Welcome back. This is the last briefing before the birds fly. Dove opens Tuesday, September 1, just two days out, so this week we point everything at the opener: a bacon-wrapped popper that turns a pile of breasts into the best reason to host the tailgate, the value dove vest that keeps your shells up front and your birds cooling in back, and the paperwork you cannot walk into the field without. A-zone rifle rolls into week four, the bow zones are down to their last weekend, and we have a plate of poppers in the Showcase, a young pointer already holding steady, and a father-son dove hunt that ended with something none of us will ever pull off twice. Let's get into it.

Tuesday, September 1: dove opener, two days out. The first split runs September 1 to 15. The daily limit is 15 mourning and white-winged doves combined (no more than 10 white-winged), with the possession limit triple that. There is no limit on Eurasian collared-doves. Shoot time is one half hour before sunrise to sunset.

Do the paperwork today, not at 5 a.m. Tuesday. You need your HIP validation (free) and your Upland Game Bird Validation on your license before opening morning. HIP is the single most-missed step on opener day, so knock it out this weekend.

Know the migratory bird rules. Doves are federally regulated migratory birds, so your shotgun has to be plugged to three total shells. On top of that: written landowner permission before you hunt private ground, and no shooting within 150 yards of an occupied dwelling.

A-zone general is in week four. The rifle season runs August 8 to September 20, one buck per tag, one of the longest general seasons in the state. Hunt water, feed, and shade at first and last light, and confirm your exact subzone lines and legal-buck rules in the 2026 Big Game Digest before you climb an unfamiliar ridge.

Last call for B-zone archery. B1, B2, B3, B5, and B6 archery closes September 6, so next weekend is your last for bow season in those zones. B-4 general is in week two (August 22 to September 27), and the rest of the B zones do not open general until September 19.

Archery bear runs through September 6. It is open across the entire bear hunt area on the same first and last light you are already hunting for deer. General bear is already in for A-zone. Non-lead, no bait, no dogs, with tag validation, premolar submission, and reporting all mandatory.

Non-lead, every hunt, no exceptions. Certified non-lead ammunition is required for all firearm hunting anywhere in California, doves included. The useful loads thin out on the shelf the closer we get to Tuesday, so buy your dove shells now while you can still pick your load.

Everybody argues about how to cook a dove. This is the recipe that ends the argument. It is the classic tailgate popper, and it is the reason half the people at the field edge are not really there for the shooting. Breast your birds out (two clean fillets off the breastbone per dove, no plucking required), and you are most of the way there.

You will need:

The method:

Doneness and safety note: dove breast is dark, lean meat that eats best hot and fast with a warm pink center, the same principle behind that backstrap in Issue #8. Cook it past that and it turns dry and livery, which is where doves get their bad reputation. If you would rather cook birds to a fully done, no-pink center, drop the poppers into a covered braise instead and let them go low and slow. Two housekeeping rules that matter more in September heat than any recipe: wear a pair of nitrile gloves when you clean birds and wash up after, and get your doves onto ice in the field, not on a hot tailgate, the same cool-fast rule we hammered back in Issue #7.

MidwayUSA Men's Dove Vest

On the opener you stand a field edge for hours in the heat, and a good vest earns its keep three ways: shells within reach, a spot for your license, water, and phone, and a mesh game bag that keeps your birds off your sweaty back. The mesh is the point. It breathes while you shoot and drains and airs your birds while you walk, which buys you time before they hit the cooler.

The value benchmark is the MidwayUSA Dove Vest: a prewashed cotton-poly twill body with mesh front, sides, and back, external shell loops that hold their shape, roomy cargo pockets, and a large blood-proof game bag. It runs around $30 to $40, so check current pricing and stock.

Floor option: a simple dove belt or shell pouch with a mesh game bag, around $20 to $30. Step up: an ALPS OutdoorZ Upland Game X 2.0 or a Beretta upland vest, which rides the load on your hips for three to four times the money. Whatever you pick, go blaze orange, not khaki, on a crowded field, and pair it with your game bags (Issue #3) for the walk from truck to cooler.

Check out our running list of gear recommendations at norcalhunt.com/gearecs

This week's feature: a plate of dove poppers, right on theme. Weston W. of Durham sent in a photo of bacon-wrapped, jalapeno-stuffed dove breasts fresh off the grill, and here is the kicker: this was a clear-the-freezer cook, last season's birds getting used up right before this year's opener. That is exactly how it should go. Empty the freezer, make room for Tuesday, and eat like a king doing it. It is also the best possible preview of today's Field to Table, so go build a batch of your own.

The Showcase is exclusive to subscribers, so the people on this list are the only ones who see it first. Grip-and-grins, a limit strap in the dove field, the dog mid-retrieve, a kid's first bird, a velvet giant on your summer cameras. If it is from your season, we want it.

To get in: hit reply with your photo or clip and a sentence about it, and tell us how you want to be credited. The best one each week runs up top, and at the end of every month subscribers vote for a Showcase winner. Every pick earns a permanent spot on our subscribers-only Showcase page at norcalhunt.com/showcase. Send us one to keep it rolling.

Meet "Bella" Owner: Allen C., Forest Ranch

Bella is a two-year-old with the instincts already dialed in. In this week's photo she is locked up tight on a pheasant at Clear Creek Sports Club, tail high and nose full, holding steady the way an old pro would. Two years in and she is doing exactly what she was born to do, and if this is the young dog, the seasons ahead are going to be a lot of fun to watch.

Want your dog featured? Hit reply, send us a clean photo of your hunting partner, and give us a quick 2 to 3 sentence blurb on what they hunt and where they earn their kibble. Pointers, flushers, retrievers, and the occasional very good mutt all qualify.

Missed a week? Catch up on every dog we have featured on our past Dogs of the Week page at norcalhunt.com/dogoftheweek.

This briefing gets sharper when we hear from you. Drop us a quick reply and tell us:

Last week's poll is in. We asked how you get the meat out when a buck falls a long way from the truck, and the winner was quarter it and carry it by hand. The frame pack ran a strong second, but most of you would rather bone him out and make the trips than strap a whole animal to your back. That tracks with the crowd we have here: hunters who go where the trucks cannot and do the work by hand.

This week's poll ties right to today's Field to Table. When you get your doves home, how do you cook them?

Got a hunting partner who lives in the foothills, the rice, or along the riverbanks? Forward this briefing and point them to norcalhunt.com. Word of mouth from real hunters is how we grow.

With dove two days out, somebody within a short drive of you has non-lead shells on the shelf, a bag of ice for the cooler, or a shop that treats hunters right. We keep a running list of NorCal businesses that take care of hunters, all in one place. Check out our local services page on norcalhunt.com/services, and if you run a business that belongs on it, hit reply and let us know.

Good news on the fire map heading into the opener: the two incidents we have been tracking in our country are winding down. The Bug Fire on the Lassen and Sierra county line sits around 93,700 acres and roughly 97 percent contained, deep into mop-up, and the MP18 Fire near Hoopa in Humboldt County is around 7,600 acres and about three-quarters contained, with evacuations rolled back to warnings. Do not read that as all-clear, though. The nation is still at Preparedness Level 5, the highest there is, which means firefighting crews and aircraft are stretched thin and a new start today will not draw the same fast response it would have in June. CAL FIRE's Northern California outlook calls for warmer-than-normal inland temperatures and occasional thunderstorms into September, and that thunder is the real risk: dry lightning on cured grass is how the next big one begins. Before you load the truck:

Confirm restrictions for your unit. Closures and burn bans change fast and vary by district. Check fire.ca.gov and with your local forest before you go.

Watch the sky, not just the ground. If you hear thunder or see build-ups, rethink a long push into dry timber. Lightning is the ignition you cannot control.

Do not be the ignition. No sparks near dry grass, and mind your exhaust and your drag chains. At PL5, one careless moment costs more than it ever has.

Beat the heat, on birds and bucks alike. Hunt first and last light, carry more water than you think you need, and get doves on ice and any downed deer cooled fast before the meat sours.

Stay safe out there, get your gear cleaned, and we'll see you in the field.

The NorCal Hunt Team

#013

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