Talking To The Wildlife

2012 Spring Turkey Hunting

All Tennessee counties are open to wild turkey hunting including WMAs and refuges unless specifically listed.

Statewide Spring Turkey Season

March 31 - May 13, 2012

Bag Limits

One (1) bearded turkey per day, not to exceed four (4) per season. Turkeys taken on all quota hunts and specially designated WMAs are bonus turkeys.

Spring Turkey Shooting Hours

Thirty (30) minutes before sunrise to sunset.

Statewide Spring Young Sportsman Hunt

March 24-25, 2012 (ages 6 through 16). One (1) bearded turkey which counts toward statewide bag unless taken on a WMA where turkeys are designated as bonus birds. Each youth must be accompanied by a nonhunting adult, 21 years of age or older, who must remain in a position to take immediate control of the hunting device, who is not required to
have a license.

Now that the wild turkey has been restored to Tennessee, our goal is to ensure that a vigorous, self-sustaining population is maintained in all suitable habitats of the state.

Turkeys will be managed to best meet the needs and desires of the people of Tennessee. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a long-range plan for managing Tennessee’s wild turkey resource; this plan will direct wild turkey management for the anticipated future.

Certain parts of the state have experienced tremendous turkey population growth. The popularity of the turkey as a game species versus concern about turkey depredation in some areas of the state have brought about new challenges concerning turkey management. Large numbers of turkeys in certain parts of the state have brought about conflicts and in some instances economic losses. The strategies in TWRA's current management plan seek to resolve these issues while optimizing the worth of the wild turkey.

In recent years, as a result of the wild turkey restoration efforts, Tennessee has a wider distribution of huntable flocks which can absorb declines in some local populations without a significant drop in the total harvest. Since weather conditions vary greatly across the state some flocks exist in areas that will be unaffected by the same storms which could be detrimental to poult survival in other localized flocks.

Good production in these areas provides an alternate place for hunters to hunt when local populations are low.