Missouri hunters take over 45,000 birds during regular spring turkey season

Jefferson City, Mo. – Preliminary data from the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) shows turkey hunters checked 45,475 birds during Missouri’s 2026 regular spring turkey season, which ran April 20 through May 10.

Top harvest counties for the regular season were Macon with 979 birds harvested, Callaway with 926, and Franklin with 879.

Young turkey hunters also harvested a near-record 5,255 turkeys over the spring youth weekend, April 11 and 12, bringing the overall 2026 spring turkey harvest to 50,730.

“Good gobbler carryover from the 2023 hatch and a decent 2024 hatch resulted in a strong population of adult birds this year,” said MDC Wild Turkey Biologist Nick Oakley. “While harvest was down a couple hundred birds compared to last year, harvest was still up 6% compared to harvests going back to 1998. Strong hatches lead to better hunting down the road. Managing for good nesting and brooding habitat is key to success in the field.”

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Last year, young turkey hunters harvested 4,449 turkeys over the spring youth season and hunters harvested 46,562 during the regular spring season for a 2025 spring season total harvest of 51,011.

Get more information on this year’s spring turkey harvest numbers by county at extra.mdc.mo.gov/widgets/harvest_table/.

See more information on turkey harvest numbers for past seasons online at mdc.mo.gov/hunting-trapping/species/turkey/turkey-reports/turkey-harvest-summaries.

For more information about turkey hunting in Missouri, visit MDC online at  huntfish.mdc.mo.gov/hunting-trapping/species/turkey.

For more information on how to improve nesting and brooding habitat on private property, visit mdc.mo.gov/MOTurkeys.