Dove season peaks when footballs fly

The dove season begins Monday. Since that's a holiday, you can expect a lot more hunters in the field than you have seen the past couple of years. While that will make some areas crowded, the additional people also can help to keep the birds flying and improve success for those who can shoot.

The rest of us probably should just bring more shells.

If you want to have an area all to yourself, find an out-of-the-way water source, a food source and a flyway between the two.

I included that advice in a past prehunt column, and a reader told me it was just the same old boring advice. I can't do anything about that. It's just the way it is. You always have the option of hunting where food and water aren't present. You won't need many shells but might want a couple of your favorite outdoor magazines to read while you are waiting for something to fly by.

Though a few hunters actively pursue doves throughout the monthlong season, most of us hunt on opening day and perhaps opening weekend, then take the rest of the season off. That, however, can be a mistake.

Last year I spoke with two hunters who found the best hunting in the middle of September after the rest of us had our feet up in front of the TV watching football. Not only did they get in plenty of shooting, but they had the Overton Wildlife Management Area to themselves.

Keep in mind that mourning doves are migratory birds. Though we have doves that make the Las Vegas Valley their year-round home, the birds we hunt outside of town generally are birds that fly in from the north. They tend to move south in waves in reaction to weather changes. Those changes can be something as subtle as a slight temperature change or as obvious as a large storm.

If the thunderstorms predicted for this weekend materialize, you can expect slow hunting on Monday, but more birds and better hunting are sure to follow.

• SHOOTING PARK DISSENT -- When the evening news came on earlier this week, I could have sworn it was a rerun because there on the screen was a group of Carmel Canyon homeowners complaining about the Clark County Shooting Park. Only it wasn't a rerun, and this time they had a hired gun and were trying to make a point by delivering sound bites at the federal courthouse.

With the aid of Las Vegas attorney Matthew Callister, who characterized the park as "a little more like Disneyland with guns," a handful of Carmel Canyon residents have filed a request for an injunction to halt construction on the shooting park. Their ultimate goal is to derail the project completely.

They seem fixated on the 2,900 acre size of the shooting facility but fail to acknowledge the shooting ranges will cover fewer than 200 acres, or less than 7 percent of the total land mass. That will leave about 2,700 acres to serve as a buffer zone between the shooting ranges and other development.

Despite homeowner claims to the contrary, the distance from the nearest shooting line to the closest property line in Carmel Canyon is a mile. Directly behind the development is the future site of the Spring Mountain Parkway, a multilane freeway that will follow the shooting park's southern boundary and lie between the park and Carmel Canyon. Gee, I wonder which project will have the most impact.

In the meantime, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently awarded the shooting park a certificate of recognition for its comprehensive Environmental Stewardship Plan. This plan addresses the management of such things as lead from spent shells. Also, Clark County has retained an archaeologist to oversee any issues involving prehistoric bones. The county also has completed an environmental assessment.

• WATERFOWL HUNTERS PARTY -- The Las Vegas Chapter of Ducks Unlimited is hosting a preseason party for waterfowl hunters. Doors will open at 5 p.m. Sept. 5 at Big Dogs, 6390 W. Sahara Blvd.

Tickets are $40 and must be purchased in advance. For tickets, call Todd at 289-7782 or go online at www.ducks.org/whp.

Doug Nielsen is an award-winning freelance writer and a conservation educator for the Nevada Department of Wildlife. He can be reached at doug@takinitoutside.com.