In Texas, many hunters look forward to the beginning of the spring turkey hunting season. Texas has some of the greatest turkey hunting chances in the nation, with over 500,000 wild turkeys living there. With different dates and rules depending on the location, the 2023 Texas turkey hunting season looks to be another thrilling one. This post will provide all the details you want for the upcoming Texas turkey hunting season.
Texas Turkey Season
Texas has wild turkey subspecies, Rio Grande and Eastern. The Rio Grande turkey lives in the state’s west and south, whereas the Eastern turkey lives in the east. Both subspecies provide exciting spring hunting from late March to late May. Eastern turkey season begins in late April, although Rio Grande turkey season begins early in southern Texas. Due to their strong senses and elusiveness, both turkey subspecies make hunting challenging for both expert and new hunters.
Rio Grande Turkey
Spring Season
| TX Spring Turkey Zones | Start Date | End Date |
|---|---|---|
| North | 30-Mar-24 | 12-May-24 |
| South | 16-Mar-24 | 28-Apr-24 |
| One-turkey counties | 1-Apr-24 | 30-Apr-24 |
Fall Season
| TX Fall Turkey Zones | Start Date | End Date |
|---|---|---|
| North | 4-Nov-23 | 7-Jan-24 |
| South | 4-Nov-23 | 21-Jan-24 |
| Brooks, Kenedy, Kleberg & Willacy counties | 4-Nov-23 | 25-Feb-24 |
| Archery-only | 30-Sep-23 | 3-Nov-23 |
Texas youth turkey season
Youth Only Spring Turkeys
| TX Youth Spring Turkey Zones | Start Date | End Date |
|---|---|---|
| North | 23-Mar-24 | 24-Mar-24 |
| North | 18-May-24 | 19-May-24 |
| South | 9-Mar-24 | 10-Mar-24 |
| South | 4-May-24 | 5-May-24 |
Youth Only Fall Turkeys
| TX Youth Fall Turkey Zones | Start Date | End Date |
|---|---|---|
| North | 28-Oct-23 | 29-Oct-23 |
| North | 8-Jan-24 | 21-Jan-24 |
| South | 28-Oct-23 | 29-Oct-23 |
| South | 22-Jan-24 | 4-Feb-24 |
Eastern Turkey Season
| Eastern Turkey Zones | Start Date | End Date |
|---|---|---|
| East Texas | 22-Apr-24 | 14-May-24 |
Licenses & Cost
A hunting license is required to hunt in Texas and may be acquired by citizens and non-residents. Unless otherwise noted, the license is good until August 31. For Texans, members of the armed forces, and veterans, there are additional combination packages for hunting and fishing permits and lifelong licenses. Additionally, several licenses and certifications, including the Federal Sandhill Crane Hunting Permit, the Harvest Information Program (HIP) Certification, the Upland Game Bird Endorsement, the Texas Migratory Game Bird Endorsement, the Federal Duck Stamp, the Reptile and Amphibian Endorsement, are needed to hunt specific species.
| License Type | Cost |
|---|---|
| Resident Hunting License | $126 |
| Non-Resident Hunting License | $188 |
| Youth/Disabled/Retired Citizen Hunting License | $10 |
Bag Limits
Texas usually has a daily bag restriction of one bearded turkey and a two-bearded turkey possession limit for wild turkey hunters. Hunters in the North and South zones can take up to four turkeys a year, with a daily limit of one bird. However, just one turkey is permitted in certain counties during the Special 1 Turkey Bag Limit season. County-specific regulations may vary, so check the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department website for exact bag limit information is recommended.
Tagging Requirements
To tag a wild turkey, hunters utilizing digital licenses should adhere to the Digital Licenses and Tagging guidelines. Hunters with physical hunting permits must precisely complete and swiftly attach a tag on the animal, except for properties with special tags like MLDP tags. The hunter must use a specific turkey tag, clip out the month and day of the kill, and report wild turkey harvests in all pertinent counties using the My Texas Hunt Harvest app. Anywhere on the turkey is OK for tag placement as long as it wasn’t damaged, altered, or lost during transportation or handling. Turkeys with a restricted bag composition must be processed with sex proof.
If the head and carcass are separated, the WRD goes with the head, and the hunting license tag goes with the flesh. Read the tag use description before tagging a turkey with a license tag. The tag has to be on the bird up to processing. Hunters must tag wild turkeys to protect wildlife.
Using Tags (Wild Turkey Only)
Depending on the county and species, hunters may tag wild turkeys with one of four tags.
- Tag1: Except for East Texas, counties with a bag restriction of 1 or 4 turkeys may utilize Tag 1, which is exclusively valid for Rio Grande, Turkey. Hunters in Eastern Turkey should refrain from using tag 1.
- Tag 2: may likewise only be used for Rio Grande Turkey and is legal in all counties with a bag limit of one to four turkeys, except East Texas. It shouldn’t be used in Eastern Turkey, just like Tag 1.
- Tag 3: Except for East Texas, counties with a bag restriction of 1 or 4 turkeys may utilize Tag 3, which is exclusively valid for Rio Grande, Turkey. Hunters should refrain from using Tag 3 in Eastern Turkey once again.
- Tag 4: Finally, Tag 4 may be used in any county with a bag restriction of 1 or 4 turkeys and is good for Rio Grande and Eastern Turkey. This tag is adaptable since it may be used on wild turkey species in any county with a bag restriction of one or four.
Whichever tag the hunter chooses, they must make sure to accurately and legibly fill it out, including the property’s name and county. In addition, they must remove the month and date of the kill from the tag and, if the bag composition calls for it, leave the turkey with confirmation of sex.
Hunting Regulations
Hunting turkey over bait is restricted in some East Texas counties during the Eastern Spring Season. Only shotguns and legal archery equipment may be utilized. The department must receive all harvested turkeys within 24 hours. Field-dressed turkeys must arrive undamaged.
Eleven Texas counties may harvest one gobbler in the Western One-Gobbler Zone each year. This zone restricts hunters to one turkey per county. The Western One-Gobbler Only Zone includes Bastrop, Caldwell, Colorado, Fayette, Jackson, Lavaca, Lee, Matagorda, Milam, and Wharton.
Suppose the turkey bag contains just gobblers or gobblers and bearded hens. In that case, hunters must maintain evidence of sex with the bird until it reaches a processor’s home or cold storage/processing facility. One leg with the spur or a patch of skin with breast feathers and a beard might prove gobbler sex. A patch of skin with breast feathers and a beard proves sex in bearded chickens.
Hunting and releasing roosting turkeys is prohibited. Turkey hunters must promptly get a license tag for the bird. Digital license and tag hunters must follow tagging guidelines. Turkey hunting requires an Upland Game Bird Endorsement.
After killing a wild turkey, the hunter must fill out a tag with the property and county name and affix it to the animal. Hunters using digital licenses and tags should follow tagging guidelines on the license.
Note: For other lists of Texas Turkey Regulations, you may read on the eregulations website.
Texas Turkey Hunting Zones
Fall Turkey Zones
Fall North Zone Counties
| Archer | Gray | Ochiltree |
| Armstrong | Hall | Oldham |
| Bandera | Hamilton | Palo Pinto |
| Baylor | Hardeman | Parker |
| Bell | Hartley | Pecos |
| Bexar | Haskell | Potter |
| Blanco | Hays | Randall |
| Borden | Hemphill | Reagan |
| Bosque | Hill | Real |
| Briscoe | Hood | Roberts |
| Brown | Howard | Runnels |
| Burnet | Hutchinson | Rusk |
| Callahan | Irion | San Saba |
| Carson | Jack | Schleicher |
| Childress | Johnson | Scurry |
| Clay | Jones | Shackelford |
| Coke | Karnes | Shelby |
| Coleman | Kaufman | Smith |
| Collingsworth | Kendall | Somervell |
| Comal | Kent | Stephens |
| Comanche | Kerr | Sterling |
| Concho | Kimble | Stonewall |
| Cooke | King | Sutton |
| Coryell | Kinney | Swisher |
| Cottle | Knox | Tarrant |
| Crane | Lipscomb | Taylor |
| Crockett | Lampasas | Terrell |
| Crosby | Llano | Throckmorton |
| Dawson | Lynn | Titus |
| Denton | Martin | Tom Green |
| Dickens | Mason | Travis |
| Donley | McCulloch | Trinity |
| Eastland | McLennan | Upton |
| Ector | Medina | Uvalde (north of Highway 90) |
| Edwards | Menard | Ward |
| Erath | Midland | Wheeler |
| Fisher | Mills | Wichita |
| Floyd | Mitchell | Wilbarger |
| Foard | Montague | Williamson |
| Garza | Moore | Wise |
| Gillespie | Motley | Val Verde (north of line) |
| Glasscock | Nolan | 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 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 | 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 | Brooks | Comal |
| Atascosa | Calhoun | Crockett |
| Bee | Cameron | DeWitt |
| Dimmit | Duval | Frio |
| Goliad | Gonzales | Hidalgo |
| Jim Hogg | Jim Wells | Karnes |
| Kenedy | 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
| Aransas | Brooks | Comal |
| Atascosa | Calhoun | Crockett |
| Bee | Cameron | DeWitt |
| Dimmit | Duval | Frio |
| Goliad | Gonzales | Hidalgo |
| Jim Hogg | Jim Wells | Karnes |
| Kenedy | 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 |
Eastern Turkey Counties
| Bowie | Cass | Fannin |
| Grayson | Jasper | Lamar |
| Marion | Nacogdoches | Newton |
| Polk | Red River | Sabine |
FAQs related to Texas Turkey Season
When is the Eastern Turkey season in Texas, and what are the regulations?
In 177 of Texas’ 254 counties, the Eastern turkey season runs from April 22 to May 14, 2023. Any method of hunting or releasing turkeys without department approval is prohibited while roosting.
How can hunters report the harvest of Eastern Turkeys in Texas?
Within 24 hours after the harvest, hunters must electronically notify TPWD of their Eastern Turkey harvest. Reports may be submitted online at the TPWD website or through the TPWD My Texas Hunt Harvest App.
When is the Rio Grande Turkey season in Texas, and how can hunters participate?
The spring turkey season in the Rio Grande Valley starts on April 2 and concludes on May 15. The season for young hunters begins on January 3 and finishes on January 16. Hunters must have a current hunting license and turkey tag, which must be properly and legibly filled out and promptly affixed to the animal to participate in the Rio Grande Turkey season.
What is the bag limit for Texas Turkey Hunting Season?
The Texas Turkey Hunting Season’s bag limit is only two bearded turkeys.
What are some quick facts regarding turkey hunting in Texas?
Texas’s wild turkeys have excellent eyesight, the capacity to detect minute movements, and the capacity to focus on sounds from a mile away. They are among the hardest game animals to hunt.
