Spring Turkey Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Spring Turkey Season Starts This Weekend

The regular season opens statewide April 17, and goes for five weeks until May 21.

The state’s spring turkey season kicks off with a two-day youth season Saturday, April 15 and Sunday, April 16, giving young hunters a chance to take part in the excitement.

Youth hunters must be at least 8 years old and less than 18 years old.

The regular season opens statewide April 17 and goes for five weeks until May 21.

All hunters 15 and older are required to have a valid West Virginia hunting license.

There is a season bag limit of one bearded turkey per day, two all season for all ages.

For more information on hunting requirements and limits, be sure to check the current Hunting and Trapping Regulations from the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

The DNR calls wild turkeys one of the most wary game birds in North America, notorious for their keen senses and elusive nature, making them a challenging quarry for even the most experienced hunters.

All residents are advised by the DNR that the spring turkey season is the perfect opportunity to combine multiple outdoor activities into a single day’s trip including hunting, fishing, hiking or taking in the natural beauty of the landscape.

West Virginia Spring Hunters Take More Than 11,000 Turkeys

West Virginia wildlife officials say hunters killed 11,539 turkeys this spring, up 11 percent from last year.

The Division of Natural Resources says that’s the largest harvest since 2006.

The counties where the most birds were taken were Preston with 475, followed by Mason, Jackson, Wood and Harrison (327).

Young hunters killed 458 turkeys during the one-day youth season on April 15.

West Virginia's Spring Turkey Season Opens Monday

West Virginia’s spring turkey season begins Monday and location could be a factor in a hunter’s success.

The Division of Natural Resources says 2013 brood reports indicate that the statewide number of turkeys killed could drop. But hunters in the western and central mountains could have a better season.

The DNR says brood reports statewide were slightly lower than the five-year average. But brood reports for the central and western mountains were almost double from 2012.

The spring turkey season begins Monday and runs through May 23.

Spring Turkey Kills Down in W.Va.

The Division of Natural Resources says West Virginia hunters bagged 9,017 bearded turkeys this spring, down 19 percent from the previous year.

DNR wildlife resources chief Curtis Taylor says most of the state’s districts saw a harvest decline from last year during spring gobbler season.

Top counties for 2014 were Preston, with a take of 344, Mason with 297, Jackson with 294, Wood with 268 and Harrison with 264.

In most years, a significant portion of the spring gobbler harvest is composed of 2-year-old birds. Taylor says poor wild turkey reproduction in 2012 resulted in fewer birds of this age class available to hunters during the spring season.

Biologists are hopeful this spring will continue to provide moderate-to-average rainfall, support above-average reproduction and allow wild turkey populations to expand.

State Spring Turkey Hunting Season Has Zero Incidents

Division of Natural Resources officials say no fatalities or injuries were reported during the spring turkey hunting season in West Virginia for the first time since it was established in the late 1960s.

The four-week spring gobbler season began April 28 and concluded Saturday.

The DNR says mandatory hunter education classes have reduced the number of hunting incidents over the years. The classes are scheduled throughout the year across the state.

The last spring turkey season hunting-related fatality in West Virginia occurred in 2009. There were two hunting-related incidents reported in last year’s spring gobbler season, one in 2012 and three each in 2011 and 2010.