California Upland — Dove guide is live, and opener is 43 days out
Hey from California Upland.
Forty-three days to September 1. The dove cornerstone is live this morning, the third pillar piece in three weeks: The California Dove Hunting Guide covers Sacramento Valley CDFW lands, Imperial Valley if you can stomach the drive south, sunflower vs. safflower vs. wheat, regulations and HIP and lead-free zones, the shotgun and the shot size and the strap vest that earn their place on the opener. If you’re going to do anything before September, read it and start your scouting calls now.
From the field. Peter took Alan into the Coast Range on Wednesday for a heat-tolerance read — temps in the high 80s, cover thick, water on the truck, twenty-minute work intervals. Alan handled it. He handled it because we’d built the conditioning over six weeks. Thursday’s piece is the protocol: when to push, when to pull, the signs the dog gives you before the heat becomes a problem.
What we published this week:
→ California Upland Season Dates 2026-27: Quail, Chukar, and What the CDFW Calendar Actually Says — the dates printed against the 2026-27 calendar with the regional differences flagged. Save it on your phone for opener morning. Read→
→ Heat Safety for Bird Dogs: California Off-Season Conditioning — protocol, signs, recovery. The four-week ramp that lets your dog actually work in September heat without you carrying the dog out. Read→
→ The California Dove Hunting Guide — the third cornerstone. Sacramento Valley, Imperial Valley, sunflower fields, lead-free, HIP, vest setup, the opener morning loadout. Bookmark this one and send it to anyone in your group who hasn’t planned yet. Read→
What we’re working on:
· Tuesday — Imperial Valley Dove: Planning a First Trip South for the Late Split (the SoCal piece — Matt and I are making the November trip; this is the planning document). · Thursday — Spring Conditioning for California Bird Dogs(carry-over from the heat-safety frame). · Sunday — The California Mountain Quail Hunting Guide (cornerstone #4 — the mountain bird almost nobody writes about).
If a piece lands, hit reply.
Out the door, — Matt & Peter
californiaupland.com · @california_upland