Laws & Safety · Legal Guide

California dove airgun laws: which doves, where and when

Researched by Golden Guns Outdoors · Updated October 25, 2026 · Editorial policy

Which doves can you shoot with an air rifle in California?

The species decides the rule, not the gun. California files its doves and pigeons into three legal buckets, and each bucket has its own list of legal methods.

The air rifle authorization is 14 CCR §311(f), which allows "air rifles powered by compressed air or gas and used with any caliber of pellet" for resident small game, and §300(a)(1) points the resident upland game birds, including these doves, to §311. Fish and Game Code §3500 names the genus Streptopelia, including the Eurasian collared dove, spotted dove and ringed turtle-dove, as resident game birds, and lists the band-tailed pigeon among migratory game birds. For migratory game birds, §507 opens with "Only the following methods may be used," and air rifles aren't on that list. Federal law adds a second lock: 50 CFR 20.21(a) bans taking migratory game birds with a rifle or pistol.

Season and limit details for mourning, white-winged and the Streptopelia doves are covered species by species in can you hunt doves with an air rifle, and the national federal rule is explained there too.

Do you need a license to shoot doves with a pellet gun in California?

Yes. Fish and Game Code §3007 makes it unlawful to take a bird or mammal without a license unless the code or regulations say otherwise. For collared doves, CDFW's California Outdoors column is direct: they "are a game species, and hunters must possess both a license and an upland game bird validation." Junior license holders don't need the validation (14 CCR §313), and you need proof of hunter education on your CDFW customer profile to buy a license.

Rock pigeons are nongame birds under §472(a), which lets them be taken at any time and in any number, but that section doesn't create a license exemption. Plan on carrying your license for pigeons too. The farm exemption in Fish and Game Code §4152, which waives the license for owners and tenants taking crop-damaging animals, covers nongame mammals like ground squirrels, not birds. The ground squirrel side of that rule is in best air rifles for ground squirrels.

When can you shoot collared doves in California?

Any day of the year, from one-half hour before sunrise to sunset. The collared dove season is open all year with no bag or possession limit (14 CCR §300). 14 CCR §310.5 sets shooting hours for all upland game birds, except pheasants and the spring turkey season, at one-half hour before sunrise to sunset.

There's no legal dusk-into-dark shooting for them, and California's night vision rule goes further than most states: Fish and Game Code §2005(c) bans using or possessing night vision equipment to assist in taking any bird or mammal, with narrow exceptions. Glass is the legal tool for the last light; best low-light air rifle scopes covers what to buy and how to set the power.

Where can you shoot? The 150-yard rule and city limits

The 150-yard safety zone. Fish and Game Code §3004(a) makes it unlawful, within 150 yards of an occupied dwelling, residence or other building, or a barn or outbuilding used with one, to hunt or to discharge a firearm or other deadly weapon while hunting. The owner, the person in possession of the premises, and anyone with their express permission are exempt. CDFW's own Q&A on backyard dove hunting adds two points: the rule applies because you're hunting, whatever the weapon, and "you would need to get permission from every owner or occupant of dwellings within 150 yards."

City and county codes. State law allowing a method doesn't make it legal everywhere. Many cities ban discharging airguns inside city limits, and some name them outright: Trinidad, California's code says "No person within the city shall discharge any firearms, including air rifle, B.B. gun or pellet gun," with narrow exceptions. CDFW's Q&A also tells backyard hunters to confirm that no local ordinance bans hunting in their neighborhood. Search your city's municipal code for "air gun," "pellet" and "discharge" before the first shot.

State criminal law. California Penal Code §246.3(b) makes it a crime, punishable by up to a year in county jail, to willfully discharge a BB device in a grossly negligent manner that could injure or kill someone. The code defines a BB device as any instrument that expels a projectile, "such as a BB or a pellet," by air pressure, gas pressure or spring action. Shooting toward homes, roads or people is exactly what it targets.

The wider question of shooting at home is covered in can you shoot a pellet gun in your backyard.

What can you shoot them with? Pellets, slugs and lead

• Any caliber of pellet. §311(f) sets no minimum caliber for doves; the 0.177 minimum applies only to wild turkey.
• Slugs: ask first. §311(f) says "pellet" and never mentions slugs. I shoot slugs, and this is one point to confirm with CDFW rather than assume.
• Lead pellets are allowed. CDFW says that because pellet rifles are not considered firearms, lead projectiles in pellet rifles are not prohibited; nonlead is encouraged for small game.
• No shooting while intoxicated. Fish and Game Code §3001 bars taking birds or mammals while intoxicated with BB devices, as well as firearms, crossbows and bows.
• Enough energy. The published guideline for pigeons and collared doves is 12-20 FPE at the muzzle, with a head or upper-chest shot; see the airgun FPE chart.

Shooting doves and pigeons on farms

Farms and ranches are often the most practical place to shoot doves legally with an air rifle, because the 150-yard rule and city codes rule out most neighborhoods. On your own property, or with the owner's express permission, the 150-yard rule doesn't stop you near that property's own buildings, but it still covers any neighbor's occupied home within 150 yards. Collared doves still need a license and validation, rock pigeons are nongame birds, and mourning doves on the same field are off-limits to an air rifle.

The night vision rule has an exception for agricultural landowners and their employees on their own property, but collared dove shooting hours still end at sunset. If invasive birds are costing you crops in Southern California, my farm protection page explains what I offer.

Mourning dove or collared dove? Make the ID before the shot

A mistaken ID can turn a legal hunt into a state and federal violation. The collared dove is the larger, paler gray bird with a black half-collar on the back of the neck and a squared-off tail. The mourning dove is slimmer and browner, with a long, pointed tail and black spots on the wings. CDFW's own advice for new hunters is to learn the birds alongside an experienced partner. The full field-ID walkthrough is in Eurasian collared dove hunting with an air rifle.

FAQ

Sources

• Cal. Code Regs. tit. 14, §311 — methods authorized for resident small game (Cornell LII)
• Cal. Code Regs. tit. 14, §507 — methods for migratory game birds (Justia)
• Cal. Code Regs. tit. 14, §472 — nongame birds and mammals that may be taken (Cornell LII)
• Cal. Code Regs. tit. 14, §310.5 — shooting hours for upland game birds (Cornell LII)
• California Fish and Game Code §3500 — resident and migratory game birds (FindLaw)
• California Fish and Game Code §3004 — the 150-yard safety zone (FindLaw)
• California Fish and Game Code §3680 — registered racing pigeons (FindLaw)
• California Fish and Game Code §§3000-3007 — license requirement and BB devices (Animal Legal & Historical Center)
• CDFW California Outdoors Q&A — Eurasian collared doves, license and validation (July 15, 2021)
• CDFW California Outdoors Q&A — backyard dove hunting and the 150-yard rule (via Lake County News)
• CDFW — Nonlead ammunition in California (pellet rifles)
• California Penal Code §246.3 — grossly negligent discharge of a BB device (Justia)
• City of Trinidad, California — Municipal Code §9.12.010, discharge of firearms including air rifles and pellet guns
• 50 CFR §20.21 — illegal hunting methods for migratory game birds