sunflower field for doves

Marshmallow · May 25, 2015

My wife's cousins plant a couple acre sunflower field here on the farm, but it gets quite crowded on opening day. So I took the half acre they gave me and planted my own rows. I planted the peredovik seed type. I'm a few weeks late, but I'm hoping it'll be fine.

Anyone else planted a sunflower field for doves? If so, when did you plant, and how was your success?

fabsroman · May 27, 2015

Marshmallow said:
My wife's cousins plant a couple acre sunflower field here on the farm, but it gets quite crowded on opening day. So I took the half acre they gave me and planted my own rows. I planted the peredovik seed type. I'm a few weeks late, but I'm hoping it'll be fine.

Anyone else planted a sunflower field for doves? If so, when did you plant, and how was your success?

You can hunt 100 yards away from their sunflower patch and still have a really good day. You just need to figure out which way the birds are coming from.

Are you guys planning on mowing any of it down a couple days before opening day? That is the real trick. Every time I have hunted over sunflowers, it has been a good day, even later in September after opening day, but portions of the field were always being cut down.

Good luck with the growing, but you should be alright even if they come in late.

mark71211 · May 27, 2015

Well if they ain't ready by the time the season starts can you just knock them down that just throw store bought sunflower seed everywhere?

fabsroman · May 27, 2015

mark71211 said:
Well if they ain't ready by the time the season starts can you just knock them down that just throw store bought sunflower seed everywhere?

Better make sure DNR isn't watching and that the sunflower seeds aren't salted. It's only a crime if you get caught, right?

44man · May 27, 2015

you have till about the fifteenth of june to get them in and have them ready. I usually use 1 bag from hydro Kirby and it will do about 2 acres, maybe a little more. when its time to hunt mow them with a bush hog and spread wheat seed on top of them and then lightly disc and use the wheat as a cover crop.

fabsroman · May 27, 2015

44man said:
you have till about the fifteenth of june to get them in and have them ready. I usually use 1 bag from hydro Kirby and it will do about 2 acres, maybe a little more. when its time to hunt mow them with a bush hog and spread wheat seed on top of them and then lightly disc and use the wheat as a cover crop.

As long as it is standard farming practice, I guess you are all good. That is really a good idea. Never even thought of it.

I wonder sometimes about mowing down the sunflowers and just letting them lay there, but seems to be acceptable to the wardens so who am I to wonder.

44man · May 27, 2015

fabsroman said:
As long as it is standard farming practice, I guess you are all good. That is really a good idea. Never even thought of it.

I wonder sometimes about mowing down the sunflowers and just letting them lay there, but seems to be acceptable to the wardens so who am I to wonder.

a few years back I was invited to a friends farm for opening day. we had grown 7 or 8 acres of sunflowers and mowed then down a few days before the season opened and spread wheat and disced them in a bit. something came up with my mom being sickly( before she passed) and I didn't make it for opening day. the dnr came by since there were so many guys shooting and you could see them from the big road and they looked around and ticketed everyone there for shooting over bait since some of the heads weren't completely covered. I guess I lucked out that day but I don't do anything that can be seen from the road anymore. I know it says standard farming practices in the books now but the dnr have no idea what that means. MANY farmers sow wheat as cover crops and cut stalks to cover them. that's legal but I am told the dnr will ticket you for shooting over it. I don't invite them down and run them off as quickly as I can if I do see them. they are only around for one reason, revenue generation.

fabsroman · May 27, 2015

44man said:
a few years back I was invited to a friends farm for opening day. we had grown 7 or 8 acres of sunflowers and mowed then down a few days before the season opened and spread wheat and disced them in a bit. something came up with my mom being sickly( before she passed) and I didn't make it for opening day. the dnr came by since there were so many guys shooting and you could see them from the big road and they looked around and ticketed everyone there for shooting over bait since some of the heads weren't completely covered. I guess I lucked out that day but I don't do anything that can be seen from the road anymore. I know it says standard farming practices in the books now but the dnr have no idea what that means. MANY farmers sow wheat as cover crops and cut stalks to cover them. that's legal but I am told the dnr will ticket you for shooting over it. I don't invite them down and run them off as quickly as I can if I do see them. they are only around for one reason, revenue generation.

I agree with you. Think I posted in here about how dang hard it is to keep up with all the DNR laws and how people should be able to bait migratory birds to get their limit, just like deer.

Thing is, you cannot run wardens off your property. They have the ability to come on your property and look at what is going on if they believe hunting is going on. They cannot enter your house. Not so sure about their ability to inspect a vehicle without being given permission. Just don't want you to think they have to obey an order from you to get off your property.

Fighting a citation for baiting is a little easier nowadays since the standard is a "reasonable man" standard versus strict liability, but I think you would still have to bring in some farming "experts" to testify as to what standard farming practices are.

Capt Frank · May 27, 2015

Farmer plants about 5 acres for our goose club. Cost about a grand or $100 each man. Some years are better than others. Does the type of sunflower seed make a difference? Last year was a bust for us. We do bush hog a couple rows before opening day and have been checked by DNR and “ no problem” so far.

44man · May 27, 2015

fabsroman said:
I agree with you. Think I posted in here about how dang hard it is to keep up with all the DNR laws and how people should be able to bait migratory birds to get their limit, just like deer.

Thing is, you cannot run wardens off your property. They have the ability to come on your property and look at what is going on if they believe hunting is going on. They cannot enter your house. Not so sure about their ability to inspect a vehicle without being given permission. Just don't want you to think they have to obey an order from you to get off your property.

Fighting a citation for baiting is a little easier nowadays since the standard is a "reasonable man" standard versus strict liability, but I think you would still have to bring in some farming "experts" to testify as to what standard farming practices are.

you have not met many southern mders have you? just kidding, kinda. you can ask them wtf they want, help them, or allow them to look for it and when they don't find it you tell them to git. unless they have cause they cant just stay there keeping you from doing what you need to be doing and they can not damage your fields or your property. shyte, I have an uncle who I have seen run off the dnr, the tax man, the state police and the sherriff, who is a buddy of his from school.

also when I was young I worked on a crab boat. on a commercial vessel they HAVE to ask permission to board. I have a long story about that but that's not what this thread is about.

44man · May 27, 2015

Capt Frank said:
Farmer plants about 5 acres for our goose club. Cost about a grand or $100 each man. Some years are better than others. Does the type of sunflower seed make a difference? Last year was a bust for us. We do bush hog a couple rows before opening day and have been checked by DNR and “ no problem” so far.

I know a lot of guys that just buy sunflower seed meant for bird food and that works hit or miss. I use black oil seed grade seed from a place that sells us our crop seeds. also before you plant you need something like 2-300 lbs of 17-17-17 fertilizer and I use a pre emergent herbicide after I plant to control the weeds.

and last year if they got them in late you probably didn't get enough rain for them to make.

Chris0nllyn · May 27, 2015

Didn't the baiting laws just change, or was that only for waterfowl?

fabsroman · May 27, 2015

Capt Frank said:
Farmer plants about 5 acres for our goose club. Cost about a grand or $100 each man. Some years are better than others. Does the type of sunflower seed make a difference? Last year was a bust for us. We do bush hog a couple rows before opening day and have been checked by DNR and “ no problem” so far.

Some years are better than others. I hunted over 200 acres of sunflowers back in 2002 and the birds just were not around. A storm front moved in the day before and pushed all of them out of the area. It took me over two hours to get my 12 bird limit back then.

A buddy in a hunt club hunts on about 100 acres of sunflowers and last year he said it was sad. Prior years there, I have gotten my limit in an hour and that was the weekend after opening day.

Hunting over sunflowers is way better than hunting over grass, unless you find a bunch of pine trees by a pond that they like to roost in and you show up there around 5:00.

fabsroman · May 27, 2015

Chris0nllyn said:
Didn't the baiting laws just change, or was that only for waterfowl?

The standard went from strict liability, which means you did not have to know there was bait on the premises to be guilty, to a reasonable man standard, which means that a reasonable man would need to know that there is bait on the premises for you to be guilty.

jtb81100 · May 27, 2015

44man said:
a few years back I was invited to a friends farm for opening day. we had grown 7 or 8 acres of sunflowers and mowed then down a few days before the season opened and spread wheat and disced them in a bit. something came up with my mom being sickly( before she passed) and I didn't make it for opening day. the dnr came by since there were so many guys shooting and you could see them from the big road and they looked around and ticketed everyone there for shooting over bait since some of the heads weren't completely covered. I guess I lucked out that day but I don't do anything that can be seen from the road anymore. I know it says standard farming practices in the books now but the dnr have no idea what that means. MANY farmers sow wheat as cover crops and cut stalks to cover them. that's legal but I am told the dnr will ticket you for shooting over it. I don't invite them down and run them off as quickly as I can if I do see them. they are only around for one reason, revenue generation.

The planting is what got them in trouble. Top sown seed must have completely germinated or completely covered with dirt. If you disc it in, there is still enough up top for DNR to find.

Marshmallow · May 29, 2015

Been watering it every evening, and it's coming up surprisingly well. I'm fighting weeds, but it should be ok. As for concerns about done after I disc - been hunting on the big field for years, and dnr has stopped by many times to check licenses and for plugs, but have never had anything to say about disced rows. Kinda hypocritical since they disc public dove grounds...

RLaw · Jun 1, 2015

sounds like it's a lot of fun Marshmallow. I've only hunted public land on opening day in the past. Kinda makes you wish you wore a helmet most of the time. You folks that have private land/leases sure make me jealous.

Marshmallow · Jun 2, 2015

RLaw said:
sounds like it's a lot of fun Marshmallow. I've only hunted public land on opening day in the past. Kinda makes you wish you wore a helmet most of the time. You folks that have private land/leases sure make me jealous.

I don't know why you're jealous. You get to hunt everywhere I do. Lol.

RLaw · Jun 4, 2015

Marshmallow said:
I don't know why you're jealous. You get to hunt everywhere I do. Lol.

eightshot627 · Jun 4, 2015

Sunflowers are good but if you want doves plant Proso Millet. It is the best dove draw I've seen.

Walt

sunflower field for doves

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