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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

WMATotal HarvestAdultJuvenileUnknown A.E.D.C. WMA9167231 Arnold Hollow WMA6510 Bark Camp Barrens171250 Barkley WMA10820 Battle Creek PHA3210 Bean Switch Refuge6510 Bear Hollow Mountain WMA181620 Beason Creek1010 Beaver Dam Creek WMA6420 Beech River3210 Big Sandy WMA6330 Big South Fork514650 Big Spring Access PHA1100 Blackburn Fork3300 Bogota WMA9540 Bridgestone Firestone WMA – Big Bottom Unit9801 Bridgestone/Firestone WMA11920 Browntown WMA3300 Buffalo Springs WMA2200 C. M. Gooch WMA5410 Camden WMA101000 Catoosa WMA6046131 Cedar Hill Swamp1100 Charlotte Anne Finnell Neal WMA2110 Cheatham Lake WMA201550 Cheatham WMA6850171 Chickamauga WMA363150 Chickasaw NWR242220 Chickasaw SF & WMA221660 Chuck Swan WMA & SF322480 Colonel Forrest V. Durand1100 Cordell Hull Wildlife Refuge191531 Cordell Hull WMA242130 Cove Creek WMA11920 Cross Creeks NWR221570 Dry Creek WMA9810 Eagle Creek WMA271980 Eagle Lake Waterfowl Refuge1100 Edgar Evins SP & WMA241770 Ernest Rice WMA2200 Fall Creek Falls SP 1100 Flintville WMA3300 Foothills WMA4220 Forks of the River WMA2110 FT Campbell2110 Haley-Jaqueth WMA5500 Hampton Crossroads PHA1100 Happy Hollow2110 Harmon Creek WMA7610 Harp 3210 Hart’s Mill6510 Hatchie NWR5410 Haynes Bottom WMA7511 Headwaters3300 Henderson Island Refuge5500 Henderson Swamp PHA3300 Hick Hill WMA15960 Hickory Flats WMA2200 Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge221570 Holston AAP6510 Horns Bluff Waterfowl Refuge3120 Jarrell Switch Waterfowl1100 John Tully WMA11920 Keyes-Harrison WMA3210 Kingston Wildlife Refuge1100 Kyker Bottoms WMA1100 Kyles Ford WMA1100 Land Between The Lakes WMA302910 Laurel Hill WMA9450 Lick Creek Bottoms WMA155100 Lower Hatchie NWR9810 Luper Mountain2200 Maness Swamp Refuge4220 Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park and Natural Area5410 Mingo Swamp1100 Moss Island WMA4400 Mt. Roosevelt WMA7610 MTSU WMA5401 Natchez Trace SF & WMA6442211 Nolichucky WMA9450 Normandy WMA10820 North Cherokee NF & WMA11993233 North Chickamauga Creek WMA8530 North Chickamauga Creek WMA – Patton Unit1100 North Cumberland WMA189167211 Oak Ridge WMA4400 Obed Wild and Scenic River3120 Obion River WMA212010 Old Hickory Lock 5 Refuge3111 Old Hickory WMA6040200 Owl Hollow WMA161240 Paint Rock Refuge1100 Parker Branch2200 Pea Ridge WMA111001 Percy Priest WMA10383173 Pickett SF151140 Prentice Cooper SF & WMA3623130 Rankin Bottom WMA5410 Reelfoot NWR4310 Reelfoot WMA3300 Shady Park PHA2110 Shelton Ferry WMA6330 Skinner Mountain WMA7700 South Cherokee WMA12792323 Standing Stone SF & WMA191900 Tellico Lake6243190 Tennessee NWR261781 The Boils WMA2200 Thorny Cypress3210 Three Rivers WMA3210 Tie Camp WMA6411 Tigrett WMA3210 Tumbleweed WMA191630 Watts Bar WMA4310 West Sandy WMA2110 White Lake Wildlife Refuge5410 White Oak WMA101000 Williamsport WMA2919100 Wolf River and Ghost River SNA Unit 18620 Wolf River and Ghost River SNA Unit 23300 Yanahli WMA12182363 Yuchi Refuge6330 Grand total 2199169847625

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!

Source: https://t-tees.com
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