North Carolina dove heaven

These public fields draw flocks

Sandhills GL

This game land is huge (61,225 acres), spreading across four counties in the south-central piedmont, and has more dove fields (20) than any public land in North Carolina.

Sandhills draws hunters from Charlotte to Winston-Salem to Fayetteville and is open on Mondays, Wednesdays, Saturdays and holidays.

The quail-dog field-trial area is closed to dove hunting from the third Sunday in September to the end of the hunting season.

Bailey-Caswell GL

The Wayne Bailey-Caswell GL, a three-days-per-week area, is perfectly situated in the Northern Piedmont and draws hunters from Winston-Salem to Raleigh. It has eight large fields planted in buckwheat, corn, millet and sunflower seeds.

Butner-Falls

With seven dove fields northeast of Durham cover 210 acres, Butner-Falls of Neuse draws hunters from the Bull City to Raleigh to Hillsborough, Roxboro and Oxford/Henderson.

“The depot (field) at Brickhouse Road (88 acres) gets pounded hard early,” biologist Baranski said. “Pretty soon the doves leave. It’s a shame because other good fields exist.”

Remember to check the 2018-19 Regulations Digest  or go online at www.ncwildlife.org to see if the game land you want to hunt is a three-days-per-week or six-days-per-week area.

About Craig Holt 1382 Articles
Craig Holt of Snow Camp has been an outdoor writer for almost 40 years, working for several newspapers, then serving as managing editor for North Carolina Sportsman and South Carolina Sportsman before becoming a full-time free-lancer in 2009.

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply