HUNTING LATE
However, those willing to keep their scatterguns and binoculars out a little longer will find ample reason to do so -- partly because of Oklahoma's location in the Central Plains. "Kansas, Nebraska, and the Dakotas produce more doves than any other state in the nation," O'Meilia said. "There's certainly nothing wrong with Oklahoma being to the south of them. If you'll check the local food patches after the first half of September, you can pretty well bet that if there's food, there will be migrants on them."

Especially along and to the west of Interstate 35, the biologist suggested. He pointed out that most of the state's best wingshooting occurs to the west of that asphalt line splitting the state in half. But keep in mind that it's the site of most of the state's better shooting -- not all of it.

"I grew up in Tulsa," offered O'Meilia, "and you can have some fabulous dove hunting in the northeastern part of the state. There is a good agricultural base in that part of the world, so there are enough places where land use can provide some pretty good dove hunting fields."

THEY GOTTA EAT
One thing's true in Oklahoma, east, west, north and south, year in and year out: Our best dove hunting revolves around finding the best concentration of roosting, feeding, and watering sites in proximity to one another. In particular that goes for discovering the local mourning dove chow hall, of which there are two primary types: native seed-bearing plants and harvested agricultural fields.

"Land-use and cropping patterns can have a big impact on dove hunting," O'Meilia explained. "Crop patterns are very dynamic, and there are a lot of things in the eastern part of the state that are going toward things that aren't good for migratory game birds." (A primary factor in reducing the region's dove forage is the disappearance sorghum farming, which has given way to the cultivation of other crops and the conversion of agricultural acreage to pasturage.)

"Cropping patterns affect wintering mallards and migrating doves," O'Meilia said. "It can have a huge impact on what goes on. If all the hot foods go out the door and all you've got left is clean, grazed pastures and hay crops, the wildlife will suffer accordingly."

What are those hot food sources going to be? For sure, they'll include agricultural food staples like wheat stubble, especially early in the season, along with sorghum (also known as either "milo" or "maize") and corn. That crop might raise an eyebrow or two, in O'Meilia's view.

"Doves will eat whole corn," he said. "Some people don't believe that. Now, keep in mind that corn is not all that common a crop here. But we do have pockets of it being grown."

And it's all but certain that more and more corn is going to be raised around here -- because, thanks to the high price of gasoline, alternative fuel production is on the rise, and ethanol distillation needs corn. But by no means limit your search for feeding doves to agricultural crop fields. The state's dove population sure doesn't limit itself to such places.

"A good native sunflower patch," O'Meilia said. "You can't beat that; I'd say that universally, that's probably the best dove feeding area. Sunflowers are a weather-dependent thing, and sometimes they're ready early, sometimes they're ready late, depending on the weather." Peoples added that croton in its various types is another of the top dove food sources growing in Oklahoma, although again, one that's somewhat tied to the weather.

"In Oklahoma there are tradeoffs," he explained. "If we have ample rain in the spring, we will have a good sunflower crop. But if we have droughty conditions in the spring, the sunflowers don't seem to do as well, but the various kinds of croton do well. I guess it's kind of a Catch-22 thing."

But not for hunters willing to do their scouting homework in order to find out where the doves are feeding before a particular hunt -- even down to the flight paths into and out of a field and the preferred landing and feeding areas of that particular site. "Look for a good mixture of native seed-producing plants like croton, grasses and sunflowers," O'Meilia advised. When you find those, it's probably a good place.

"Now, you certainly don't want a site with a lot of ground cover," he added. "You're generally looking for something in the neighborhood of 25 percent open ground, although the best is up around 50 percent. Remember, doves aren't built for cruising around on the ground."

Those percentages of open ground are also good to remember when looking for a good spot for a waterhole shoot. "When you go farther west, waterholes become more important," O'Meilia said. "The sheer amount of dove usage and the fact there is less water out in that country mean that we can have fabulous waterhole shoots. I also know folks in the east that do it. But you have to do your homework."