Spring turkey season to begin April 15
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Turkey season begins soon. There are a few things to know.
The TWRA is making a few changes to this year’s turkey season. One major change is that the spring turkey season will open Saturday, April 15, which is two weeks later than usual. The young sportsman hunt is April 8 through April 9, statewide.
“Natchez Trace and Chickasaw State Forest, this year, are permitted for turkey hunting through the online draw system only. So you have to have a quota permit to hunt out here,” said Brad Wheat, a Wildlife Management Area Coordinator.
The bag limit for this season has also been reduced from three birds to two, and now, only one bird can be a jake. According to the TWRA, these changes are to benefit the state’s wild turkey population.
“The Tennessee Fish and Wildlife voted to delay the statewide turkey season to improve reproduction and nesting success,” Wheat said.
From now on, on WMA land, fanning or reaping turkeys is now prohibited. This is the process of moving behind a turkey fan or decoy to get within range of a bird.
“Fanning is illegal on a wildlife management area, and it was all done for the safety of our turkey hunters that are hunting on public land,” Wheat said.
This spring season will also be the fourth season where hunters are required to tag “before they bag.” This means after a kill, hunters cannot move a bird until after tagging it.
Hunters can do this by either using the TWRA on the Go app, which allows for hunters to electronically tag their game with or without service. Or they can tag their animal with a temporary transportation tag printed at the bottom of their license this year.
“If you purchased your license at one of our retail stores, yes, it is printed on the bottom of the tag. However, if you’re a lifetime sportsman’s license holder, or you bought it online, then you would have to go into your real account and print off a paper tag,” Wheat said.
According to the TWRA, hunting hours are 30 minutes prior to legal sunrise until legal sunset.
Hunting equipment permitted by the TWRA for turkey hunting are longbows, crossbows, recurve bows, compound bows, and shotguns loaded with Number 4 shot or smaller.
Firearms and archery devices can have optics. However, sights that use artificial light to illuminate a target, such as a night vision scope, are prohibited.
To hunt for turkey this spring season, you’ll need a combination hunting and fishing license, plus a supplemental big game license or a sportsman license.
The TWRA also wants to remind sportsmen to practice safe and ethical hunting.
“I expect it to be a good season because we had really high recruitment in 2021 which means there should be a lot of two-year-old birds in the woods,” said Roger Shields, TWRA Wild Turkey Program Coordinator. “For those people not having the opportunity to hunt in recent years, this could be a good year to get back in the woods.”
You can read more about the season, like hours and fourth spring turkey season to “Tag Before You Drag,” here.
You can find more news from across the state here.
