Turkey hunters checked 43,991 birds during Missouri's 2015 regular spring turkey season, according to the Missouri Department of Conservation. The season ran April 20 through May 10. Hunters in Franklin County checked the most birds--897. Texas County was second with 858. Young turkey hunters (ages six to 15) harvested 4,441 birds during the spring youth season April 11 and 12 bringing the total spring 2015 turkey harvest to 48,432.
The 2014 spring turkey harvest was 47,605 birds.
MDC recorded four firearms-related spring turkey hunting incidents during the 2015 regular season and none during the youth weekend. One of the incidents was fatal. Two involved shooters who mistook other hunters for turkeys.
Spring turkey harvest totals by county are available here.
According to MDC, "Missouri’s turkey harvest continues to be among the highest in the nation. MDC restoration efforts from past decades have taken this popular game bird from the brink of extirpation in the state by the 1950s to an estimated sustainable population of more than 300,000 birds today."
Turkey hunters can commemorate their first harvest by creating an MDC First Turkey certificate suitable for framing by clicking here.
