Kansas · Dove · 2026 Edition
Kansas Dove Season 2026: Dates, Bag Limits & Shooting Hours
01 — Seasons
| Season | Zones | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Mourning & Whitewing Dove | Statewide | Sep 1 – Nov 29 |
| Exotic Dove (Eurasian collared / ringed turtledove) | Statewide | Jan 1 – Dec 31 |
02 — Bag limits
| Mourning & Whitewing | Not confirmed. KDWP publishes no bag limits on any of its websites: every relevant page - When to Hunt, the species pages, Hunting Regulations and Migratory Birds - defers to the printed Kansas Hunting and Furharvesting Regulations Summary. Checked again 2026-08-27; the old kdwpt.ks.gov regulation URLs (including 115-25-19, which by its title carries dove season, shooting hours and bag and possession limits) now 404 on the new domain, and the current Summary is not reachable as a PDF from here. Read the printed Summary to close this. Kansas sits in the Central Management Unit, whose federal framework is 15 daily, but no Kansas figure was read from a primary source |
|---|---|
| Exotic Dove | No daily limit (year-round season) |
03 — Shooting hours
Legal light on opening day (September 1, 2026) 06:32 — 20:01
Rule: One-half hour before sunrise to sunset (per KDWP migratory-bird shooting hours). Sunrise/sunset shift daily — the times above are computed for opening day; use your local Kansas sun times for any other date.
04 — License & HIP
Dove hunters in Kansas need a Kansas hunting license and — because doves are migratory game birds — HIP registration (Harvest Information Program). No federal Duck Stamp is required for doves.
Where to hunt public land in Kansas — WMAs by county & access rules →
05 — FAQ
When does dove season open in Kansas?
The 2026 opener is September 1, 2026. Most states open Sep 1 under the federal migratory bird framework.
When does dove season end in Kansas?
The latest 2026 closing date is November 29, 2026. 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 Kansas per day?
2026 bag limits: Mourning & Whitewing — Not confirmed. KDWP publishes no bag limits on any of its websites: every relevant page - When to Hunt, the species pages, Hunting Regulations and Migratory Birds - defers to the printed Kansas Hunting and Furharvesting Regulations Summary. Checked again 2026-08-27; the old kdwpt.ks.gov regulation URLs (including 115-25-19, which by its title carries dove season, shooting hours and bag and possession limits) now 404 on the new domain, and the current Summary is not reachable as a PDF from here. Read the printed Summary to close this. Kansas sits in the Central Management Unit, whose federal framework is 15 daily, but no Kansas figure was read from a primary source. Exotic Dove — No daily limit (year-round season). 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 Kansas?
On opening day (September 1, 2026) legal light runs 06:32 to 20:01. The rule is: One-half hour before sunrise to sunset (per KDWP migratory-bird shooting hours). Sunrise and sunset shift daily, so work the offset against your local Kansas sun times for any other date.
Can I hunt doves on my own land in Kansas without a license?
A Kansas resident, or an immediate family member living with them, is exempt on land they own or lease for agricultural purposes — no minimum acreage applies. Deer still needs its own permit regardless.
Verified · Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks · Last verified 2026-08-01
Publisher's note. Dates per KDWP 'When to Hunt'. Mourning and Whitewing are combined under one framework season, September 1 to November 29. Exotic dove (Eurasian collared / ringed turtledove) runs January 1 to December 31 every year — it has no closed season at all, and it is marked yearRound below so the opener and closing date on this page describe the mourning-dove season the page is about. The exotic-dove row stays in the table, so a hunter after collared doves still sees that those are open when everything else is shut. UPDATE 2026-08-27: this figure was chased again and is still NOT from a primary source, so it is now labelled that way in the data instead of carrying a soft caveat. KDWP publishes no bag limits anywhere on its websites - When to Hunt, the species pages, Hunting Regulations and Migratory Birds each defer to the printed Kansas Hunting and Furharvesting Regulations Summary. The old kdwpt.ks.gov regulation URLs now 404 on the current domain, including 115-25-19, whose title promises exactly what is needed here (dove management unit, hunting season, shooting hours, and bag and possession limits). Cornell LII does not mirror Kansas exempt regulations. The Summary itself was not reachable as a PDF from here; the most recent edition findable was 2025-2026 on the agency's Issuu account, and last season's book is not evidence for this season. One page-turn in a print copy or a working link to the current Summary closes all three Kansas figures at once. ADDENDUM 2026-09-01: an independent second source was found that confirms this figure exactly — but it does NOT change the primary-source status. eregulations.com/kansas/hunting/hunting-bag-limits carries the full table: 'Pheasant 4 cocks per day (4x daily limit in possession)', 'Squirrel 5 per day (20 in possession)', 'Dove (Migratory) 15 per day (3x the daily limit in possession)', 'Dove (Exotic) No limits'. Every value agrees with what this file carries. Why that still does not count as proof: unlike Delaware, where DNREC links eRegulations itself, and South Carolina, where SCDNR does the same, nothing on ksoutdoors.gov points to it — and the page itself writes 'always check the official KDWP resources for the most accurate and up-to-date regulations'. So there are now two independent secondary sources agreeing. Confirming it in the printed KDWP booklet is a one-line job after that. ksoutdoors.gov stayed at 403 on every path on 2026-09-01.