JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri hunters bagged over 45,000 birds during the 2026 regular spring turkey season.
The Missouri Department of Conservation said preliminary data indicated 45,475 turkeys were checked between April 20 and May 10. The top harvest counties were Macon, Callaway, and Franklin.Â
During the spring youth weekend, April 11-12, young hunters harvested a near-record 5,255 turkeys, bringing the total to 50,730 birds this season.
"Good gobbler carryover from the 2023 hatch and a decent 2024 hatch resulted in a strong population of adult birds this year," said MDC Wild Turkey Biologist Nick Oakley. "Strong hatches lead to better hunting down the road. Managing for good nesting and brooding habitat is key to success in the field."Â
Hunters took 281 more birds last year. Youth hunters harvested less turkeys in 2025 than this year, but adults harvested over 1,000 more comparatively.Â
"While harvest was down a couple hundred birds compared to last year, harvest was still up 6% compared to harvests going back to 1998," Oakley said.
At Lake of the Ozarks, preliminary reports show hunters checked nearly 2,000 turkeys this season. Miller County came out on top with 795, followed by Camden County with 679, and Morgan County with 477 birds.
View more information from the MDC below:
