Spring wild turkey hunting in Ohio broken into four seasons this year

Spring turkey hunting is about to start in Ohio and is broken into four separate seasons this year.

That covers youth and adult hunts across two different zones: northeast and south.

Ohio’s northeast zone consists of Cuyahoga, Geauga, Trumbull, Lake and Ashtabula counties. The south zone is comprised of the state’s 83 other counties, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

Youth spring wild turkey hunting season will be April 18-19 for Ohio’s 83 southern counties and April 25-26 in the five northeast counties.

For adult hunters, the spring wild turkey season runs April 25 to May 24 in the south zone and May 2 to May 31 in the northeast zone.

Spring gobbler hunters in Ohio are allowed to harvest one bearded turkey in 2026.

Hunters should refer to the Ohio Hunting and Trapping Regulations for turkey hunting requirements.

More: Hunting season changes proposed to Ohio Wildlife Council

Seasons established to manage size of state’s flock

The seasons are in place to regulate the turkey population of the Buckeye State, Nathan Cass, an ODNR wildlife officer in Crawford County, previously told the News Journal.

“In the early 1900s, they were pretty much gone from Ohio,” Cass said.

Management practices allowed the birds to rebuild their flocks. A century later, they were just as plentiful as ever.

“Probably the 1990s and early 2000s was when the population was at its highest,” Cass said.

Predators and loss of habitat have reduced the state’s turkey numbers slightly over the last two decades, but there are still plenty of gobblers for hunters to harvest this spring.

Hunters who scout their local flocks ahead of the season will notice the bird strutting to entice a mate.

“We try to time our season right after the peak breeding time,” Cass said. “It gives the birds an opportunity to breed and then some of the hens will start incubating their eggs and sitting on their nest.”

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