KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — On Saturday, hunters across Tennessee will be able to venture out into the woods in search of turkeys. The start of the state's spring turkey hunting season will be on April 13, and the season will last for more than a month up until May 26.
The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency said in 2023, hunters bagged 31,802 turkeys — a 6% increase compared to 2022 and a 2% decrease compared to the five-year average. The TWRA also said harvests were high at the beginning of the season, but slowed down as the season progressed. Around 25,500 hunters harvested at least one turkey in 2023, a 20% increase compared to the five-year average.
Hunters are limited to one bearded turkey per day, and cannot kill more than two per season. Only one of those birds can be a Jake — a young gobbler. Adult gobblers can be spotted by their wing feathers stretching to the tip, tail feathers all being the same length and their beards being longer than 6 inches.
"Hunters are reminded about 'Tag Before You Drag' where hunters tag their big game animal in the field prior to moving. Hunters can use the 'TWRA on the Go' app to simply E-tag and report their harvest in the field in one easy step, with or without cell phone service, prior to moving," the TWRA said in a release.
Hunters without a phone can attach a temporary transportation tag printed at the bottom of their hunting license and check in their bird online at GoOutdoorsTennessee.com, or at a manned check station, the TWRA said.
Hunters can only use shotguns loaded with No. 4 shot or smaller, longbows, recurve bows, compound bows and crossbows during the hunting season. Guns and archery equipment may have sighting devices, except for ones that use an artificial light capable of locating wildlife.