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Thread: Ok, we have dove field planted. Now what

  1. #1
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    Default Ok, we have dove field planted. Now what

    We got our small dove field planted last week with browntop and it has got a few good heavy showers on it due to pm thunderstorms.

    We plowed one section completely and the other (what we call upper field ) field we plowed strips in it and left the tall stuff standing

    As I have mentioned on another thread this is the first time I have planted a dove field in years, last time I did it you could plow and "top sow " wheat and shoot it . Never done one this way

    Couple questions

    1-do we just leave the tall stuff growing all summer where we cut strips , if so do we bush hog it prior to shooting field or just leave it alone

    2-as for the browntop, do we just shoot it as it when it grows or do we bushhog it

    3-do we plow it if we do bushhog

    This will be a Labor Day weekend field ONLY and then we will plow it up to plant my deer food plots the next weekend so not really worried about late season dove shoot

    I am kind of excited about this, we have small group of good friends but more than anything my 3 1/2 yr old grandson will be going with me(his other Granddad will probably be there too). Looking forward to the little one going.. He has already learned what doves sound like when he hears them around our house and will ask me when he sees birds flying are those the doves we gonna shoot Papa Tommy
    Last edited by tprice; 06-23-2018 at 01:43 PM.

  2. #2
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    How big is the field?

    You need to cut it for hay and let it dry. Then tedder the living shit out of it to get all the seed off of it. Then bale the straw and get it the hell outta there. Disc strips in the field and kill.

  3. #3
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    Sounds like a lot of work. If you're only hunting it one weekend light a headfire August 20-25

  4. #4
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    We do exactly what Tater said and kill the shit out of them on my buddies field.
    Private Land Rubberhead # 1

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sportin' Woodies View Post
    Sounds like a lot of work. If you're only hunting it one weekend light a headfire August 20-25
    Well my buddy has a tractor and wanted to just ride his tractor and plow something up LOL. His 2 teen boys helping him, they just have a blast doing stuff like this so I let them have at it

    Lot worse things teen boys could get into and they are excited about doing all this work for a dove field
    Last edited by tprice; 06-23-2018 at 07:00 PM.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tater View Post
    How big is the field?

    You need to cut it for hay and let it dry. Then tedder the living shit out of it to get all the seed off of it. Then bale the straw and get it the hell outta there. Disc strips in the field and kill.
    Whole field probably is not more than 15 acres, don't have all the stuff to tedder and bale with
    Last edited by tprice; 06-23-2018 at 07:03 PM.

  7. #7
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    I bet someone who does would love to have the hay off of it. Find someone and have them do what I said above and you will have birds.

  8. #8
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    Tater is on point.

    Either way you want clean dirt with seed on the ground.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by tprice View Post
    Well my buddy has a tractor and wanted to just ride his tractor and plow something up LOL. His 2 teen boys helping him, they just have a blast doing stuff like this so I let them have at it

    Lot worse things teen boys could get into and they are excited about doing all this work for a dove field
    And there ain't a thing wrong with seed in the ground and watching something grow other than weeds.

    As for your earlier comment about planting wheat in the old days remember you can do this after October 1st. With a 15 acre field you have plenty of options to mix it up.

  10. #10
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    Here are a couple of pics my buddy took this week, first pic is the big field and you can see where the low spots are when it got a small amount of rain

    Bottom pic is of what we call upper field (right beside the big one) and we just plowed some strips in it and threw seed out

    The big field (first pic) will be deer food plot right after dove season, probably leave the millet alone in the other field and may even try late season shoot



    IMG_4190.JPGIMG_4189.JPG
    Last edited by tprice; 06-23-2018 at 08:42 PM.

  11. #11
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    I guess my main question is what is legal and not legal

    Not wanting to do anyting wrong but guess I am a little confused when it comes time to hunt it, is it ok/legal to just bushhog the millet and leave it on the ground or do we just hunt it standing

    Like I said this is all new to me, want to have fun but also want to make sure we are legal.

    This is just a fun hunt for a few Dad's and their boys and 2 Granddads and a soon to be 4 yr old grandson

    As for the hay, I have asked a couple folks if they wanted to cut it and bale it but so far no interest . Guess with all this rain folks have plenty right now

  12. #12
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    Yes you can bushhog the millet and be legal.


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  13. #13
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    If it's a one shoot field, bushog half your millet about 10 to 12 days before the season opens up. Then about 5 to 6 days before, I would bushog everything, including your brushy areas. Maybe even run the disc down the edges or right through the middle a time or too. Doves love fresh dirt.
    E T

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by E. Taylor View Post
    If it's a one shoot field, bushog half your millet about 10 to 12 days before the season opens up. Then about 5 to 6 days before, I would bushog everything, including your brushy areas. Maybe even run the disc down the edges or right through the middle a time or too. Doves love fresh dirt.


    Thanks, in a round about way that what I was asking.

    This is just going to be a fun shoot and nothing more but main thing want to make sure is we are legal

    Have had folks tell me all kinds of things you can and can not do

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by Johnny Reb View Post
    Yes you can bushhog the millet and be legal.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

    THANKS

  16. #16
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    Get the millet, weeds, grass and anything else in the field as dry and dead as possible. Strike a match. Shoot.

  17. #17
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    Plow a spot and start baiting them in it now...

    2 weeks before the season cut the bait in, and bushog the millet.. Burning here and there wouldn’t hurt either..

    That is if you don’t have the ability to cut it for hay..
    Natural Born Killer Prostaff - Killing Tomorrow's Trophies Today...

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  18. #18
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    I'm going to say something that goes against everything you ever hear or read. In the last ten years, I see more doves in thick stuff like a quail. I've prepared fields with clean dirt, plenty of seed, burned, etc. , and most of the birds are still in the unmowed areas, especially if there are tall seed bearing plants with some room to walk around underneath. Once again, like a quail. And I'm on multiple tracts of land per week.

    I can only assume that the explosion in raptor populations has caused this change in behavior. I'm not suggesting you manage your field based on just what I've seen, but it's been a consistent observation of mine for some years.

  19. #19
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    E. Taylor nailed it. Not everybody has a titter and haying equipment. Titter get it??
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    If love could have saved you, you would have lived forever.

    Missing you my great friend.


  20. #20
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    Noticed the same smallwater. Doves last jan preferred standing corn over cut and cracked and plowed grown corn.

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