| Window | Dates | Days |
|---|---|---|
| Window 1 | 01 SEP – 28 SEP 2026 | 28d |
| Window 2 | 10 OCT – 01 NOV 2026 | 23d |
| Window 3 | 08 DEC 2026 – 15 JAN 2027 | 39d |
As publishedSept 1 (noon)-Sept 28, 2026; Oct 10-Nov 1, 2026; Dec 8, 2026-Jan 15, 2027
Single statewide season (no zones) with three split segments.First segment opens at noon on Sept 1. No limit on Eurasian collared-dove (unlimited, separate species); any unidentified dove counts toward the mourning dove bag. Requires the Tennessee Migratory Bird (HIP) Permit.
TWRA's own mourning dove species page describes the population as abundant and widespread across backyards, farms, forests, and grasslands statewide, with no agency-stated regional density distinction, a genuine uniform-statewide biological answer. TWRA's separate Leased/WMA Dove Field program shows a clear west-to-east gradient in the number of managed WMA dove fields: Region 1 (West Tennessee, headquartered Jackson) lists 18 named fields, Region 2 (Middle Tennessee, Nashville) 11, Region 3 (Cumberland Plateau/southeast, Crossville) 9, and Region 4 (East Tennessee mountains, Morristown) just 6. This tracks the west-to-east decline in row-crop agricultural acreage: Tennessee's Bobwhite Restoration SAFE fact sheet names West Tennessee's row-crop counties as the state's agricultural core.
The federal survey cannot say whether Tennessee dove numbers are rising or falling. Its 2016 to 2025 estimate comes out at -0.69% per year, but the range around it runs from -2.23% to +0.82%, wide enough in both directions that no direction can be called. Read that as unknown, not as steady. The figures also run through 2025, one season behind this fall.
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