Missouri hunters harvest more than 47,000 turkeys in spring season, among recent best

Preliminary data from the Missouri Department of Conservation indicates that the 2024 spring turkey seasons was among the best in recent history.

Throughout the state of Missouri, hunters took a reported 47,121 turkeys, a total that included 37,422 adult gobblers, 9,191 juvenile gobblers and 505 bearded hens.

The spring season, which concluded Sunday, saw significant jumps from previous harvest totals in 2023 (44,536) and 2022 (36,243). Franklin County hunters found the most success, recording 1,029 birds.

In southwest Missouri, Texas County (858), Laclede County (744) Greene County (672), Wright County (558), and Webster County (530) had top totals. The state’s overall total is from the youth and adult seasons.

More: Kansas canceled its fall turkey hunting season. What does it mean for Missouri?

Earlier this year MDC turkey biologist Nick Oakley anticipated a bountiful spring turkey season due to a successful 2023 and changes in regulation, including expansion of shooting hours to all day on private land this year.

From 1999-2006, Missouri averaged well over 50,000 spring turkey harvests. Since then, MDC biologists have pointed to a variety of factors contributing to a population decline, among them disease, hunting, predators, weather variables, habitat change and parasites. The state harvest hasn’t exceeded 49,000 since that time.