For MSU students and sports fans statewide, Saturday presents a day full of action-packed opportunities.
At 2:30 p.m., the football team will kick off a new season, with a new coaching staff and new expectations. Many fans will start their day off with another season opener. Daylight Saturday marks the beginning of the 2009-2010 hunting season, with doves being the target of the morning.
T.J. Reape, of Brandon Miss., whose family owns several thousand acres in Washington county, said he’ll be in Leland for the morning dove hunt but will be couch-side by noon to watch some football.
“I’d like to go to the State game, but the way I see it, I’m getting the best of both worlds,” Reape said. “I’ll shoot doves all morning – hopefully – -then sit back and watch football on TV at the camp. We’ll have our birds marinated and ready for the grill by the time the night games kickoff.”
Reape also said the birds in the Delta from top to bottom are plentiful.
“I’ve got friends with fields in the south Delta near Vicksburg, and some as far north as Tunica, and they’ve all got a lot of birds,” Reape said. “Our field is in-between, and we’ve got tons of birds. Last year, the whole field was done shortly after 8:00, and there appears to be more birds this year.”
Reports are similar in Madison and Rankin counties in central Mississippi.
Barrett Page of Brandon Miss., who has access to thousands acres all across the state, said the field he’ll be hunting in Madison County is full of birds.
“I have a friend with land on the Big Black in Madison, and the corn was scheduled to be cut this week,” Page said. “He started spreading wheat a few weeks ago, but the cutting may hurt us.”
This is a common problem with dove fields during the first season. You may have thousands of doves using an area, but when farmers start cutting soybeans and corn, the food gets plentiful, and the birds will spread out. During dryer weather, the birds will still flock to fields that have a good water source. The past few weeks have not been that dry and added crop harvest could spread the birds out even more.
Jamie Ross of Jackson, Miss, who plants a Rankin County dove hunt every year, said he has this situation under control. Ross said thunderstorms are the only thing that should keep them from having a stellar hunt on his Rankin County field.
“Where we hunt there aren’t many row crops around,” Ross said. “We planted sunflowers, and have a good stand of them. We also have a couple of ponds in the field, so the doves usually stay here in dry weather anyway. Weather permitting, it should be a good hunt.”
The temperatures should be nice with the highs not expected to get above 85 degrees. But hunters should still keep themselves and their dogs hydrated. Dogs can overheat very fast and can make a fun day head south quickly. Bring plenty of water for the both of you.
Dove hunting is in general a group sport. When you have multiple guns in a field at one time, you can never be too careful. Some basic safety rules can keep hunters happy and out of harm’s way.
First and foremost, never load your gun until you are situated in your hunting position. Making sure the birds you are shooting at are high enough is equally as important. “Low bird” is the most common phrase you will hear in any given dove field. A good rule of thumb is to keep the barrel of your gun pointed up at a 45 degree angle or higher. If you are hunting at the bottom of a slope or hill, do not shoot uphill. Dove season should be fun for all who are hunting. Do not shoot low birds and remind others to do the same.
It should be a great weekend for outdoorsmen and women. It should be double the fun if football is on your opening day schedule as well. Be safe, shoot strait and Go Dawgs!
Brandon Parker is a senior majoring in communication. He can be reached at
[email protected].