From the Indiana Department of Natural Resources:
Wildlife management staff at Patoka Lake will conduct two in-person draws for controlled mourning dove hunts on September 1st and 2nd at 6 a.m. at Patoka Lake Hunter Check Station #5, located on County Road 725 South in Orange County.
The draws will be for a staked position in a standard controlled dove hunt field. Approximately 15 to 20 staked positions are expected to be drawn, and a maximum of two firearms per stake are allowed.
Hunters are required to have the proper licenses, stamps, and their federal HIP number. As ammunition, hunters can only use non-toxic shot of size 6 or smaller and need to have their firearm plugged so that it can only contain three shells at any time. Hunters will be limited to 50 shells.
Shooting hours for the hunts will be from 6:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. All fields surrounding the controlled sunflower field will be subject to similar time restrictions and will be closed after 1 p.m. There will be no “standby” or refilling of shooting stations after early departures either day.
The sunflower field will be considered open and subject to regular shooting hours starting September 3rd. Regular shooting hours are one half-hour before sunrise to sunset through the legal season.
Hunters should contact DNR Law Enforcement at (812) 837-9536 regarding specific questions about federal or state laws, statutes, and rules. For other information on the controlled hunt, call Patoka Lake at (812) 685-2464 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. and ask for the wildlife specialist.
Patoka Lake (on.IN.gov/patokalake) is at 3084 N. Dillard Road in Birdseye, Indiana, which is a little over 70 miles and/or one and a hour hours drive from Linton.
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