Quick Guide to Tennessee’s 2024 Spring Turkey Season

There’s little more exciting than the sound of a big tom turkey gobbling within shotgun range on a cool spring morning. Fortunately for Tennessee turkey hunters, there are plenty of opportunities to have such an encounter on both private and public lands across the state.

The 2024 Tennessee turkey season will open Saturday, April 13 and run through Sunday, May 26.

Youth hunters ages 6 to 16 get a one-week jump start on the season with a April 6-7 Young Sportsmans Season.

Bag Limits

One (1) bearded turkey per day, not to exceed two (2) per season, only one can be a jake. An adult gobbler is defined by having one of the following: wing feathers have white barring all the way to the tip, tail feathers are the same length, beard is longer than 6 inches, or a spur is at least 1/2 inch long.

Any turkey harvested during the Young Sportsman Hunt counts toward the statewide spring season limit of two (2).

2023 Turkey Season Results

During Tennessee’s 2023 spring turkey season, hunters reported harvesting 31,802 turkeys. This marks a notable six percent increase from the previous year, but a modest two percent decrease from the five-year average of 32,495.

The season brought about changes, including a two-week delay in the opening date and a reduction in the bag limit from three birds to two, with only one allowed to be a juvenile or jake.

The initial days of the season saw a significant spike in the harvest, particularly during the two-day Young Sportsman Hunt and the opening weekend, where reported harvests exceeded the five-year averages by 71 percent and 45 percent, respectively.

However, as the season progressed, there was a sharp decline in the harvest. By the 20-day mark, the reported harvest was only 11 percent above the five-year average.

Roger Shields, TWRA Wild Turkey Program Coordinator, suggests that this decline may be attributed to the lower bag limit, as hunters reached their two-bird limit and had to cease hunting.

This differs from previous seasons when hunters could continue and harvest additional birds. Despite the drop-off, a total of 25,500 hunters reported successfully harvesting at least one turkey, a significant 20 percent increase compared to the five-year average.

In terms of regional breakdown, Middle Tennessee (TWRA Region II) emerged as the leader with 11,662 turkeys harvested, featuring four of the top five counties. West Tennessee (Region I) reported 7,832 turkeys, followed by the Upper Cumberland (Region III) with 6,157, and East Tennessee (Region IV) with 6,150.

Best Counties to Kill a Turkey

Twelve Tennessee counties reported over 500 turkeys harvested during the 2022 spring turkey season. Ten of the twelve are in the central portion of the state, including:

One county in the far northwest corner of the state had a harvest of over 500 birds, and that was Weakley County with 557.

In the eastern part of Tennessee, Green County easily topped the 500 bird mark with a harvest of 840.

It’s worth noting that a higher harvest doesn’t always mean a county offers better turkey hunting than one with a lower harvest. You also have to consider the hunting pressure of each to truly understand the quality of hunting.

Best Public Lands to Kill a Turkey

Tennessee hunters are blessed with over 2 million acres of public hunting lands in the form of wildlife management areas (WMAs), national forests, national wildlife refuges, national recreational areas, and public hunting areas (PHAs). Some of these areas operate on a quota hunt system and require an application and draw process to hunt, but many are open to anyone who purchases the proper permits.

Below is a table breaking down the 2022 spring turkey harvest on each tract of public land. As I mentioned with the county harvests above, just because a tract of public land has a higher number of turkeys harvested, doesn’t mean the turkey hunting is better than one with a lower harvest. You have to consider the size of the property and the number of hunters utilizing the property. But this table will at least give you an idea of which Tennessee public lands have huntable numbers of turkeys.

Keep in mind that calling or attempting to call wild turkeys using any means to mimic the sounds made by turkeys is prohibited on all WMAs from March 1 until the opening day of the spring turkey hunts on the WMA. Fanning or reaping turkeys on WMAs is also prohibited.

Final Thoughts

Despite the regional decline in turkey populations, Tennessee hunters continue to post some excellent harvest numbers. Hopefully, the conservative measures that the TWRA is taking will ensure those opportunities continue well into the future. Here’s to hoping each of you have a fantastic and safe 2023 spring turkey season!