On the Calendar in California: November
Pheasant, dove's second season and fall turkey all open Saturday, Nov. 14. Around it: a CDFW pheasant-draw deadline for juniors, families and new hunters, a stamp-art contest, and a month of bird-dog trials.
What Changes in a Sacramento Valley Dove Field After Opening Weekend
The field you scouted in August is not the field that exists on Sept. 8. Four things move in the first week of the season — pressure, water, cut dates, and the birds themselves — and the hunters still shooting on the 14th are the ones who tracked them.
Dove Tacos: A 30-Minute Recipe for Opener Night
The recipe I cook on opener night: seared mourning dove medallions, charred tortillas, cabbage, lime, and a salsa you can make on a tailgate. Thirty minutes, one pan, honest quantities — eight to twelve doves feeds two hunters four tacos apiece.
Last-Minute Opener Checklist
Nine days to the California dove opener. The checklist we run before every September 1 — paperwork, shells, pattern, field and backup, water and ice, the dog's heat plan, and the ten-minute regs check that saves the morning.
Where to Camp Opener Weekend: Sac Valley CDFW Areas
Most Sacramento Valley CDFW wildlife areas are day-use ground — so where does an opener-weekend hunter actually sleep? The logistics pattern: the day-use default, the shooting-time math from a campsite 30 minutes out, gates and check-ins, ice resupply, and the river, forest, and commercial options nearby.
Opener Morning Loadout: Vest, Shells, Water, Dog
What actually goes in the truck and the vest for September 1: a case of nonlead, the water math for a 95-degree morning, shade and a seat, hearing protection, ice for the birds, the person who knows where you are — and a pre-dawn checklist you can forward to the friend who always forgets HIP.
California Dove Regulations 2026-27: HIP, Limits, Lead-Free Zones
The 2026-27 California dove regulations are final: September 1 opener, 15-bird aggregate limit, HIP validation, nonlead statewide. The pre-opener check to run against the CDFW booklet before you load the truck.
Dog Conditioning for Early-September Heat
Sept. 1 is a heat event for a dog. A dogless editor reports what Peter's 2.5-week conditioning ramp with Alan actually looks like — first-light windows, water, pads, the scale — and the go/no-go morning call that outranks all of it.
Nonlead Shot for Dove: What Works at 25 Yards
A 25-yard crossing dove is the shot of the California opener. What the pattern board and the published data say about steel 6s and 7s, bismuth 7s and 8s, IC versus modified, and the price of a 15-bird volume day.
Patterning Nonlead Shot before the 2026 California Dove and Quail Openers: A July and August Range Session Plan
A July range-session plan for patterning nonlead shotshells before the 2026 California dove opener — steel, bismuth, and choke selection for mourning dove.
Scouting Summer Dove Fields in California: Reading Sunflower, Safflower, and Grain Edges Before the September Opener
A summer guide to scouting California dove fields: how sunflower, safflower, and grain stubble pull mourning doves, plus the water and roost lines to map now.
Sacramento Valley Dove Field Prep: A Pre-Opener May Drive-By Method
Sacramento Valley dove field prep starts in May — what to look for in sunflower and sorghum plots four months before the September 1 opener.
The 20-Pound Rodent Tearing Up California's Best Mixed-Bag Habitat
Nutria are back in California's Central Valley wetlands — and pheasants, snipe, and doves are losing ground.