when is turkey

Youth Turkey Hunt on Cheatham WMA

Tennessee turkey hunter Cameron Freshour harvested this seven-bearded gobbler in Greene County. Camerons bird weighed 18. 5 lbs. , had 1 1/16″ spurs, and over 46 total inches of beard!.

Multiple bearded turkeys are uncommon, with estimates suggesting less than 10% of gobblers have more than one beard.

While TWRA does not keep turkey records, NWTF does and unsurprisingly, multiple bearded birds top the list with the world record having 13 beards! Want to know how your spring gobbler stacks up? Visit https://www.nwtf.org/the-lifestyle/turkey-records-home and run it through their scoring calculator.

General Turkey Hunting Regulations

Legal Hunting Hours

• Thirty minutes before legal sunrise to legal sunset.

Legal Hunting Equipment

• Shotguns using ammunition with No. 4 shot or smaller. No restriction on the number of rounds in the magazine.
• Archery equipment (longbows, recurve bows, compound bows, and crossbows).
• Sighting devices including scopes are legal. It is forbidden to use night vision, infrared, and other artificial light-based devices to find wildlife.
• All hunters are permitted to use an Airbow, a pre-charged pneumatic gun that shoots an arrow, during the state’s turkey gun seasons.

Prohibited Acts (see General Regulations for more details)

• Using or owning an electronic call device, using handguns, having rifles, baiting, using live decoys, and loading ammunition bigger than No 4 shot are prohibited.
• In the counties of Dyer, Haywood, Lauderdale, Obion, Shelby, and Tipton, it is illegal to shoot or stalk turkeys from a boat.

Special Regulations

• A licensed turkey hunter who has reached their bag limit or does not have a valid permit for a quota hunt may still go with another hunter who does have a valid permit and help them make calls, but they are not allowed to carry turkey hunting weapons. This is especially true on WMAs where hunting is prohibited.
• Young Sportsman Hunts require minors to be accompanied by an adult who is not hunting and who is at least 21 years old. This adult does not need a license, but they must be able to take immediate control of the hunting equipment. Multiple youths may be accompanied by a single qualifying adult.
• Turkeys must remain intact until tagged and checked in.
• All turkeys taken during hunts on public land are included in the state’s bag limits (details can be found in the WMA section).
• Fanning or reaping turkeys on WMAs is prohibited. (See WMA General Regulations for more detail) .

Wildlife Management Areas

• Certain WMAs have limited dates or quota hunts, but most are open with statewide seasons and bag limits.
• From March 1 until the first day of the spring turkey hunt, it is forbidden to call turkeys or attempt to call them using any device that imitates the sounds made by turkeys on any WMA.
• For application dates for the turkey quota hunt, visit the Quota Hunt page.

Why is Turkey’s Military Everywhere?

FAQ

What’s the time in Turkey right now?

When is turkey hunting season?

Turkey Hunting Season Dates by State. States in the United States establish their particular times for hunting seasons for wild creatures like deer, turkeys, and birds. While other species may have various seasons throughout the year, the autumn season marks the beginning of the big game shooting season in most areas.

Where do turkeys live in the United States?

The Eastern turkey, found in every state in Canada and the eastern part of the United States, is the most common and abundant. The Merriam’s turkey is located in the western US, especially in the hilly areas of the Rockies and the Sierra Nevadas, whereas the Osceola turkey is only found in Florida.

How many types of turkeys are there?

Overall, the five varieties offer various shooting chances in various parts of the nation. Turkey hunting laws in the US differ by state and breed, but some basic guidelines apply to most expeditions.