Hunters in Missouri harvested 45,475 turkeys during the state’s 2026 regular spring turkey season, according to a community announcement.
The season ran from April 20 through May 10, with Macon, Callaway and Franklin counties leading in the number of birds harvested. Macon County topped the list with 979 turkeys, followed by Callaway with 926 and Franklin with 879, according to the announcement.
Youth turkey season adds to total harvest
Young hunters contributed significantly to the overall harvest, taking 5,255 turkeys during the spring youth weekend held April 11 and 12. This brings the total spring turkey harvest for 2026 to 50,730, according to the announcement.
Strong turkey population contributes to successful season
“Good gobbler carryover from the 2023 hatch and a decent 2024 hatch resulted in a strong population of adult birds this year,” MDC Wild Turkey Biologist Nick Oakley said in the announcement. “While harvest was down a couple hundred birds compared to last year, harvest was still up 6% compared to harvests going back to 1998. Strong hatches lead to better hunting down the road. Managing for good nesting and brooding habitat is key to success in the field.”
How this season compares to previous years
Last year, young turkey hunters harvested 4,449 turkeys over the spring youth season and hunters harvested 46,562 during the regular spring season for a 2025 spring season total harvest of 51,011, according to the announcement.
More information available online
More information on this year’s spring turkey harvest numbers by county is available at extra.mdc.mo.gov/widgets/harvest_table. Turkey harvest numbers for past seasons can be found at mdc.mo.gov/hunting-trapping/species/turkey/turkey-reports/turkey-harvest-summaries.
For more information about turkey hunting in Missouri, visit huntfish.mdc.mo.gov/hunting-trapping/species/turkey. Tips on how to improve nesting and brooding habitat on private property are available at mdc.mo.gov/MOTurkeys.
This story was created with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of the information gathering, review, editing and publishing process. Learn more at https://cm.usatoday.com/ethical-conduct/.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Missouri’s spring turkey harvest for 2026 passes 50,000 birds