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Turkey Hunting in Iowa

By the early 1900's, unrestricted market hunting and drastic reductions in habitat had eliminated wild turkeys in Iowa. For many years, the thunderous gobbles of the wild turkey were absent from Iowa's woodlands and forests.

This silence was broken in 1966 when the Iowa Conservation Commission, now the Department of Natural Resources, initiated a program to return the wild turkey to Iowa. Wild turkeys were released at several sites across the state, with the first release occurring in Lee County, Iowa. Since these early days, turkey populations have expanded across the entire state of Iowa.

Coming to Iowa to hunt for turkey?
Nonresident spring turkey application period is Jan 1 to the last Sunday in January. The application will be available in December. Check availability of available licenses before going online to purchase. For zone map information and season dates be sure to download our Nonresident Turkey Application Guide

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Turkey Hunting Season Dates

turkey

We work hard to keep our calendar current, but always refer to the hunting regulation booklet for official, legal season dates.

Licenses go on sale August 15.
Note: nonresidents are not eligible for fall turkey hunting licenses.

Gun shooting hours: half-hour before sunrise to sunset
Bow shooting hours: half-hour before sunrise to 1/2 hour after sunset.

2023 Fall Turkey Hunting Season Dates License On-sale Dates
Gun/bow Oct 16 - Dec 1, 2023 Aug 15 - until quotas are filled
Archery Only Oct 1 - Dec 1, 2023 &
Dec 18 - Jan 10, 2024
Aug 15 - end of season (no quota)

 

2024 Spring Turkey Hunting Season Dates Shooting Hours
Youth season (residents only) Apr 5 - 7, 2024 half-hour before sunrise to sunset.
Season 1 Apr 8 - 11, 2024 half-hour before sunrise to sunset.
Season 2 Apr 12 - 16, 2024 half-hour before sunrise to sunset.
Season 3 Apr 17 - 23, 2024 half-hour before sunrise to sunset.
Season 4 Apr 24 - May 12, 2024 half-hour before sunrise to sunset.
Resident archery-only Apr 8 - May 12, 2024 half-hour before sunrise to sunset.

 

Bag limit: daily bag and season possession limit is one bearded or male wild turkey for each valid license and transportation tag issued to the hunter.

The nonresident spring turkey application period is jan. 1 to the last Sunday in January. the application is available in december.

Safe Turkey Hunting


TIP HOTLINE

Turn In Poachers Hotline is 800-532-2020If you witness or hear of poaching activity call the TIP HOTLINE (800) 532-2020 or visit our site and report it immediately.

https://www.iowadnr.gov/tip

Turkey Hunting in Iowa - FAQ

Hunters may determine their drawing status online. Please do not call the DNR as your drawing status will not be provided over the phone. To look up your drawing status information, you must now go to the online purchasing site. After logging in, please click on the ‘View Application Status’ option on the right side of the page.

For more information regarding Season Dates/Info, Application Dates, License Fee and Requirements, Application Instructions, Group Info, Landowner Info, Zones, etc please take a moment to view our Nonresident Turkey Application Guide.

 

If any license quota has not been filled, the excess licenses will be sold online or through the telephone ordering system, until the quotas are filled or the last day of the respective season, whichever comes first.

 

Currently we have one youth season (3 days prior to season 1) and four regular seasons which are 4, 5, 7, and 19 days in length (35 days total). The first season begins on the second Monday of April. For current season dates please review the Hunting and Trapping Regulations.

 

How old is my turkey? To differentiate between adults and juveniles, examine the tip of the last 1 or 2 primary (large) wing feathers. Adults have rounded tips with white barring extending all the way to the tip. Juveniles have narrow pointed feathers with no white bars on the last 2 inches. In addition, the tail fan on an adult has a regular contour of tail feathers, while a juvenile has an irregular contour.

To further estimate the age of your (male) turkey, examine the spurs on the leg and the turkey’s beard. Generally, 1 year-old turkeys have a spur length of 1/2” or less and a beard length of 2-5”; 2 year-old turkeys have spurs between 1/2” and 7/8” and a beard between 6” and 9” in length; 3 year-old turkeys have spurs between 7/8” and 1” and beards over 10” in length; turkeys 4 years-old and greater have spurs greater than 1” and beards over 10” in length.

What sex is my turkey? Males have black tipped breast feathers, beards and leg spurs, although spur length varies with age. Female turkeys have buff-tipped breast feathers and no leg spurs. Females may have a small beard present, but it not typical.

Measuring Beards Beards must be measured from the center of the beard (where beard is attached to the skin) to the longest portion of the beard tip. Pull the beard straight out when measuring and measure to the longest beard strand.

Measuring Spurs Measure each spur in inches and report the longer of the two measurements. Spurs must be measured along the bottom curve, from where the spur protrudes from the leg to the tip of the spur. A flexible tape provides the most accurate measurement.

Scoring Your Wild Turkey Information on measuring spurs, beards and scoring your turkey and entering your turkey into the record books can be found on the National Wild Turkey Federation's site under " How to Score Your Wild Turkey."

 

Iowa residents can purchase licenses through license vendors or the online ordering system. Nonresidents may apply online.

Resident permits cost $28.50 and nonresident permits cost $119.00. Note: A $15.00 habitat stamp fee and a general small game hunting license is also required for both residents and nonresidents. General small game hunting licenses are $22.00 for residents and $131.00 for nonresidents respectively.

For the fall turkey season, residents may purchase up to two turkey permits. Nonresidents may not purchase permits for the fall turkey season.

For the spring turkey season, residents may purchase up to 2 permits (one permit for the youth season for those under 16, or season 1, 2, or 3; and a second permit for season 4). Both permits may also be purchased during season 4. Nonresidents may purchase one permit for any of the four seasons, but not during the youth season. For more information please review the Hunting and Trapping Regulations.

 

Yes, commercial decoys are legal, however, live decoys are not legal.


The only legal firearms for turkey hunting are .410, 28-, 20-, 16-, 12- and 10-gauge shotguns or muzzleloading shotguns shooting shot no smaller than size 10 through size 4 , lead or nontoxic. Muzzleloading rifles may not be used to hunt turkeys.

In addition to firearms, archery equipment including longbows, recurves and compound bows can be used to hunt wild turkeys in Iowa. Arrows must be at least 18 inches long and must be tipped with broadheads, or with bluntheads with a minimum diameter of 9/16 of an inch.

A resident hunter having a valid license for one of the spring turkey seasons may accompany, call for or otherwise assist anyone having a valid turkey license for any of the seasons.

A nonresident may assist other hunters only in the zone and season indicated on their license.

The person helping can not shoot a turkey or carry a bow or firearm unless they have a valid license and unused transportation tag for the current season. No one may shoot a turkey for someone else, or tag a turkey shot by someone else.

You must apply a transportation tag to the leg of the turkey immediately upon harvest and in such a way that the tag is visible and cannot be removed without being mutilated or destroyed. The transportation tag must bear the license number of the hunter, year of issuance and date of harvest. The tag shall be the hunter’s proof of possession of the turkey.

The harvest report tag, with the confirmation number properly recorded, must be attached to the leg of the turkey after reporting the harvest and before the turkey is processed.


The Iowa Department of Natural Resources no longer registers trophy wild turkeys.

However, the National Wild Turkey Federation invites you to register your turkey through their official wild turkey records program. Entry rules and an application can be obtained by visiting NWTF Wild Turkey Records site, writing the National Wild Turkey Federation, P.O. Box 530, Edgefield, SC, 29824-0530 or by calling (803) 637-3106.

 

Iowa's forested habitat totals 2.1 million acres (30% of pre-settlement acreage, up from 1.6 million acres in 1974) and are separated into 4 reasonably well defined regions – unglaciated northeast Iowa’s deep river valleys and steep, high ridges; southern Iowa’s rolling hills; western Iowa’s narrow belt of sharp, loess hills running along the southern two-thirds of the state, and several isolated river drainages in north and east-central Iowa (Little Sioux, Raccoon, Des Moines, Skunk, Iowa, Cedar, Wapsipinicon, and Maquoketa Rivers).

Restorations by the DNR have returned wild turkeys to about 95% of suitable habitat in the state. All the major river corridors in Iowa support turkey populations, and small pockets of wild turkeys exist sporadically throughout the state in small woodlots.

 

Because of their dependence on variable mast production for food in areas where large tracts provide typical turkey habitat, good populations normally average about 10 turkeys per square mile of forest over much of eastern turkey range. In agricultural states like Iowa, the presence of abundant food contributes to densities at least twice this great, and may reach 20-30 turkeys per square mile in the best habitats.

Turkeys breed only in the spring. Hens join harems attached to a dominant gobbler, but may breed with any available male. Nests are poorly formed bowls completely on the ground and contain 6-18 eggs (average 11 per clutch). Hens of all ages attempt to nest , but yearling hens are seldom successful and 80% of the poults will be produced by 2 year old or older hens. Nests have been found in most habitat types from dense forest, brush, grown up pastures, fence lines, to alfalfa fields.

Hens incubate 28 days before the eggs hatch. Typically 30-60% of hens will attempt renesting after losing a clutch to cold, wet weather or predators, with about 40-60% of the adult hens will eventually hatch a clutch. Hens do all the brood rearing, and life is precarious for newly hatched poults with over half dying in the first 4 weeks. Of the poults surviving to fall, 35% of the young hens will be lost to predators, primarily coyotes.

Few young or adult turkeys are lost during the winter in most of Iowa, but starvation may occur where deep snows for a prolonged period keep flocks from moving to food sources. Spring is a major mortality period for both sexes, many hens are lost to predators after winter flocks break up and breeding activities begin, and toms fall prey primarily to hunters. Annual survival rates average 57% for females and 35% for males.

 

Survey Purpose:
Information on annual variations in turkey productivity is needed to evaluate the status of turkey populations in various regions of the state and to set harvest quotas. Spring turkey hunting harvests of gobblers and juveniles are correlated to poult:hen ratios observed during the preceding summer (July, August). Indices calculated from summer wild turkey observations are useful in establishing hunting regulations so that the turkey population remains a valued sustainable resource for Iowans to enjoy.

Methods: A list of Iowa DNR personnel, cooperators from county conservation boards, independent organizations such as the NWTF, and selected rural residents is compiled annually, and these individuals are invited to submit observations of wild turkey they encounter during the summer months. Each individual is sent an email and/or a postcard invitation to submit observations a web-based collection application developed by the Iowa DNR Wildlife Bureau. Reports of wild turkey sightings and brood reports are accepted between July 1st and August 31st each year. Productivity indices are constructed from the data provided by these volunteer reports. Without the assistance of volunteers throughout Iowa the department’s ability to track annual changes in wild turkey production would be severely limited. Trends in Iowa Wildlife Populations -Wild Turkey

2023 Summer Turkey Survey Results

How to participate:
Any interested individual can contribute to the wild turkey summer observation survey using the links provided on this web page. New this year, is the addition of a QR code which can be printed then scanned using a smartphone enabled with a web browser wherever cellular service is available in the state. https://iowadnr.gov/wildturkeysurvey/

We welcome anyone interested to help with the survey, and thank all those who have helped in the past. We hope you will all continue to help monitor turkeys throughout Iowa. This information is crucial to successful turkey management in Iowa. We very much appreciate your continued cooperation and support.