Truth be told, “pre-loading” a CA’s sunflower fields with doves just prior to Sept. 1 is the easy half of the equation. The other half --managing dove hunters -- is far more complex. Described in its simplest terms, the MDC’s goal is to limit the dove harvest to a sustainable level while allocating the best public-land dove shooting among the state’s hunters in a manner that’s both fair and safe.

Doing so begins with an understanding of the Missouri dove hunter’s psychology. Although the state’s dove season opens on Sept. 1 and closes either at the end of October or early in November, most dove hunters are convinced that the season closes at sunset on Labor Day. This becomes an overwhelming majority by, at the latest, Sept. 15. Obviously, the strict rules on hunter numbers, hunter placement, and/or shooting hours that are essential during the first few days of the season are far less so later on, and area managers respond as changes in hunting pressure permit. (Author’s note: Public-land dove hunting regulations vary widely from one CA to another and are subject to changes unavailable at press time. Contact the area manager of the CA you intend to hunt several days prior to Sept. 1 to obtain the latest information.)

Non-toxic shot was a hot regulatory topic early in 2007. Use or possession of lead shot is prohibited for hunting in designated areas of 21 CAs (a list of which can be found in the Missouri Code of State Regulations at 3 CSR 10-8). Despite rumors -- and actual discussions -- to the contrary, no plans to extend the ban on lead shot to include dove hunting on all MDC properties were known to exist as of press time.

Dove hunters at the state’s best CAs need to be prepared to take part in the Adaptive Resource Management program, whose object is (as stated in Schulz’s 2006 dove report) “to evaluate the effects of different hunter and harvest management strategies on the goal of maximizing hunting opportunities.” Those strategies consist in various sorts of limitations on shooting hours, total hunter numbers, and hunter placement. The individual hunter’s role (in addition to checking in and out of the area) is to record data, including number of doves killed, number of shots fired, hours hunted, and the number of doves shot but not retrieved.

There’s more than one way to rank Missouri’s best dove hunts: driving distance, number of doves killed last year, number of hunters. Nothing’s wrong with any of those approaches, but experience has convinced me that the best way is to compare the number of shots fired per hunter. After all, it’s impossible to bag a limit of doves without at least a limit’s worth of shooting opportunities.

PONY EXPRESS LAKE CA
Pony Express Lake CA is the hands-down winner of 2006’s shoot-’em-up contest. The 784 hunters who participated in the ARM program there fired 25,979 shots -- an astounding 33.1 shots per hunter. The total dove harvest was 5,115.

To reach Pony Express Lake, drive nine miles west of Cameron on Highway 36, north on Highway 33, and then a mile on Route RA. This CA is farther from any of the state’s major population centers than any of the other CAs highlighted in this article. However, as its statistics dramatically prove, the hunting here is worth the drive. During the month of September, those looking to shoot doves must check in at area headquarters and obtain a Daily Dove Hunting Tag prior to hunting.

TEN MILE POND CA
Ten Mile Pond CA was another super dove shooting spot in 2006. The 336 hunters who sampled its pleasures fired 9,569 shots: 28.5 shots per hunter. The total bag was 2,599.