By: Wes Sumner, CAM Crystal Coast Publisher
One of the most popular hunting traditions in North Carolina is Opening Day of dove season, which brings family and friends together afield, in an annual rite that attracts hunters of all ages, of both sexes. For some, Opening Day is primarily a social event providing a fun-filled time to get together for food and fun. For more serious hunters, Opening Day marks the beginning of the fall hunting season. The 2010–11 split season for mourning and white-winged doves is Sept. 3 – Oct. 8; Nov. 21 – Nov. 26; and Dec. 17 – Jan. 13. The daily bag limit is 15 doves and the possession limit is 30. Shooting hours are from noon until sunset on opening day only and from a half hour before sunrise until sunset thereafter. Opening day dove hunts are frequently major invitation-only social events organized by families, businesses and hunting clubs, and held on private farms where corn and other small grains have been harvested, attracting the migratory birds by the hundreds and permitting limits of doves for the better shots in the party. On many of these hunts, the day begins with a late morning feast, often including great eastern NC barbeque, fried chicken and plenty of sweet iced tea.
However, if you can’t wrangle an invitation to participate in one of these exclusive hunts, there are still numerous dove hunting opportunities across the East. Many shooting preserves offer opening day dove hunts, some complete with a lavish lunch spread, for a reasonable daily fee. Because these farms are usually planted in grains and are managed for quail hunting later in the season, they usually attract doves in excellent numbers and provide superb shooting. Among the eastern NC shooting preserves offering for-fee dove hunts for the Sept. 3 opening day and during the season are:Contentnea Creek Hunting Preserve, Hookerton. $60 per hunter, includes barbeque lunch. Also will have hunts on September 5, 10 and 17. Advance reservations required. Contact S.M. Gray at 800-250-1846. Website: www.contentneacreekhunting.comHuckleberry Ridge Hunting Preserve, Tarboro. $100 per hunter, includes barbeque lunch. Opening day already sold out, but will have a hunt on September 5. Advance reservations required. Contact Joey Godley at 252-413-0048. Website: www.hrhunting.com.Arrowhead Hunting Preserve, Ayden. $50 per hunter for opening day and $25 per day thereafter. Contact Spike Smith at 252-717-6361. Website: www.arrowheadnc.comAnderson Creek Hunting Preserve, Lillington. $100 per hunter for opening day and Labor Day, includes deluxe pig-picking. Limited to 100 hunters. Advance reservations required. Contact James Farrar at 910-578-6613. Website: www.andersoncreekhunting.com.Allen Brothers Hunting Preserve, Bladenboro. $60 per hunter, includes opening day feast. Also will have an all-day hunt on Labor Day with lunch served. Advance reservations required. Call at 910-736-5360. Website: allenbrothers.orgRoan’s Branch Hunting Preserve, Bolivia. Opening day hunt and hunts for the next five Saturdays in the season. Call David Knox at 910-520-3485. Website: www.quailhuntnc.com. Also, Jamin Simmons of the Mattamuskeet Ventures in Fairfield will be conducting a special dove hunt on Saturday, Sept. 10 on one of the farms he manages for wildlife in Hyde County. The hunt will be a benefit dove hunt to help raise money for the Relay For Life and the American Cancer Society. The fee for this charity hunt will be $100 per hunter and includes breakfast and an afternoon lunch. For additional information, contact Jamin Simmons at (252) 926-9664 or by email at jamin@mmc-nc.com In addition, many of the state game lands across the east offer dove hunting opportunities, with some having fields that are managed specifically for early season dove hunts. Information on these locations, maps and any special regulations can be found in the NC Hunting/Trapping Regulations and Game Land Maps, which can be found online at www.ncwildlife.org. Be aware that these areas require the purchase of a Game Lands Use Permit in addition to other license requirements. All hunters, regardless of where the hunt takes place, must possess a valid NC hunting license. In North Carolina, all first-time hunting license buyers must successfully complete a Hunter Education Course, offered free across the state. For further information about NC hunting seasons and regulations, go to www.ncwildlife.org to consult the online version of the 2010-2011 N.C. Inland Fishing, Hunting and Trapping Regulations Digest or call (919) 707-0031 for more information.