Two Male Wild Turkeys with Full Tail Feathers in Springtime.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is reminding hunters that the spring turkey hunt starts April 21nd and goes on until June 1st.
The 2021 spring turkey hunt includes six, seven-day periods running Wednesday through the following Tuesday. Each of the DNR’s seven turkey management zones will be open for hunting.
The Fall 2020 – Spring 2021 Combined Hunting Regulations provide hunters with season dates, general regulations, shooting hours, and anything else notable for the hunt.
Please remember that turkey registration is mandatory and hunters must register their turkey by 5 p.m. the day after shooting using the DNR’s Electronic Game Registration reporting system GameReg, or by phone at 1-844-426-3734. Hunters will need their harvest authorization number to register their turkey, located on a paper or a digital copy of their harvest authorization.
Youth Turkey Hunt April 17th and 18th
Kids under the age of 16 may hunt during the spring turkey youth hunt on April 17th and 18th. Those under the age of 12 and youth without a hunter education certificate can hunt during this time under the mentored hunting program. A qualified adult must be with the child and follow the youth turkey hunting and mentored hunting program rules.
Youth hunters must possess a valid spring turkey license, stamp, and harvest authorization. A harvest authorization for any period can be used during the youth hunt weekend, but youth hunters must hunt within the turkey management zone indicated on their harvest authorization. For more info about Wisconsin youth hunts, click here.
Hunting on Public Land This Spring
The DNR’s free Hunt Wild mobile app helps with public land mapping, rules and regulations, shooting hours, and the option to link their Go Wild account.
This year hunters have access to almost 40,000 acres of private land through the Voluntary Public Access-Habitat Incentive Program (VPA-HIP) and the Turkey Hunter Access Program (THAP).
Hunters who would like to pursue turkeys in a state park must hold a harvest authorization for the turkey management zone in which the park is located. Spring turkey hunting is allowed in select state parks during the two-day youth hunt and the regular season’s first two time periods. For more information regarding hunting in state parks, check out the DNR’s state park hunting webpage.
For additional information about turkey hunting in Wisconsin, click here.
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