browser icon
You are using an insecure version of your web browser. Please update your browser!
Using an outdated browser makes your computer unsafe. For a safer, faster, more enjoyable user experience, please update your browser today or try a newer browser.

Dove Hunting Maryland Public Lands

Posted by on September 13, 2014

Time for a Dove Hunt

The other evening after work, the dove fields were calling. I answered the call with my double gun and full shell bag. The gate at the end of the road was locked. I walked the half mile to the sunflower field. The heat of summer remained; even if September was already half gone. Sweat ran down my back and the sun blinded me if I turned to the west.

Dove hunt-8
A large walnut tree, the only lasting residue of what once was a homestead, stood towering guard over the sunflowers. I found shade under the walnut. The plan was to stand and watch the field, until a better shooting position became apparent based on the flight path of the incoming dove.

Dove hunt
Trash in the way of empty water bottles and spent shot shells littered the ground under the walnut tree. I was hunting public hunting grounds. The good news was I had the field to myself. The bad news was someone before me had littered the area.  I just don’t get some people.  Maryland Department of Natural Resources (MDDNR) puts forth the effort to provide hunters places to enjoy and they treat it so poorly.

Dove hunt-10

MDDNR works hard for the Maryland hunter.  They fight against budget constraints.  They fight against often uninformed political forces.  Underpaid and without fanfare, the individuals working at MDDNR continue to not only maintain the status quo with state public hunting properties, but continue to try to make improvements, bettering the hunting experience for Maryland hunters.  And want do they get in return?  Trash.

Dove hunt-6

Standing under the walnut tree, I notice the flight pattern and walk fifty yards, taking a stand in some tall grass.  I watch an eagle hunt the Potomac for his evening meal. In singles and pairs dove, pass overhead. The shooting in not as feverish as those teenage days at the vegetable farm, but steady enough for a good hunt.  In the end, I collected enough dove for a meal, but not my limit.  That’s fine by me. I had an enjoyable weekday afternoon dove hunt following a long day at the office.

Dove hunt-5

Yes, I know I have not divulged the location of the hunt.  MDDNR provides many hunting opportunities for the hunter who does not have access to private land.  In my experience, many of these places go under hunted and can provide the hunter willing to do some research a good place to hunt.  You may have to walk a little farther, as you will have to leave the ATV at home, but the rewards can be worth it.  That is, if someone has not trashed the area before you.  Come on guys, show some respect for MDDNR and nature, pick up your empty shells and leave it as you found it.