Turkey Hunting Regulations
GENERAL INFORMATION
Dogs may NOT be used while hunting turkeys during the spring turkey season. Dogs may be used in the fall season only.
Turkey permits are not transferable. Turkeys may be shot only while they are on the ground or in flight; it is illegal to shoot turkeys roosting in trees.
Permits and game tags are valid immediately after purchase.
Turkey permits and game tags are valid only in units designated on permits or tags. (See unit map below.)
Individuals who possess a turkey permit and a turkey game tag may harvest both turkeys the same day.
A valid Kansas hunting license is required in addition to a permit or game tag, unless exempt by law.
SUBSPECIES DISTRIBUTION
LEGAL EQUIPMENT
Legal equipment includes shotguns using shot sizes 2-9. Longbows, recurve bows, compound bows, and crossbows. No bow, crossbow or arrow may have any electronic device attached that controls the flight of the arrow. Devices that may be attached to a bow or arrow shall include lighted pin, dot or holographic sights; illuminated nocks; rangefinders; film or video cameras; and radio-frequency location devices; and draw-lock devices. Range-finding devices and optical scopes or sights that project no visi-ble light toward the target and do not elec-tronically amplify visible or infrared light may be used. Arrows used for hunting turkeys must be equipped with broadhead points that cannot pass through a ring 3/4-inch in diameter when fully expanded. Non-broad-head arrows may be possessed while hunt-ing but may not be used to take wild turkeys. Devices capable of dispensing chemicals to take big game animals may not be used.
Youth and disabled permit holders may use any legal equipment during the Spring Youth/Disabled season and Archery Season.
2022 FALL TURKEY
Season: Oct. 1-Nov. 10, 2022
Shooting Hours: One-half hour before sunrise to sunset.
Legal Equipment: Shotguns using shot sizes 2-9; long, recurve or compound bows and crossbows.
Permit Limit: Each hunter may obtain no ore than one turkey permit, which is valid in units 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6. Fall turkey permits are valid for both male and female turkeys. Dogs may be used in fall season.
Bag Limit: One turkey, either sex, per permit.
2023 SPRING TURKEY
Youth/Disabled Season: April 1-11, 2023
Archery Season: April 3-11, 2023
Regular Season: April 12-May 31,2023
Legal Equipment: Shotguns using shot sizes 2-9; long, recurve or compound bows and crossbows.
Shooting Hours: One-half hour before sunrise to sunset.
Permit Limit: TO BE DETERMINED
Bag Limit: One turkey with a visible beard per permit or game tag.
UNIT 4 PERMITS (BY DRAW ONLY): Spring turkey permits for Unit 4 are issued through a drawing. The limited number of Unit 4 permits issued may be valid in additional units. See permit for details. Fifty percent of the permits allocated for Unit 4 are reserved for applicants who qualify as landowner/tenants in that unit. Applications for Unit 4 permits must be received online or by phone at (620) 672-0728 no later than Feb. 10, 2023.
Unit 4 application fees are as follows:
• Resident General: $32.50
• Resident Landowner/Resident Tenant:$20.00
• Resident General Combo Permit/Game Tag: $42.50
• Resident Landowner/Resident Tenant Combo Permit/Game Tag: $25.00
• Nonresident Tenant: $37.50
• Nonresident Tenant Combo Permit/Game Tag: $50.00
• Preference Point only: $7.50
Fees include a $7.50 nonrefundable application fee. Unsuccessful applicants will receive a refund check and be issued a preference point. If you do not want to apply for a permit and instead wish to purchase a preference point only, you may do so online at kshuntfishcamp.com by selecting Spring Turkey Preference Point Application. Only one preference point may be obtained per year.
Youth 15 and younger are eligible to purchase turkey permits at a reduced price, which are valid statewide, including Unit 4.
TURKEY UNITS
POST-HARVEST INSTRUCTIONS
At the time of purchase, hunters will have the option of paper carcass tags or e-tags.
Paper tags: Sign permit prior to hunting to validate it. After an animal is killed, the carcass tag must be signed, dated and attached to the animal in a visible manner before the carcass is moved from the harvest site.
Paper permits and tags purchased through the internet must be printed on a desktop printer at the time of purchase. To protect a non-waterproof paper tag, place it in a clear plastic bag and attach it to the leg of the animal with a zip-tie or other attachment.
The carcass tag must remain attached to the animal during transport and kept with the meat until it is consumed, given to another or otherwise disposed of.
The beard of a turkey taken in the spring must remain naturally attached to the breast while in transit from the site of the kill. Hunters using paper tags may voluntarily register their birds if they wish to bone them out in the field. Voluntary registration requires sending photos to KDWPT of the bird with beard attached and the carcass tag attached before boning the meat. A con-firmation number will be sent, which will allow transport of the meat. The carcass may be left at the hunting site. To learn more about electronic registra-tion, visit ksoutdoors.com/pro-grams, then click “Electronic Turkey Check-in.”
Mobile/E-tags: Hunters who choose e-tags will keep the turkey permit and e-tag on their mobile device. To validate an e-tag when a bird is killed, open the “HuntFishKS” mobile app and record the date and time of kill and enter a photograph of the entire carcass with suffi-cient clarity to show its beard (if it was taken in the spring). Once the data and photo are submitted, a confirmation number will be dis-played within the app and must be kept on the mobile device during transport and retained by the hunter until the meat is con-sumed, given to another or otherwise dis-posed of. An e-tag confirmation number will work the same as electronic registration for a hunter wanting to bone out a turkey during the spring season and transport only meat.
DISTANCES FROM WICHITA
The following is a list of east and west dis-tances from Wichita of a few cities. These dis-tances are approximate and should serve as a frame of reference for hunters statewide. Check a Kansas highway map for more detailed information.
Cities East of Wichita . . . . . . . . Distance
Junction City, El Dorado . . . . . . . . 27 miles
Manhattan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39 miles
Emporia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 miles
Topeka . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 miles
Pittsburg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142 miles
Cities West of Wichita . . . . . . . . Distance
Pratt, Great Bend . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 miles
Greensburg, Hays . . . . . . . . . . . .110 miles
Dodge City . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148 miles
Garden City, Liberal, Oakley . . . .198 miles
