Turkey Seasons
Season Dates & County Regulations
Upland Game Bird Endorsement Required
Archery Only
All counties with an open fall season
- Sept. 30 - Nov. 3, 2023
Youth-Only
North Zone
- Oct. 28 - 29, 2023
- Jan. 8 - 21, 2024
South Zone
- Oct. 28 - 29, 2023
- Jan. 22 - Feb. 4, 2024
Rio Grande - North Zone
- Mar. 23 - 24, 2024
- May 18 - 19, 2024
Rio Grande - South Zone
- Mar. 9 - 10, 2024
- May 4 - 5, 2024
Fall Season
North Zone
- Nov. 4, 2023 - Jan. 7, 2024
South Zone
- Nov. 4, 2023 - Jan. 21, 2024
Brooks, Kenedy, Kleberg, and Willacy Counties
- Nov. 4, 2023 - Feb. 25, 2024
Spring Season
Rio Grande - North Zone
- Mar. 30 - May 12, 2024
Rio Grande - South Zone
- Mar. 16 - Apr. 28, 2024
Rio Grande - Special - 1 Turkey Bag Limit
- Apr. 1 - 30, 2024
Eastern Turkey
- Apr. 22 - May 14, 2024
Lawful Activity
It is unlawful to hunt roosting turkeys by any means at any time or to release turkeys without department authorization.
All turkey must be tagged with a tag from the hunter’s license immediately upon harvest, and in a secure manner anywhere on the turkey. Hunters in possession of a digital license and tags should refer to Super Combo Digital Tags for tagging instructions.
Upland Game Bird Endorsement is required to hunt turkey.
Tagging a Wild Turkey
A tag from the hunting license of the person who killed the turkey must be correctly and legibly completed (including name of property and county) and immediately attached to the animal. Hunters in possession of a digital license and tags should refer to Digital Licenses and Tagging for tagging instructions.
See how to properly tag a turkey.
Mandatory Harvest Reporting
Harvest reporting is mandatory for wild turkeys in all counties with a 1-bird bag limit.
Report using "My Texas Hunt Harvest" app for Android or iOS
Special Regulations for Eastern Spring Season in Certain East Texas Counties
Shotgun and lawful archery equipment are the only legal means of take; no hunting over bait; all turkeys must be reported to the department within 24 hours after they are killed. Harvested turkeys may be field dressed, but must otherwise remain intact until reaching a final destination.
All Eastern turkey harvests must be reported by mobile app or online:
Special Regulations for Western One-Gobbler Counties
No more than one gobbler may be harvested annually per county in the Western One-Gobbler Zone. Those counties in the Western One-Gobbler Only Zone include Bastrop, Caldwell, Colorado, Fayette, Jackson, Lavaca, Lee, Matagorda, Milam, and Wharton.
Proof of Sex
During a season in which the bag composition for turkey is restricted to gobblers only or gobblers and bearded hens, proof of sex must remain with the turkey, attached or unattached, until it reaches either the processor’s permanent residence or a cold storage/processing facility and is finally processed. Proof of sex for turkeys:
- gobbler (male turkey):
- one leg, including the spur or
- a patch of skin with breast feathers and beard attached
- bearded hen (female turkey): a patch of skin with breast feathers and beard attached
Turkey Hunting Zones
Fall Turkey Hunting Zones
Fall North Zone Counties: Archer, Armstrong, Bandera, Baylor, Bell, Bexar, Blanco, Borden, Bosque, Briscoe, Brown, Burnet, Callahan, Carson, Childress, Clay, Coke, Coleman, Collingsworth, Comal, Comanche, Concho, Cooke, Coryell, Cottle, Crane, Crockett, Crosby, Dawson, Denton, Dickens, Donley, Eastland, Ector, Edwards, Erath, Fisher, Floyd, Foard, Garza, Gillespie, Glasscock, Gray, Hall, Hamilton, Hardeman, Hartley, Haskell, Hays, Hemphill, Hill, Hood, Howard, Hutchinson, Irion, Jack, Johnson, Jones, Kendall, Kent, Kerr, Kimble, King, Kinney (north of Highway 90), Knox, Lipscomb, Lampasas, Llano, Lynn, Martin, Mason, McCulloch, McLennan, Medina (north of Highway 90), Menard, Midland, Mills, Mitchell, Montague, Moore, Motley, Nolan, Ochiltree, Oldham, Palo Pinto, Parker, Pecos, Potter, Randall, Reagan, Real, Roberts, Runnels, Sutton, San Saba, Schleicher, Scurry, Shackelford, Somervell, Stephens, Sterling, Stonewall, Swisher, Tarrant, Taylor, Terrell, Throckmorton, Tom Green, Travis, Upton, Uvalde (north of Highway 90), Ward, Wheeler, Wichita, Wilbarger, Williamson, Wise, Val Verde (north of a line beginning at the International Bridge and proceeding along Spur 239 to U.S. Hwy. 90 and thence to the Kinney County line), Young
Fall South Zone Counties: Aransas, Atascosa, Bee, Calhoun, Cameron, Dimmit, Duval, Frio, Goliad, Gonzales, Hidalgo, Jim Hogg, Jim Wells, Karnes, Kinney (south of Highway 90), La Salle, Live Oak, Maverick, McMullen, Medina (south of Highway 90), Nueces, Refugio, San Patricio, Starr, Uvalde (south of Highway 90), Val Verde (south of U.S. Highway 90 and east of Spur 239/277 S), Webb, Zapata, Zavala
Brooks, Kenedy, Kleberg, and Willacy Counties: Brooks, Kenedy, Kleberg, Willacy, Wilson
Spring Turkey Hunting Zones
Spring North Zone Counties: Archer, Armstrong, Bandera, Baylor, Bell, Bexar, Blanco, Brewster, Borden, Bosque, Briscoe, Brown, Burnet, Callahan, Carson, Childress, Clay, Coke, Coleman, Collingsworth, Comal, Comanche, Concho, Cooke, Coryell, Cottle, Crane, Crockett, Crosby, Dawson, Denton, Dickens, Donley, Eastland, Ector, Edwards, Ellis, Erath, Fisher, Floyd, Foard, Garza, Gillespie, Glasscock, Gray, Guadalupe, Hall, Hamilton, Hardeman, Hartley, Haskell, Hays, Hemphill, Hill, Hood, Howard, Hutchinson, Irion, Jack, Jeff Davis, Johnson, Jones, Kendall, Kent, Kerr, Kimble, King, Kinney (north of Highway 90), Knox, Lampasas, Lipscomb, Llano, Lynn, Martin, Mason, McCulloch, McLennan, Medina (north of Highway 90), Menard, Midland, Mills, Mitchell, Montague, Moore, Motley, Nolan, Ochiltree, Oldham, Palo Pinto, Parker, Pecos, Potter, Randall, Reagan, Real, Roberts, Runnels, San Saba, Schleicher, Scurry, Shackelford, Somervell, Stephens, Sterling, Stonewall, Sutton, Swisher, Tarrant, Taylor, Terrell, Throckmorton, Tom Green, Travis, Upton, Uvalde (north of Highway 90), Val Verde (north of a line beginning at the International Bridge and proceeding along Spur 239 to U.S. Hwy. 90 and thence to the Kinney County line), Ward, Wheeler, Wichita, Wilbarger, Williamson, Wise, Young
Spring South Zone Counties: Aransas, Atascosa, Bee, Brooks, Calhoun, Cameron, Comal, Crockett, DeWitt, Dimmit, Duval, Frio, Goliad, Gonzales, Hidalgo, Jim Hogg, Jim Wells, Karnes, Kenedy, Kinney (south of Highway 90), Kleberg, La Salle, Live Oak, Maverick, McMullen, Medina (south of Highway 90), Nueces, Refugio, San Patricio, Starr, Uvalde (south of Highway 90), Val Verde (south of U.S. Highway 90 and east of Spur 239/277 S), Victoria, Webb, Willacy, Wilson, Zapata, Zavala
Spring One Gobbler Counties: Bastrop, Caldwell, Colorado, Fayette, Jackson, Lavaca, Lee, Milam, Wharton, Matagorda
Eastern Turkey Counties: Bowie, Cass, Fannin, Grayson, Jasper, Lamar, Marion, Nacogdoches, Newton, Polk, Red River, Sabine
