Scout in the evenings before your hunt to see where birds are flying.

Setting Up the Field

Position is everything in dove hunting. Set up where you've seen birds funneling — a field edge, a lone dead tree they like to perch in, a gap in a tree line, or near a water source. Use available cover to break up your outline; doves have sharp eyes and will flare off a hunter standing in the open. Dove decoys, especially spinning-wing decoys or a few clipped to a fence or dead branch, can pull passing birds right into range. If you're hunting with a group, spread out around the field so you cover multiple approach lanes and everyone gets shooting.

Shotgun and Shells

Dove hunting is wing-shooting at its purest, and it will humble you — a good day might mean going through a box of shells for a limit. A 12- or 20-gauge shotgun with an improved-cylinder or modified choke and light target loads (7.5 or 8 shot) is the standard setup. Because doves twist, dive, and change direction, lead and follow-through matter more than raw power. Bring plenty of shells, keep your gun moving through the shot, and don't get discouraged by misses — even great shooters burn through ammo on doves.

Beat the Heat and Hunt Safe

Early September in Missouri can be hot, so bring plenty of water, sun protection, and maybe a stool or bucket to sit on. Safety in a crowded dove field is critical: know where every other hunter is, only shoot at birds well up in the air and within your safe zone, and never swing your gun toward another person's position. A little field etiquette keeps the fast action fun and safe for everyone.

Know the Rules

Doves are migratory birds, so their season falls under both state and federal regulations. That means specific season dates, a daily bag limit, legal shooting hours, and a requirement to use a plugged shotgun (capable of holding no more than three shells). Non-toxic shot is required on many public areas. Baiting a field is illegal and taken seriously — hunt over legitimately harvested or planted crops, not scattered grain. Check the current migratory bird regulations before opening day.

A Great Way to Start

Dove hunting is social, forgiving of newcomers, and a perfect way to introduce someone to hunting — there's plenty of action, no long sits in the cold, and a shared field full of friends. Cap it off with a cookout of bacon-wrapped dove breasts and you've got a Missouri tradition worth building your whole fall around. When September 1 rolls around, grab your shotgun and a full box of shells, and go open your season right.