Missouri · Dove · 2026 Edition
Missouri Dove Season 2026: Dates, Bag Limits & Shooting Hours
01 — Seasons
| Season | Zones | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Regular season (Mourning + Eurasian collared) | Statewide | Sep 1 – Nov 29 |
| Falconry | Statewide | Nov 30 – Dec 16 |
02 — Bag limits
| Daily | 15 (combined total of all dove species) |
|---|---|
| Possession | 45 (combined total of all dove species) |
| Falconry daily / possession | 3 / 9 |
03 — Shooting hours
Legal light on opening day (September 1, 2026) 06:10 — 19:39
Rule: One-half hour before sunrise to sunset (per MDC). Sunrise/sunset shift daily — the times above are computed for opening day; use your local Missouri sun times for any other date.
04 — License & HIP
Dove hunters in Missouri need a Missouri hunting license and — because doves are migratory game birds — HIP registration (Harvest Information Program). No federal Duck Stamp is required for doves.
Missouri hunting license cost →
Where to hunt public land in Missouri — WMAs by county & access rules →
05 — FAQ
When does dove season open in Missouri?
The 2026 opener is September 1, 2026. Most states open Sep 1 under the federal migratory bird framework.
When does dove season end in Missouri?
The latest 2026 closing date is December 16, 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 Missouri per day?
2026 bag limits: Daily — 15 (combined total of all dove species). Possession — 45 (combined total of all dove species). Falconry daily / possession — 3 / 9. 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 Missouri?
On opening day (September 1, 2026) legal light runs 06:10 to 19:39. The rule is: One-half hour before sunrise to sunset (per MDC). Sunrise and sunset shift daily, so work the offset against your local Missouri sun times for any other date.
Can I hunt doves on my own land in Missouri without a license?
Missouri resident landowners with 5 or more acres, and their immediate household, may hunt that land without a permit — except bear, deer, elk, and turkey. Taking deer or turkey under this privilege needs at least 20 contiguous acres, and waterfowl still needs the federal Duck Stamp.
Verified · Missouri Department of Conservation · Last verified 2026-08-27
Publisher's note. Re-verified 2026-08-27 against the MDC dove species page, fetched directly. Its Seasons table gives two rows, both carried here verbatim: 'Dove: Hunting | Sep 01, 2026 - Nov 29, 2026 | One-half hour before sunrise to sunset | Daily limit: 15, Possession limit: 45, Combined total of all dove species', and 'Dove: Falconry | Nov 30, 2026 - Dec 16, 2026 | One-half hour before sunrise to sunset | Daily limit: 3, Possession limit: 9'. Unlike most states in this batch, MDC prints the shooting hours right in the season table, so this file's shootingHours block rests on an agency sentence rather than on the federal framework. Two points of care. The 15/45 limits are a combined total across all dove species - Missouri does not carve out Eurasian collared-dove as unlimited the way Arkansas and Tennessee do, so a hunter moving between those states cannot carry the same assumption. And this file's seasonCloses is 2026-12-16, which is the end of the falconry segment rather than of the general season that ends Nov. 29; that is deliberate, since the falconry row is part of the modeled season set. One oddity in the source, left as found: the falconry row's own note reads 'Any ducks, coots, or mergansers taken by falconers must be included in these limits' - waterfowl wording on a dove page, evidently carried over from MDC's waterfowl table. It does not change the dove numbers, and it is reproduced here only so the next reader knows it was seen and not overlooked.