Hi all,

I'm getting back into the dove hunt game after being out of it for 10+ years. I was always hunting up in the panhandle but now live in Allen (Collin Co). I decided to pony up for the APH since my family land is too far away now.

Some of my buddies think I'm crazy for hunting public as they say it is "too dangerous" or not any good but they aren't regular dove hunters.

This stuff has probably been asked 100 times but I couldn't find it. Feel free to point me to another thread if there is one.

1. Will the Tue-Fri after opening day be super crowded still?
2. Is it worth driving much farther to a more remote field?
3. For a morning hunt will people be lining up at 5a to get their spots or what?
4. Any tips or tricks or "what to expect" from a public hunt?

It's been a long time and my last hunt was on my own land so this is a bit new to me. Sorry for all the noobie questions but I hope you guys welcome a returning hunter.

-DblTbl

It doesn't matter where you go, all the public land will be crowded on opening day. It will taper off after the first week. Other than that, SCOUT SCOUT SCOUT!! A couple of hours after daylight and a couple of hours before dark. You have 5 days left to see which fields are best and how the doves travel through them. Good luck!

1. No, it'll drop off a bit since Monday is a holiday.. How much? Who knows...
2. If you scout it & the birds are there, yes..
3. Some will, yes.. Others will roll in 10 mins before LST..
4. Jackasses..

lol!

1. Will the Tue-Fri after opening day be super crowded still? [Tue & Fri will be more crowded than the other two days. After Sunday it will be wide open]

2. Is it worth driving much farther to a more remote field? [ Yes but not just any field, scout! There will still be people but it will be comparable to number of birds]

3. For a morning hunt will people be lining up at 5a to get their spots or what? [ Yes Monday, probably again Saturday. Other days probably not a factor]

4. Any tips or tricks or "what to expect" from a public hunt? [ There are going to be people some great folks and some straight loons. Take it for what it is, don't get mad/discouraged/disappointed. You probably won't shoot a limit but there's always a chance]

Give em he'll

Thanks for the tips guys. I'll be out scouting some over the next 2 days then hopefully out on Tue/Wed/Thu. I wish ya'll a good hunt and thanks again for the friendly tips.

p.s. I promise not to be #4 on T-Bone's list LOL

5. Wear a paintball mask for protection against loons called out in #4!

Scout
Find a fly pattern for that spot. Remember it may be different in the AM from the PM. So scout the time you plan to hunt.
Find a spot where you will be less likely to get cut off by other hunters so they don't intercept every bird, seen it happen.
Get there early
Bring plenty of water
Good Luck.

I'm down the road from you in Plano. If you ever want to go shoot some birds on public land shoot me a pm

Will do TTUBUDD. I'm a Tech grad as well. Grew up in Plainview and Memphis. '93 grad.

I'm going to head up tomorrow afternoon to scout some fields near Greenville. If the boss man lets me off on Tue I may head out for a pm hunt.

Best of luck! I'll be hunting out in Glen Rose for the opener. Always good to see other Tech folks on here

Don't waste your time in Greenville. I live 5 miles from Hunt County Complex 1 and Complex 2 is on the way to my son's school. The landowners didn't grow crops in those fields this year. Only hay. I know another public field a few miles further down the road that still had 200 acres of milo standing as of last Saturday. I'll PM you the details. That's where you need to be.

Thanks ImTheReason! I'm heading out to scout today... I would have hated to waste a trip there.

ImtheReason, Would you mind PM'ing me the field as well? I went out today to scout and the rain really messed things up. I looked at complex 1&2, but you are right.....no food....just harvested hay. Me and a yellow lab would appreciate if you could point us in the right direction!!!

We have lost all of our public hunting lands west of Collin county unless you hunt the shores of Ray Roberts so I would expect the Collin county fields to be jamed! Be careful and wear your safety glasses and a heavy long sleeved shirt! I got shot twice last year on opening day! Had to dig pellets out of my back!

I'm headed that way on Tuesday too. I think I know where you are talking about... There are several fields out that way that looked decent.

There was one south of Fort Worth last year that had tons of birds. Like stated do your scouting because I don't think they planted at that place this year when the birds were every wee last year. I had already got a limit and was heading back and tried to stop and see how they did everybody at that place had already limited out and left there were feathers everywhere. It is a bit of a crapshoot and I think for the money that they get for offering those places they should have to plant grain of some sort. Just my .02

Anybody have any luck on the Collin or Hunt County public lands? I went to the Muddig field in far NE Hunt County and there were not many birds, just lots of ticks!

I got 7 on the outskirts of McKinney opening morning. I heard a lot of shots coming from the airport area, but I don't know how they did. Anybody having any luck around the McKinney/Princeton/Farmersville area??

I've been hunting the same spot in McKinney for 20yrs now. It happens to be about a mile away from my house. I went out there last night to see if anyone was there. Talked to a guy who got 6. I might go there after work today since I was else where for opening day

Did you make it out there? How'd it go?

I sure did! Got out on Tue. I didn't limit but downed 10 birds. Had a great time and wasn't crowded. Taking my kiddo at the next chance I get.

Not sure I would like opening day on public but Tue was good.

I'm in Allen as well and am hoping to get out to some public land starting next week after the crowds have had their first week fix. If any of you are game for another in your group, send me a PM!

I went to those fields close to Greenville on Monday and Tuesday. There were four other cars out there on Monday, but no one else on Tuesday morning. I only saw about ten birds on Tuesday...I have to go out to Forney for my kid's birthday with his grandparents tonight, so I was thinking about hitting up a filed over near Forney for the afternoon. Any good hunting over there?