2021 WMA Dove Fields

If the cost of a private dove field isn’t in your wallet this September, Georgia WRD does a good job of offering folks some public field opportunities. Thanks to Kevin Lowrey with WRD, we’re able to provide readers with this list of public shoots, the crops that have been planted, the acreage of the field, and the predicted forecast of the field for opening day. Those dove fields are all listed to the right.

Some of these fields are quota-only, and the deadline to apply over at www.gooutdoorsgeorgia.com is Aug. 15. You’ve still got time.

Those WMAs, VPAs and PFAs that are marked with an asterisk (*) are either offering quota hunts or adult/child only hunts. To see which dove fields offer adult/child dove opportunities, turn to page 80.

For those of you who are wanting to sit on a field where the crowds are kept at bay, review the quota-hunt selection odds table for adult and adult/child dove quota hunts at https://georgiawildlife.com/hunting/quota#odds. This will guide you to how many, if any, priority points it will take in order to get drawn for a shoot. For example, some folks don’t want to spend two or more priority points to hunt birds, and they’d rather shoot fields where it takes one or no points.

Last year’s hardest adult dove hunt draw was the first hunt at London Farms VPA where 368 folks put in for the coveted 30 spots. It took three priority points for a guaranteed draw.

The first dove hunt on Rum Creek WMA also took three priority points for a guaranteed spot, as did the single dove hunting opportunities at Di-Lane and Albany Nursery.

There were four adult/child dove quota hunts that required at least one priority point for a guaranteed spot. In order of difficulty in getting selected with one point, those WMAs were River Creek (first hunt), Buck Shoals, CFL Hilliard and Walton. However, on all four hunts, only River Creek’s field needed at least one priority point for a guaranteed spot.

The overall most popular dove hunt in the state last year was the one at Clybel WMA. There were 931 folks who put in for 200 spots. However, by using two priority points, 100% of folks who applied were given a spot, while 72% of applicants got on the field using one point.

It could be a little more difficult to grab a spot on a WMA quota dove field this year. In 2019, the total folks who applied for a spot was 10,845. In 2020, a year when masks on a dove field were common due to COVID, 12,269 applicants put in. Many of those gathered priority points and may cash them in this year.

Make note that all the public-land shoots will start 30 minutes before daylight, not the 12 p.m. traditional start that Georgians have been used to all these years.

GON really likes to get pictures of WMA critters that our readers have taken. If you knock down a few of those little gray rockets, send a picture and info to [email protected].