After a frigid winter filled with snow and ice, Kentucky’s 2026 spring turkey hunting season arrives with excitement for both hunters and biologists.
Higher-than-usual turkey brood surveys, summertime observations of young turkey poults hatched that year, signal healthy populations of gobblers for hunters to pursue in the commonwealth this season.
The spring hunting season kicks off with a youth-only weekend, April 4-5, followed by the 23-day general season starting April 18. Hunters with proper permits can harvest two birds during the season but only one a day. Legal birds are male or have a beard.
Hunters should familiarize themselves with the regulations before going afield. Basics include:
Dates: General season, April 18-May 10. Youth season for hunters ages 15 and younger is April 4-5.
Shooting hours: 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset.
Requirements: Annual hunting license and spring turkey permit (or all-in-one Sportsman’s License). Hunters 12 to 15 years old need a youth hunting license and youth turkey permit (or a Youth Sportsman’s License). Hunters 11 and under are license-exempt. Hunters under age 16 must be accompanied by an adult.
Legal birds: Turkeys that are male or have visible beard.
Bag Limits: Two per spring season, but only one per day. A limit of one bird per wildlife management area per season applies. A youth turkey permit allows hunters 12 to 15 years old to take one bird in either the spring or fall seasons.
Clothing: Hunter orange not required; recommended if carrying a harvested bird.
Tagging, recording: Fill out the Harvest Log before moving harvested bird and telecheck it by phone or online by midnight of the day it is recovered. Birds dropped off to a taxidermist or butcher must have a handmade tag with hunter’s name, phone and Telecheck confirmation number.
Leg bands: Harvested turkeys with leg bands should be reported to Kentucky Fish and Wildlife on the Turkey Band reporting webpage.
Baiting/feeding: Illegal to hunt turkey over bait.
Callers/Assistants: Callers and assistants who are not hunting do not need licenses or permits.
For all regulations, general information and videos on turkey hunting and processing, see the Spring Turkey Hunting page or the Kentucky Spring Hunting Guide, both online at the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife website (fw.ky.gov).
Source: KYFW
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