The mild winter and early spring green-up should make for a great turkey season, despite not having an abundance of 2-year-old birds on the landscape. There are lots of jakes and plenty of older (3+) age-class gobblers out there to keep spring turkey hunting entertaining.

Jason Hardin, TPWD Wild Turkey Program leader recommends not limiting yourself to the early season. “The middle and later portions of the season usually have fewer hunters in the woods, and you never know when you will strike a tom in the mood to strut and gobble. Go early and go often.”

Get the full spring turkey forecast in our press release Spring Wild Turkey Season Shaping Up to be a Great Season.

Brown County is in the North Zone.  Here are all of the key Turkey hunting dates:

North Zone

Rio Grande – Spring Season

Bag Composition: Gobblers or Bearded Hens

Bag Limit:  The annual bag limit for turkey, in the aggregate for all counties, is four (4), no more than one of which may be an Eastern turkey.

Youth-Only:

Mar. 23 – 24, 2024
May 18 – 19, 2024

Spring Season:

Mar. 30 – May 12, 2024

Ten counties in the Oaks and Prairies ecoregion of Central Texas (Bastrop, Caldwell, Colorado, Fayette, Jackson, Lavaca, Lee, Matagorda, Milam and Wharton) offer a spring season from April 1–30.

Historically, a low number of turkeys in the region has resulted in spring-only seasons. Hunters are allowed a one-bird bag limit per county. All wild turkeys harvested in these counties have mandatory harvest reporting requirements and must be reported within 24 hours through the My Texas Hunt Harvest app or online.

Twelve counties in east Texas make up the East Turkey Zone including Bowie, Cass, Fannin, Grayson, Jasper, Lamar, Marion, Nacogdoches, Newton, Polk, Red River and Sabine. There is a one-gobbler bag limit for the entire East Turkey Zone and mandatory harvest reporting is required.

Hunters who purchased a digital Super Combo license have a digital tagging option. All hunters who chose to use the digital tagging option must report their wild turkey at the time of harvest. Rules and guidance associated with the new digital tagging option can be found on the TPWD website.

The data obtained from these harvest reports helps TPWD better manage this population. TPWD encourages turkey hunters to learn about and share these new rules with fellow turkey hunters and landowners in the region to help TPWD keep tabs on these populations.

TPWD reminds hunters to review the Outdoor Annual before opening day to ensure they are hunting during a legal season. Hunters can check the TPWD website for exact season dates for the county where they plan to hunt. Hunters must possess an Upland Game Bird Stamp Endorsement to hunt wild turkeys in Texas.

The spring season dates for all zones are as follows:

Youth Only

Rio Grande: North Zone — March 23 — 24; May 18 — 19

Rio Grande:  South Zone — March 9 — 10; May 4— 5

Spring Regular Season

Rio Grande: North Zone — March 30 — May 12

Rio Grande: South Zone — March 16 — Apr.28

Rio Grande: Special One Turkey Bag Limit — April 1 — 30

Eastern Turkey: April 22 – May 14

Additional information about harvest reporting, bag limits and more can be found in the Outdoor Annual  or via the Outdoor Annual app. Apps are available for free download from Google Play or the App Store.

What You Need to Know

• It is illegal to hunt roosting turkeys by any means at any time.
• Upland Game Bird Endorsement and hunting license are required.
• All turkeys must be tagged  immediately with a tag from your license – watch the short video How to Tag a Turkey.
• If you chose digital tagging this season, you must report your harvested wild turkey immediately upon take.
• All Eastern turkeys, and all wild turkeys harvested in Spring One-Gobbler counties, must be tagged and then reported online or with the free My Texas Hunt Harvest app.
• Keep proof of sex on any harvested wild turkey.
• In spring, it is illegal to take ANY hen in 1-bird bag limit counties, or to take non-bearded hens in the North and South Zones.
• All hunters born after Sept. 1, 1971 must have proof of Hunter Education. Access proof of your certificate with the Outdoor Annual app.

Tips for a Safe Turkey Hunt

Turkey hunting is very interactive since it happens at close quarters and eye level. This makes it that much more exhilarating when you get a gobbler in your sights. But don’t be carried away in the moment and forget about safety – be sure before you shoot.

Accidents can occur when hunters are mistaken for turkeys, so keep these tips in mind:

• Cover decoys when moving them.
• Never use a turkey fan to hide from or stalk turkeys.
• Don’t wear the red, white and blue colors of a gobbler’s head.
• Don’t stalk turkey sounds – call them to you, don’t go after them.

Be prepared so that every shot taken is a safe one. Find more turkey hunting tips in the Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine story Keep Safe on Your Gobbler Quest.