Missouri hunters harvest 33,355 turkeys in regular spring season

Turkey hunters checked 33,355 birds this spring season.

From April 18 to May 8, the top regular season harvest counties included Franklin with 798 birds harvested, Callaway with 614 and Gasconade with 606, according to Missouri Department of Conservation.

Young turkey hunters were able to harvest 2,896 birds over the youth weekend April 9-10, which brought the overall spring turkey harvest to 36,251. In 2021, young turkey hunters harvested 2,795 birds during the spring youth season and hunters harvested 31,800 birds during the regular spring season for a 2021 spring season total harvest of 34,595 turkeys, per MDC.

These latest numbers are up about five percent from the 2021 spring turkey harvest, but is still seven percent lower than the average spring season over the past five years from 2017 to 2021.

“Our annual wild turkey brood survey indicates that, at the statewide level, hens have been producing one or fewer poults, on average, for the past 6 years,” said Reina Tyl, MDC Turkey Biologist. “The cumulative effect of relatively poor production the last several years has been fewer turkeys and more challenging spring turkey hunting conditions.

There were two self-inflicted firearm-related hunting incidents, one fatal and one non-fatal, reported to MDC during the 2022 spring turkey hunting seasons.

There were no shooter-victim hunting incidents reported, according to MDC.

Allowed methods for spring turkey season includes:

• Shotguns with shot not larger than No. 4
• Longbows, recurve bows, or compound bows. Hand-held string releasing devices, illuminated sights, scopes, and quick point sights are allowed.
• Crossbows
• Atlatls

Prohibited methods are:

• Shotguns capable of holding more than 3 shells in magazine and chamber combined
• Shot larger than No. 4 (in use or in possession)
• Any sighting device that casts a beam of light on the game
• Thermal imagery equipment or night vision equipment (in use or in possession)
• Recorded calls (in use or in possession)
• Use of dogs or live decoys
• Use of bait, which includes grain or other feed placed or scattered so as to attract turkeys. An area is considered baited for 10 days even after complete removal of the bait. A hunter can be in violation even if he or she did not know an area was or is baited. It is illegal to place bait in a way that causes others to be in violation of the baiting rule.

Sara Karnes is an Outdoors Reporter with the Springfield News-Leader. Got a story to tell? Email her at skarnes@springfi.gannett.com.