RALEIGH, N.C. (Sept. 1, 2005) — With dove season opening Saturday, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission reminds hunters to enjoy the sport safely and legally.

“We’d like for people to follow the hunter safety motto: Be safe, be seen, be courteous and be responsible,” said Capt. Chris Huebner, hunter and boating safety coordinator for the Wildlife Commission.

Wildlife enforcement officers will be paying special attention to hunter safety. Dove hunts are traditionally a family affair, and many youngsters enjoy their first hunts in a dove field. But state law places stipulations on young and new hunters.

To obtain a hunting license, a new hunter must pass a hunter safety course, which the Wildlife Commission offers for free across the state. The law allows youngsters under age 16 who have not passed the hunter safety course to hunt, provided they are accompanied by an adult with a valid hunting license, and that they remain in close proximity and communication with the adult.

Low-flying birds are another potential for hunting accidents. Besides passing up low shots themselves, dove hunters should alert companions when a bird is too low, Huebner advised. Communication of this sort reminds hunters of each others’ locations, possibly preventing a tragedy.

Hunters should also know the location of nearby houses and other buildings. Besides being safe and legal (several counties forbid discharge of a firearm within a specific distance of buildings), not firing in the direction of a structure can ensure courteous relations between the hunting and nonhunting publics.

Wildlife officers will also be on the lookout for baited hunting. The law does not allow hunting over grain or seeds that have not been treated in a standard agricultural manner.

“If you add anything to a field, it’s going to be considered bait. If it’s a cornfield, you can’t add millet or sunflowers,” Huebner said. Even in a cornfield, a hunter can’t pile corn to attract birds. “People sometimes say it spilled off the truck. That’s fine, but you can’t hunt over it,” he said.

Dove season in North Carolina will take place in three segments: Sept. 3-Oct. 8, Nov. 21-26 and Dec. 19-Jan. 14. The daily bag limit is 12, and the possession limit is 24.

Shooting hours for doves are noon until sunset from Sept. 3 through Sept. 10, and from one half-hour before sunrise until sunset thereafter.

For more information on regulations and safety precautions for hunting dove and other game, consult the 2005-2006 Regulations Digest, available online or from hunting license vendors, or log onto the Wildlife Commission Web site, www.ncwildlife.org.
 

Click Here To Return To The Previous Page