Diehard dove hunters throughout Mississippi always look to December and the third and final segment of the season for some of the year’s best wing-shooting. This month, they get plenty of opportunities.
The South Zone reopens on Dec. 19 and runs through Jan. 31. The North Zone reopens Dec. 23 and closes Jan. 8.
“I wish we had more time and could hunt later in January in the North Zone, but I’m happy to get what we have,” said Phillip Jordan of Grenada. “We get a lot of the migratory doves, those big fat suckers from the midwestern corn fields, that don’t get in to the Delta until mid- to late December, and man, that provides some great shooting, because food sources are limited at that time, and if you can find one or provide a legal one, you can concentrate the birds and go to town.”
South Mississippi hunters need the later dates, too.
“I’ve always believed that the birds we get down here in December are the native birds from the Mississippi Delta, and probably some of the midwestern birds, too,” said Jake Phillips of Natchez. “We don’t get the great shooting that the North Delta gets in the first two seasons, but we make up for it in the winter. This year, getting to hunt all the way through Jan. 31 is a blessing. We can deer or duck hunt in the morning and late evening and fit a mid-day or early afternoon dove hunt in between. It ought to be fun.”
Be the first to comment