Kentucky’s 2024 spring turkey season opens in two weeks.
Opening day varies from year to year because Kentucky’s 23-day spring season is set by regulation to begin on the Saturday closest to April 15. This year’s season dates are Saturday, April 13 through Sunday, May 5.
The two-day youth-only season, also set by regulation, is held on the first weekend in April. This year the season is April 6 through April 7.
Hunters may take two bearded turkeys during Kentucky’s spring season (Photo courtesy National Wild Turkey Federation)
Shooting hours for spring turkey hunting are 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset. Hunters may be in the field before and after shooting hours. Hunters may take a total of two bearded turkeys during the spring season.
Complete spring turkey season regulationsare available at the KDFWR Spring Turkey Hunting website.
Harvest outlook
Zak Danks, wild turkey program coordinator for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (KDFWR) said he expects this season to be a good one, but doesn’t believe this spring’s turkey harvest will be as high as last spring.
“A harvest of 30,000 to 31,000 birds is a pretty reasonable (estimate). Last spring we had better weather on opening weekend and because of a much better hatch in 2021, there were lots of 2-year old birds gobbling.”
According to data on the KDFWR website, hunters bagged the second highest number of birds in the past 24 spring seasons in 2023, just 434 fewer than the all-time record for the season set in 2010.
The 2023 spring turkey season harvest was 8,801 more than the 2022 spring harvest, which represented a 33 percent increase in harvest, and was 5,145 more than the 10-year average of 30,518.
For the eight seasons prior to 2022, the spring harvest trended in a range from a low of 29,221 in 2021 to a high of 33,071 in 2017.
(Photo courtesy National Wild Turkey Federation)
It’s normal for the wild turkey harvest in the spring to fluctuate from year-to-year. Factors include weather during the season and the number of hunters afield. In 2023 there was just a two percent increase in license sales.
The number one factor in hunter success is ultimately the turkey hatch. Since a majority of adult turkeys taken by hunters during the spring season are two year-olds, an increase or decrease in reproductive success for a given year is typically reflected in the hunter harvest two years later.
In 2021 turkey reproduction was very successful. Statewide, the number of poults per hen observed was the highest since 2008.
Danks said other states in the region also had big jumps in harvest last spring, for many of the same reasons. “In Virginia there was a 24 percent increase in harvest which was a record, and in Indiana, the harvest was 33 percent higher, which was also a record.” Increases in harvest were also posted in Illinois (18 percent), Missouri (23 percent) and Tennessee (6 percent).
Cicada hatches are one factor that influence turkey numbers, survival of poults, and ultimately turkey harvest.
Big hatches of the insects provide an abundance of food for turkey poults, and since cicadas are also eaten by other animals, including potential predators, there’s a higher survival rate of turkey poults. “There was a big cicada hatch in 2008, two years prior to our record spring harvest, and a mini cicada hatch in 2021,” said Danks. “Our next big cicada hatch is expected to be in 2025.”
Turkeys should have good body condition heading into our spring season due to a bumper mast crop last fall. If you didn’t see many turkeys in open fields this past fall it’s probably because they were in the woods, fattening up on acorns.
Wild turkey banding research project continues
Since the winter of 2021 KDFWR staff have been working on a research project during the winter months that could affect Kentucky’s spring turkey season dates and/or bag limits.
(Photo from KDFWR)
The 4-year study in Kentucky is being conducted in partnership with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) and Tennessee Tech University (TTU).
Bearded birds captured in rocket nets are banded with either a silver and green band. Turkeys on both private and public lands are being banded.
“The jury is still out on our banding project, to assess the impact of hunting, (and ultimately) the harvest rate on our flock,” said Danks.
The results of a banding study in Ohio led to the reduction of the bag limit to one bird, and in Tennessee, the spring season was moved to open two weeks later, and the bag limit was reduced from three to two birds.
Hunters who bag a banded turkey are asked to report the band number when checking in their kill. Details on reporting are available at fw.ky.gov/TurkeyBand.
By reporting a turkey leg band number you are providing valuable information to ensure sustainable management of wild turkeys in Kentucky for current and future generations to enjoy.
Habitat management
Landowners can benefit local turkey populations by manipulating habitat on their hunting lands. This includes:
• Creating brushy areas where turkeys can safely nest, and brood rearing cover, open spaces seeded in clover and other quality forage, where poults can find plenty of insects to eat.
• Managing woodlands, thinning dense stands of cedar trees, cutting or girdling undesirable hardwood tree species to promote a lush undergrowth, and protect mast producing trees.
• Removing so-called terrestrial nuisance species (TNS), non-native species such as fescue and Asian (bush) honeysuckle.
• Allowing crop field borders to grow up. Run over these areas with a disk harrow or tiller to break up the soil, and allow nature to take its course. Disturbing the soil encourages the growth of natural foods.
Predator control
While it’s believed that there have been no significant changes in predator numbers, trapping raccoons and hunting coyotes with rifles are good ways to keep the numbers of these turkey predators down and dissuade them from coming onto your property.
Wildlife feeding
Wildlife feeding is a double-edged sword, so to speak, as it can help wildlife survive during cold and snow, for example, it may have unintended negative impacts. The best advice, arguably, is to restrict or eliminate feeding turkeys in the off-season because it tends to concentrate nest predators. By regulation, turkeys may not be fed from March 1through July 31.
On warm, clear mornings, turkeys are starting to gobble at dawn. Get out there and enjoy this spring passion play that makes April a special month on our hunting calendar.
