T HE 2018 PENNSYLVANIA dove season presented a number of exciting firsts for hunters pursuing the fast-flying game bird. For the first time ever, hunters legally could hunt doves over manipulated crops, meaning vegetation purposely could be cut or shredded to create bare ground strips of feed areas where doves are more likely to congregate, particularly near hot-draw food sources and roosting areas. Another first reflected federal changes to allow for a half-hour before sunrise to sunset hunting day, straying from the long-standing noon start time for the early season. Couple that with a unique opportunity to hunt with electronic decoys - also a relatively new initiative - and hunters had all the more reason to kick off dove season with a bang. So when the Pennsylvania Game Commission last summer announced it would be hosting its first special controlled dove hunt at Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area, I applied for the lottery - with high enthusiasm, but low expectations of being drawn. Three-hundred fifty-nine hunters submitted applications for the inaugural hunt. And at the public drawing Aug. 15, my name was among the 39 lucky hunters picked. I would get to hunt in a managed field on the first day of the season, Sept. 1. First was a mandatory hunter briefing at the Middle Creek visitor center. There, Controlled Hunt Manager Lauren Ferreri and Gamelands Mainte- DRAWN LOTTERY PUTS HUNTERS IN DOVE HOTSPOTS 32