Georgia · Dove · 2026–27 Edition
Georgia Dove Season 2026–27: Dates, Bag Limits & Shooting Hours
01 — Seasons
| Season | Zones | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Mourning Doves · Segment 1 | Statewide | Sep 5 – Oct 11 |
| Mourning Doves · Segment 2 | Statewide | Nov 21 – Nov 29 |
| Mourning Doves · Segment 3 | Statewide | Dec 19 – Jan 31 |
02 — Bag limits
| Daily | 15 per day |
|---|---|
| Possession | 45 (3× daily limit — per WRD *Possession limits are 3 times the daily bag limit) |
03 — Shooting hours
Legal light on opening day (September 5, 2026) 06:40 — 19:51
Rule: Half an hour before sunrise to sunset — confirmed directly against Georgia DNR's own 'Summary of Federal Regulations for Migratory Game Birds' page, which states the rule for all migratory species in exactly those words. Sunrise/sunset shift daily — the times above are computed for opening day; use your local Georgia sun times for any other date.
04 — License & HIP
Dove hunters in Georgia need a Georgia hunting license and — because doves are migratory game birds — HIP registration (Harvest Information Program). No federal Duck Stamp is required for doves.
Georgia hunting license cost →
Where to hunt public land in Georgia — WMAs by county & access rules →
05 — FAQ
When does dove season open in Georgia?
The 2026–27 opener is September 5, 2026. Most states open Sep 1 under the federal migratory bird framework.
When does dove season end in Georgia?
The latest 2026–27 closing date is January 31, 2027. Split segments and late seasons vary — see the table above.
Do I need a Duck Stamp to hunt doves?
No. Doves are migratory game birds but the federal Duck Stamp is only required for waterfowl (ducks, geese, brant, swans). Dove hunters need only their state hunting license and HIP registration.
How many doves can you shoot in Georgia per day?
2026–27 bag limits: Daily — 15 per day. Possession — 45 (3× daily limit — per WRD *Possession limits are 3 times the daily bag limit). Limits are set per zone and per permit — check the agency's own regulations before you hunt.
What time can you start shooting doves in Georgia?
On opening day (September 5, 2026) legal light runs 06:40 to 19:51. The rule is: Half an hour before sunrise to sunset — confirmed directly against Georgia DNR's own 'Summary of Federal Regulations for Migratory Game Birds' page, which states the rule for all migratory species in exactly those words. Sunrise and sunset shift daily, so work the offset against your local Georgia sun times for any other date.
Can I hunt doves on my own land in Georgia without a license?
Georgia residents 16 and older don't need a license on land they or their immediate family own — tenants aren't covered. Deer and turkey still need a free Harvest Record, and waterfowl needs a free state license plus the federal Duck Stamp.
Verified · Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Division · Last verified 2026-08-27
Publisher's note. Re-verified 2026-08-27, and Georgia is the hardest state in this project to verify - the details below are recorded so the next reader does not burn the same hours. The URL in this file is the Publuu flipbook WRD published as its Migratory Bird Seasons Flyer. Its page metadata still reads 'Mirgatory Bird Seasons Flyer - A quick reference guide for migratory bird seasons in Georgia for 2026-2027' (the typo is Georgia s), but the document itself now returns Product Unavailable and password protected. It was readable once, when this file was first built by reading the page image; it is not readable now. Separately, georgiawildlife.com and gadnr.org answer 403 to this project s IP range - a WAF block, not a dead site, since the domain opens normally over a VPN. So neither the agency site nor its own flyer could be read directly on this date. What confirmed the data instead: Georgia Outdoor News' dated 2026-2027 GA Hunting Seasons Quick Guide (gon.com, published 2026-08-04), the fallback this project already uses for Georgia turkey, duck and rabbit. Its entry reads 'Dove Statewide - Sept. 5 - Oct. 11; Nov. 21-29; Dec. 19 - Jan. 31' - all three segments match this file exactly, and the word Statewide independently backs the no-zone modelling, which several third-party guides get wrong by inventing Georgia dove zones. Two cautions. GON is a Georgia hunting publication, not the agency - it is a dated secondary source, good enough to confirm dates already on file but not to originate a limit. And generic web searches for Georgia seasons repeatedly return 2025-26 data presented as current, so always check a source s own date stamp for this state. The 15/45 bag limits here were not re-confirmed on this date; they stand from the earlier flipbook read. RE-CHECKED 2026-09-01, result unchanged: the Publuu flipbook still answers HTTP 200 but still shows 'Product Unavailable' and 'password protected' — the document metadata still calls it 'Mirgatory Bird Seasons Flyer'. georgiawildlife.com still returns 403 to this IP range, /regulations included. A replacement URL therefore cannot be verified from here, and a guessed one would be worse than the documented dead one. This needs someone on a US IP or VPN, or a URL supplied by the owner. The season dates themselves are confirmed through GON's dated quick guide and are unaffected.