Turkey Hunting Regulations

Hunting Hunting Areas

Hunting Credentials and Requirements

To hunt turkey, residents and non-residents will need:

• a valid hunting license
• a state habitat stamp
• at least one valid turkey permit

Exemptions to these requirements are specified in the tables. For residency qualification, see resident definition.

See above turkey hunting maps for associated spring and fall zones.

You cannot legally:

• hunt wild turkey without first obtaining an IDNR permit.
• hunt wild turkey unless the permit is signed and is in the hunter’s possession while hunting.
• harvest in Illinois, or have in possession, more than one wild turkey per legally authorized permit.
• leave in the field or transport a wild turkey without first immediately attaching the leg tag securely around the leg as instructed on the permit.
  Note: Leg tag must be affixed to the wild turkey immediately upon kill. The leg tag must remain attached to the leg of the turkey until it is at the
  legal residence of the person who legally took or possessed the turkey and the turkey has been checked in.
• butcher a turkey until it has been checked in.
• possess, while in the field during wild turkey seasons, any wild turkey permit issued to another person.
• hunt wild turkey in a county or area other than specified on the permit.

Firearm and Archery Equipment Regulations

Firearm Regulations

• The only firearm that can be used to hunt wild turkey is a shotgun (20 gauge to 10 gauge only, no .410 or 28 gauge allowed). You may not possess any other type of firearm for the purpose of hunting wild turkey unless in accordance with the Firearm Concealed Carry Act.
• No. 4 shot is the largest shot that may be used while hunting turkey with a shotgun.

• Legal vertical bow types are long, recurved or compound bows with a minimum pull of 30 pounds at some point within a 28-inch draw. Minimum arrow length for all vertical bow types is 20 inches (not including point).
• To use a crossbow it must have a minimum draw weight of 125 pounds; minimum overall length of 24 inches; a working safety; and used with fletched bolts or arrows of not less than 14 inches (not including point).
• Broadheads must be used for archery turkey hunting. Broadheads may have fixed (must be metal or flint-, chert or obsidian-knapped) or expandable (must be metal) cutting surfaces, but they must have a minimum 7/8 inch diameter when fully opened.
• All other bows and arrows, including electronic arrow-tracking systems utilizing radio-telemetry, are illegal
• Hunters can legally carry a shotgun and bow and arrow during spring season.
• Hunters cannot legally have any firearm in possession while hunting turkey with any type of bow and arrow during fall season.

Turkey Permit Process

• Apply online or with a hardcopy application. To receive hardcopy applications for a wild turkey hunting permit, contact the Springfield Permit Office at (217) 782-7305. See sections on the permit application process for spring and fall hereafter.
• Applicants please allow approximately 4 weeks after the respective application deadline dates for Lottery Drawing results

Mandatory Turkey Harvest Reporting

Successful hunters must register their harvest by 10 p.m. on the same calendar day the turkey was harvested by calling toll-free 1-866- 452-4325 (1-866-ILCHECK) or by accessing the online check-in system. Hunters must provide all information requested by the telephone check-in system and will be provided with a confirmation number to verify that they checked in their harvest. The confirmation number must be written by the hunter onto the leg tag.

Decoys and Other Attractants

You cannot legally:

• use live or electronic decoys, dogs or recorded calls.
  
• possess or use any net or trap for harvesting turkeys.
• harvest wild turkeys by the use or aid of bait or baiting of any kind. “Bait” means any material, whether liquid or solid, including food, salt, minerals and other products that can be ingested, placed or scattered in such a manner as to attract or lure wild turkeys. “Baiting” means the placement or scattering of bait to attract wild turkeys. An area is considered as baited during the presence of and for 10 consecutive days following the removal of the bait.

For the purposes of taking wild turkeys, nothing in this Section shall be construed to prevent the manipulation, including mowing or cutting, of standing crops as a normal agricultural or soil stabilization practice, food plots, or normal agricultural practices, including planting, harvesting, and maintenance such as cultivating.

Season Specific Regulations

Turkeys Legal to Harvest

• Only toms and jakes (males) or a hen with a visible beard are legal to harvest during the spring season.

Clothing Requirements

• While not required, hunters are encouraged to wear at least a blaze orange or blaze pink hat or vest when not actively hunting to maximize visibility to other hunters.

Spring Permit Application Process

• First Lottery: Only resident hunters may apply for one turkey hunting permit. This excludes hunters who have received or will receive a landowner property-only hunting turkey permit for the spring season. Applications are accepted through 1 December.
• Second Lottery: All hunters are eligible to apply for one turkey hunting permit, but hunters who have not already been awarded a permit will receive preference. Applications are accepted through the first working day after 11 January.
• Third Lottery: All hunters are eligible to apply. Hunters may apply for up to three permits during this period, except that no one may exceed the maximum number of three permits in total for spring turkey hunting. Applications are accepted through the first working day after 9 February.
• Over-the-Counter Sales Period: Permits remaining after the Third Lottery Drawing will be available over-the-counter from license vendors throughout the state on a first-come, first-served basis beginning the second Tuesday in March. Permits will be sold until quotas are exhausted, or until the close of the specific turkey season for which the permit is being requested. Hunters may purchase one or more permits during this period, subject to availability, except that no one may exceed the limit of three permits in total for spring turkey hunting.
• Permit Limit: Three wild turkey hunting permits may be obtained for the spring season, including regular, youth, and landowner permits, subject to availability.

Turkey Calling Prior to Season

• You cannot legally use a turkey call that imitates sounds made by a turkey, or attempt to call a turkey by making these sounds, while in the field in the Southern Zone from 15 March through the day before turkey season, and in the Northern Zone from 22 March through the day before turkey season. This prohibition applies only in counties open to spring turkey hunting and does not apply to hunters while participating in the youth turkey season. Note: This does not prohibit the use of locator calls that imitate other species such as owls, crows, hawks, etc.

Shooting Turkeys in Trees

• You cannot legally shoot a wild turkey while it is in a tree before 7 a.m.

Non-Hunting Activities During Spring Seasons

At IDNR sites offering spring wild turkey hunting, mushroom hunting and other non-hunting activities are prohibited during legal shooting hours for wild turkey hunting (1/2 hour before sunrise to 1 p.m.).

Youth Wild Turkey Hunting Season

• The spring youth turkey hunt is open only to young hunters(resident or nonresident) who have not reached their 18th birthday before the first day of the hunt.
• Participants must have a current valid Youth Turkey Hunt permit and a valid hunting license or apprentice hunting license.
• Each hunter participating in the Illinois Youth Turkey Hunt while using an Apprentice Hunter License or Youth HuntingLicense must be accompanied by a non-hunting, validly-licensed (Illinois hunting license) adult who is 21 years of age or older.
• All other hunters (using other types of hunting licenses or license-exempt) participating in the Youth Turkey Hunt must each be accompanied by a non-hunting supervisor (parent, guardian or responsible adult). If the youth is hunting with a firearm, a nonresident supervisor must have a valid Illinois hunting license.

Fall Gun and Archery Season Regulations

Clothing Requirements

• While not required, hunters are encouraged to wear at least a blaze orange or blaze pink hat or vest when not actively hunting to maximize visibility to other hunters.

Turkeys Legal to Harvest

• Turkeys of any sex are legal to harvest during the fall gun and fall archery seasons.

Fall Gun Permit Application Process

• First Lottery: Residents may apply for one turkey hunting permit. This excludes applicants who have received or will receive a landowner property-only hunting turkey permit for the fall gun season.
• Second Lottery: Residents who were rejected for a wild turkey permit during the first lottery, who are applying for their first permit, or nonresidents may apply for one permit. Eligible Illinois residents have preference over nonresidents in this lottery. This excludes applicants who have received or will receive a landowner property-only hunting turkey permit for the fall gun season.
• Over-the-Counter Sales Period: Permits remaining after the Second Lottery Drawing will be available over-the-counter from license vendors throughout the state on a first-come, first-served basis beginning the 4th Monday after the 2nd Lottery deadline. Permits will be sold until quotas are exhausted, or until the close of the Fall Gun turkey season. Hunters may purchase one or more permits during this period, subject to availability, except that no one may exceed the limit of two permits in total for fall gun turkey hunting, including landowner permits.

Fall Gun Permit

• A limit of two wild turkey hunting permits may be obtained for the fall gun season, subject to availability.
• Permits are issued for a specific county or area and are valid only in the county or area designated on the permit.

Archery Permit Application Process and Limit

• Fall archery permits do not require lottery drawing and are available over-the-counter from license vendors only. Two wild turkey hunting permits may be obtained for the fall archery season.

Shooting Turkeys in Trees

• You cannot legally shoot a wild turkey while it is in a tree before 7 a.m.