The first of September in Texas sounds a lot like the fourth of July with the steady pop of shotgun reports as upwards of a quarter million dove hunters take to the fields across the state for the tradition-rich opening day of the season. This season, Texas hunters will see the longest dove season in 80 years; and luckily, will see an increased dove population, too. A new 90-day season this fall means hunters will have 20 more days of opportunity compared with previous years. T

PWD is integrating those additional days early in the season to take advantage of birds migrating into the state, as well as at the end of the season in the Special White-winged Dove Area to offer more wing-shooting opportunities. Dove hunting is a big deal in Texas, not just in the number of participants, but for the contributions to local economies in rural areas of the state. According to figures compiled by Southwick and Associates, a market research, statistics and economics firm, direct expenditures and taxes from dove hunting contributes over $400 million to the Texas economy.