Hunters checked 1,633 turkeys during the firearms portion of Missouri’s fall turkey season, according to preliminary data from the Missouri Department of Conservation.
The season ran through October. Greene County led the state with 56 birds harvested, while Laclede and Perry counties each recorded 42.
The total was down from 1,950 turkeys harvested during the 2025 fall firearms season. MDC Turkey Biologist Nick Oakley said unusually warm weather likely played a role in the decline.
“Temperatures were well above normal across much of Missouri during the first two weekends of the fall firearms season, which likely accounts for some of the drop in harvest,” Oakley said.
He also pointed to spring weather as another factor.
“We also had a very wet spring, which hurts nest success and poult survival, so there are fewer young birds on the landscape this fall,” Oakley said.
Fall archery turkey hunting continues through Nov. 13, then resumes Nov. 25 through Jan. 15, 2027.
Current county-by-county harvest totals are available through the Missouri Department of Conservation’s website.
