Hunters ready for wingshooting - Nanjing Toothpick Co.,Ltd

Officially, our 2023 hunting seasons began in May with squirrels and turkey, but in our hearts they begin Sept. 1 with the opening of early Canada goose season.

On Sept. 2, we'll enjoy the opening of dove season and then we'll get an early start on duck hunting Sept. 15 with the opening of early teal season.

Early Canada goose season largely involves resident Canada geese. It is a great opportunity to take arrogant geese that live leisurely lives despoiling yards, fields, golf courses and even parking lots.

Hunting resident Canada geese is not like hunting migratory light geese, which habituate to specific fields and repetitively come to decoys. You generally get one or two good shoots on a flock of resident Canada geese before they relocate. After that, they tend to avoid places where they have encountered shooting.

Initially, the hunting is fairly easy. Identify where geese roost, identify the first field they go to in the morning to feed and then find a place between those two points. They are usually close together, and Canada geese fly low to reach them. You can call to them to convince them to come directly over. You will fire two or three quick shots, and you're generally done for the day. That particular spot is probably done for a week or more.

My most memorable early goose hunt occurred in such a fashion on the Arkansas River with Alan Thomas of Benton. He found an ambush point where we sat among bushes on dry land. That morning was very foggy. Well after dawn, we heard Canada geese honking on the water.

"Get ready, because they're going to get up in a minute and fly right over us," Thomas said. "In this fog, they won't see us until we shoot."

It happened just like that. A big flock of geese materialized from the fog practically on top of our heads. We killed several, including my first banded goose.

Because early goose hunting occurs at short range, you don't need heavy payloads for success. I use 3-inch, 12-gauge loads of No. 2 steel or BB, but 2 3/4-inch loads will work fine. No. 6 or No. 4 Hevi-Shot is also suitable. With TSS loads, you can kill geese with 20- and 28-gauge shotguns.

Arkansas residents need a resident hunting license, federal duck stamp, state duck stamp and HIP registration.

Doves

Mourning doves, white-winged doves and exotic Eurasian collared doves are fair game during dove season, which runs in two segments from Sept. 2 - Oct. 22. The second segment runs Dec. 8 - Jan. 15, 2022.

Most hunting occurs on cut sunflower fields, which doves visit in the mornings and evenings. Doves also feed in weedy fields and cutovers, making it possible to enjoy some good shooting on pine plantations.

The action starts slow, with a few birds staging in trees near a field before plunging into the sunflowers. The pace quickens as more birds arrive. If a lot of doves are in an area, a fast-paced shoot can last for hours.

Birds stop flying by about 10 a.m., and resume at about 5 p.m., before going to roost.

The best hunts take place on private fields where landowners limit the number of hunters. Good hunting is also available on dove fields that the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission manages on its wildlife management areas, and also on fields that the Game and Fish Commission leases especially for dove hunting.

Doves are fast and acrobatic. Give them a very long lead and swing through the shot. Head shots are the goal, as they don't damage the meat.

Dove hunters average about one kill for every three shots, so an average shooter will use two boxes of ammunition to kill a 15-bird limit. Most hunters use 12-gauge shotguns loaded with 1- to 1 1/8-ounce of No. 7 1/2 or No. 8 shot. A standard 20-gauge load contains 1 ounce of the same size shot, and a standard 28-gauge load contains 3/4- to 7/8-ounce of the same size shot. Experts use .410-bore shotguns with about 1/2 ounce of small shot.

Dove breasts are delicious to eat. A favorite recipe is to remove the breast meat from the breast bone. Sandwich a jalapeno slice and a slab of cream cheese between two breast pieces, wrap them in bacon and pin them together with a toothpick. Grill them to your preferred doneness.

Early Teal

For many hunters, the early teal season, which runs Sept. 15-30, is the appetizer for the regular duck season. The weather is usually very hot. Teal marshes are rife with mosquitoes, and cottonmouths are hazardous to retrieving dogs.

Despite the unpleasantness, you can enjoy some superb wingshooting on primarily blue-winged teal which migrate through Arkansas earlier than other duck species. Teal wear their eclipse plumage in September, so they look drab. Identify them by the powder blue patches on the leading edges of their wings. They glow like neon, even in low light. It is not uncommon for an odd gadwall, wood duck, redhead or mallard hen to fly with a flock of teal, so it is of utmost importance to be certain of the species before shooting.

Unlike regular duck season, legal shooting hours for early teal is sunrise. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission smartphone app will tell you that time to the minute based on where you are. That's important because teal have a maddening habit of lighting among decoys 15-20 minutes before legal shooting time and leaving without provocation about 2 minutes before legal shooting time. Shooting early will net you a hefty fine.

To hunt early teal, Arkansas residents need a resident hunting license, state and federal duck stamps and HIP registration.

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