This is the million dollar question every year for me. I will break down each of the grain and seed varieties I have tried over the years. Some were successful and others failures. I cannot say that the failures were due to the seed or just a bad year. All in all you will see what my favorite planting is below.
Wheat
This is a tried and true planting that is cheap and easy. The only draw back is you are going to have to plant it in the fall to get a yield in the summer of the next year. Your herbicides are cheap and you don't really need a restricted use license for wheat. I had a couple of really decent hunts over wheat and would definitely recommend it to the novice hunter. The only real issue is weeds in your wheat field. Don't broadcast the wheat in the fall. Drill it with a no-till drill. You can rent them from CO-OP.
Grain Sorghum
I used it last year and had a pathetic hunt. I have read a tremendous amount of literature on the Internet that suggests sorghum is a great crop for doves. It could of been a lousy year for me or mother nature had the birds flying elsewhere.
Millet
I have used it in the past with mixed results. I feel that the stem makes the seed a little hard to find for the doves. Once I combine my millet the seeds seem to disappear. I have argued this case with my Dad who insists millet is the best seed for doves. It is your call. Millet is somewhat expensive and not my cup of tea.
Sunflowers
This is my seed of choice. I used it 2 years ago and had the best dove hunt ever. The pro's out weight he con's to me on sunflowers. The seed is expensive (i.e.$200) per bag. One bag gets you about 10 to 11 acres so all in all not too bad. The key hear is to get the right kind of seed. I know the Internet tells you to get the peredovik variety due to the small seeds. Don't do it! I repeat, don't do it! Get the CLEARFIELD variety. It is resistant to a certain herbicide called BEYOND. In lay mans terms it is like a Round Up Ready Sunflower. Just don't use Round Up on it. The plant is genetically breed to be resistant to the BEYOND herbicide while everything else in the field gets smoked. This is crucial in all dove fields and will be covered more in my herbicide section.
Sunflowers draw the birds like deer does corn. We had over 5 hunts on the same field with excellent results including limiting out 4 times. This is the dove magnet. If you have the money to afford the seed, chemicals, and fertilizer then your in business.
In conclusion you can see what I am sticking with in my dove field. I will probably rotate crops every year between corn and sunflowers to keep the weeds from getting resistant to the herbicide. Corn works well for doves. Especially late in the season when it gets cooler. Those Yankee doves migrating down love a corn field.
In the pic above notice the power lines and the dirt beneath the sunflowers.
Wheat
This is a tried and true planting that is cheap and easy. The only draw back is you are going to have to plant it in the fall to get a yield in the summer of the next year. Your herbicides are cheap and you don't really need a restricted use license for wheat. I had a couple of really decent hunts over wheat and would definitely recommend it to the novice hunter. The only real issue is weeds in your wheat field. Don't broadcast the wheat in the fall. Drill it with a no-till drill. You can rent them from CO-OP.
Grain Sorghum
I used it last year and had a pathetic hunt. I have read a tremendous amount of literature on the Internet that suggests sorghum is a great crop for doves. It could of been a lousy year for me or mother nature had the birds flying elsewhere.
Millet
I have used it in the past with mixed results. I feel that the stem makes the seed a little hard to find for the doves. Once I combine my millet the seeds seem to disappear. I have argued this case with my Dad who insists millet is the best seed for doves. It is your call. Millet is somewhat expensive and not my cup of tea.
Sunflowers
This is my seed of choice. I used it 2 years ago and had the best dove hunt ever. The pro's out weight he con's to me on sunflowers. The seed is expensive (i.e.$200) per bag. One bag gets you about 10 to 11 acres so all in all not too bad. The key hear is to get the right kind of seed. I know the Internet tells you to get the peredovik variety due to the small seeds. Don't do it! I repeat, don't do it! Get the CLEARFIELD variety. It is resistant to a certain herbicide called BEYOND. In lay mans terms it is like a Round Up Ready Sunflower. Just don't use Round Up on it. The plant is genetically breed to be resistant to the BEYOND herbicide while everything else in the field gets smoked. This is crucial in all dove fields and will be covered more in my herbicide section.
Sunflowers draw the birds like deer does corn. We had over 5 hunts on the same field with excellent results including limiting out 4 times. This is the dove magnet. If you have the money to afford the seed, chemicals, and fertilizer then your in business.
In conclusion you can see what I am sticking with in my dove field. I will probably rotate crops every year between corn and sunflowers to keep the weeds from getting resistant to the herbicide. Corn works well for doves. Especially late in the season when it gets cooler. Those Yankee doves migrating down love a corn field.
Where do you buy your sunflower seeds from? Do you buy them from a seed company rep like Pioneer?
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