Overshooting your field will result in fewer birds and a loss of hunting clients.  Planning ahead can extend the dove hunting season and make the hunt more enjoyable for your clients.  Following are strategies to attract and hold birds onto your field:

• Allow only one hunter per acre of field, or one hunter per 100 yards of field edge. 
• Have no more than one or two hunts per week.  Adjust this number based on the response of doves to hunting pressure. 
• If a large number of doves are harvested, don’t hunt the field for at least a week. 
• Hunt either in the morning or early afternoon, not both.  Check hunting regulations for legal hunting times in your state. 
• Do not hunt in the late afternoon to give birds time to feed and roost before sundown.  It is considered poor sportsmanship and management to hunt before sunset.  Late afternoon hunts interrupt flight to roosting sites and forces doves to select less attractive sites, making them more vulnerable to predators.
• Place hunters along the outside edge of a field, allowing doves a safe haven in the center of the field. 
• Shoot adjacent fields at the same time to keep doves flying between the two fields.
• Once doves congregate in your fields, start hunts immediately as most doves will soon migrate elsewhere.
• Consider cooperating with nearby landowners and rotating hunts between fields.  
• Check state hunting regulations to make sure your strategy is in compliance before the hunt.