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White-winged dove hunting in Missouri

White-winged Dove in Missouri: every 2026-27 season row with its source.

Calendar Every species

Sep 1Season opens

migratory birdKind

See limitsLimit

199Public areas

Photo: ImagePerson (CC BY 4.0)

The white-winged dove calendar for 2026-27 covers Sep 1 to Nov 29, 2026; permits, limits, legal light and land come after the dates.

Sep 1Starts

Nov 29Ends

1Season lines

199Public places

migratory birdType

White-winged Dove: the short version

Limits: In the 15-dove limit.
Season shape: As mourning dove.

MDC source (as of Jun 17, 2026), checked October 29, 2026.

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White-winged Dove dates, 2026-27

Each white-winged dove row with its area, limit and length in days.

Season	Covers	Bag	Opening	Closing	Span	Today
Dove season	Statewide	15 daily, 45 possession	Sep 1, 2026	Nov 29, 2026	90

Notes on the white-winged dove rows

Shotguns 10 ga or smaller, 3 shells; dogs
Mourning, white-winged and Eurasian collared-doves combined. Nontoxic shot on 26 dove areas.

From Migratory Bird and Waterfowl Digest p. 8, checked October 29, 2026.

Public dove fields for white-winged doves

MDC plants dove fields on 60 public areas for 2026; the largest by field acres are below.

Area	County	Fields	Field acres	Crops
Bois D'Arc Conservation Area	Greene County	28	179.7	Other, Sunflower
Bilby Ranch Lake CA	Nodaway County	16	156.2	Other, Sunflower
Columbia Bottom Conservation Area	St. Louis County	25	133.7	Other, Sunflower
Truman Reservoir lands (Upper Tebo Creek)	Henry County	13	124.7	Other
Robert E. Talbot CA	Lawrence County	10	97.1	Other, Sunflower
Ten Mile Pond CA	Mississippi County	3	96.1	Sunflower
James A. Reed memorial area	Jackson County	11	94.2	Other, Sunflower
Bob Brown Conservation Area	Holt County	6	93.1	Other, Sunflower
Nodaway Valley Conservation Area	Andrew County, Holt County	4	92.2	Other, Sunflower
August A. Busch Memorial CA	St. Charles County	7	87.3	Other
Grand Pass Conservation Area	Saline County	6	83.4	Sunflower
H. F. Thurnau CA	Holt County	2	80.6	Other, sunflower
Shawnee Trail Conservation Area	Barton County	8	79.0	Sunflower
Weldon Spring Conservation Area	St. Charles County	5	71.4	Sunflower
Bunch Hollow Conservation Area	Carroll County	10	56.4	Other, Sunflower
Whetstone Creek Conservation Area	Callaway County	3	50.9	Other, Sunflower
Marais Temps Clair CA	St. Charles County	17	48.7	Other, Sunflower
Settle's Ford Conservation Area	Bates County, Cass County	9	47.2	Other, Sunflower
Plowboy Bend Conservation Area	Moniteau County	3	46.7	Sunflower
Schell-Osage Conservation Area	St. Clair County, Vernon County	4	44.5	Other

The 26 nontoxic dove areas

Bilby Ranch Lake, Blue Spring Branch, Bois D'Arc, Busch (August A.) Memorial, Capps Creek, Crowley's Ridge, Davisdale, Fort Crowder, Harmony Mission Lake, Lamine River, Logan (William R.), Maintz Wildlife Preserve, Pacific Palisades, Park (Guy B.), Peabody, Pony Express Lake, Reed (James A.) Memorial Wildlife Area, Reform, Shawnee Trail, Sloan (Dr. O.E. and Eloise), Stockton Lake Management Lands, Talbot (Robert E.), Truman Reservoir Management Lands (Bethlehem), Weldon Spring, Whetstone Creek and White (William G. and Erma Parke).

Dove areas

nontoxic shot list, MDC area pages, checked October 29, 2026.

Bag limits and permit costs for white-winged doves

A $5 Share the Harvest donation can be added when buying white-winged dove permits.

Group	Limit
Doves	15 daily, 45 possession (mourning, white-winged, Eurasian collared combined).

Permit list for white-winged doves

Permit	Residency	Who	Price	Valid
Migratory Bird	resident	Age 16+	$8	To June 30, 2027
Migratory Bird	nonresident	Age 16+	$60	To June 30, 2027
Small Game	resident	Age 16-64	$11.50	Permit year
Daily Small Game	nonresident	All	$16	1 day
Small Game	nonresident	Age 16+	$108.50	Permit year
Small Game and Fishing	resident	All	$22.50	Permit year

Permit price list

From Hunting and Trapping Summary p. 8, Hunting and Trapping Summary p. 9, Migratory Bird and Waterfowl Digest p. 6 and Migratory Bird and Waterfowl Digest p. 8, checked October 29, 2026.

Public areas that list white-winged doves

White-winged doves can be hunted on 199 public places that list mourning dove; each area page has its own method limits.

Area	County	Acres	Type
Mark Twain National Forest	Oregon County	1,510,740	National Forest
Rocky Creek Conservation Area	Shannon County	42,184	Conservation Area
Stockton Lake Management Lands	Cedar County	16,572	Corps lake lands
Gist Ranch Conservation Area	Texas County	11,266	Conservation Area
Castor River Conservation Area	Bollinger County	9,990	Conservation Area
Schell-Osage Conservation Area	St. Clair County	8,635	Conservation Area
Weldon Spring Conservation Area	St. Charles County	8,398	Conservation Area
Deer Ridge Conservation Area	Lewis County	7,185	Conservation Area
Woodson K. Woods Memorial CA	Crawford County	5,738	Conservation Area
Grand Pass Conservation Area	Saline County	5,301	Conservation Area
Norfork Lake Management Lands	Ozark County	4,861	Corps lake lands
Otter Slough Conservation Area	Butler County	4,859	Conservation Area
Truman Reservoir lands (Cross Timbers)	Hickory County	4,815	Corps lake lands
Truman Reservoir lands (Salt Creek)	St. Clair County	4,152	Corps lake lands

Kind of land	Areas
Conservation Area	165
Corps lake lands	14
Public Access Area	10
Ranger district	6
Natural Area	2
Cooperative Area	1
National Forest	1

MDC region	Areas
Kansas City	37
Southeast	34
Ozark	34
Northwest	30
Central	19
Southwest	18
Northeast	16
St. Louis	11

Public land hub Conservation areas Area rule lookup

Area lists from MDC area pages and the MDC places directory; methods from the MDC atlas; checked October 29, 2026.

Before you hunt white-winged doves

Hours: For white-winged doves, legal time is sunrise minus 30 minutes to sunset in every zone and split.
Visibility: White-winged doves hunters need no orange even when a firearms deer portion is open.
Feed and bait: Doves may be hunted over normal agricultural work on the land where the crop grew; waterfowl may not be hunted over manipulated crops.
Reporting: HIP registration comes with the migratory bird permit; leave a head or a feathered wing on each bird you carry home.

Methods for white-winged dove hunting

Methods	Rule
Legal	Shotguns 10 ga or smaller plugged to 3 shells; nontoxic shot for waterfowl and coots; electronically switched mechanical calls for waterfowl.
Not legal	Rifles, pistols, recorded/amplified calls (except crows and the light goose order), sink boxes, live decoys, bait, motor vehicles/aircraft.

Nontoxic shot: Required for waterfowl and coots statewide; for doves on 26 areas and all shotgun hunting on 46 MDC areas.

shooting hours, hunter orange, methods, checked October 29, 2026.

White-winged Dove: first and last legal minutes

MDC prints one sun table for Jefferson City; the white-winged dove times here are adjusted by longitude for six counties.

Date	County	Opens	Closes
Sep 1, 2026	Jackson County	6:17 a.m.	7:48 p.m.
Sep 1, 2026	St. Louis County	6:01 a.m.	7:32 p.m.
Sep 1, 2026	Greene County	6:13 a.m.	7:44 p.m.
Sep 1, 2026	Boone County	6:09 a.m.	7:40 p.m.
Sep 1, 2026	Cape Girardeau County	5:58 a.m.	7:29 p.m.
Sep 1, 2026	Nodaway County	6:19 a.m.	7:50 p.m.
Nov 29, 2026	Jackson County	6:45 a.m.	4:57 p.m.
Nov 29, 2026	St. Louis County	6:29 a.m.	4:41 p.m.
Nov 29, 2026	Greene County	6:41 a.m.	4:53 p.m.
Nov 29, 2026	Boone County	6:37 a.m.	4:49 p.m.
Nov 29, 2026	Cape Girardeau County	6:26 a.m.	4:38 p.m.
Nov 29, 2026	Nodaway County	6:47 a.m.	4:59 p.m.

MDC sunrise and sunset table with the MDC longitude rule; checked October 29, 2026. Legal hours for every county.

Mourning dove resting on a weathered branchPhoto: Renee Grayson (CC BY 2.0)

Mourning dove perched on a wire against a blue skyPhoto: Terry Ross (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Tall trees glowing gold and orange in Missouri fall woodsPhoto: J L (CC BY-SA 2.0)

White-winged Dove hunting FAQ

What are the white-winged dove limits?

15 daily, 45 possession (mourning, white-winged, Eurasian collared combined).

Which permit do white-winged dove hunters buy?

For white-winged doves, the resident Migratory Bird permit costs $8 (Age 16+). A nonresident hunting white-winged doves pays $60 for the Migratory Bird permit. Prices for white-winged dove permits match the Wildlife Code fee schedule.

What can I hunt white-winged doves with?

Shotguns 10 ga or smaller plugged to 3 shells; nontoxic shot for waterfowl and coots; electronically switched mechanical calls for waterfowl. Not legal: Rifles, pistols, recorded/amplified calls (except crows and the light goose order), sink boxes, live decoys, bait, motor vehicles/aircraft.

What time can I start hunting white-winged doves?

For white-winged doves, legal time is sunrise minus 30 minutes to sunset in every zone and split.

Is hunter orange required for white-winged doves?

White-winged doves hunters need no orange even when a firearms deer portion is open.

Is there public land for white-winged doves?

199 public areas in this guide list white-winged doves or the hunting group that covers them; the largest include Mark Twain National Forest, Doniphan / Eleven Point district (Mark Twain National Forest) and Ava/Cassville/Willow Springs district (Mark Twain National Forest). Read each area page before a white-winged dove hunt, since methods vary.

Does Missouri require a white-winged dove check?

HIP registration comes with the migratory bird permit; leave a head or a feathered wing on each bird you carry home.

Can I hunt white-winged doves on Sunday in Missouri?

Yes. Missouri has no Sunday rule, and white-winged dove seasons run seven days a week.

Which dove areas require nontoxic shot?

Nontoxic shot is required for doves on 26 MDC areas, including Bilby Ranch Lake, Blue Spring Branch, Bois D'Arc, Busch (August A.) Memorial and Capps Creek, and for all shotgun hunting on 46 areas.

What dates apply to white-winged doves this season?

Dove season Sep 1 to Nov 29, 2026.