Results from Ohio’s wild turkey opening weekend - south zone

Wild turkey hunters in Ohio’s south zone checked 4,646 birds during the opening weekend of the spring hunting season, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife.

The season began Saturday, April 25. In 2025, hunters bagged 4,281 wild turkeys on the south zone’s opening weekend, with a three-year average (2023 to 2025) of 4,239. Results do not include birds taken during the youth season.

The top 10 counties for wild turkeys checked during the opening weekend of the 2026 season were as follows:

1. Tuscarawas (144)
2. Belmont (142)
3. Brown (135)
4. Guernsey (135)
5. Gallia (131)
6. Highland (131)
7. Jefferson (127)
8. Meigs (127)
9. Monroe (126)
10. Adams (125)

In Ohio’s northeast zone, which includes Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, and Trumbull counties, young hunters tagged 119 birds during the special youth-only hunting weekend held April 25-26. The two-day season was open to hunters ages 17 and younger, and participants were required to be accompanied by a nonhunting adult. During the south zone’s youth weekend of April 18-19, hunters checked 1,939 birds (initially reported at 1,941), bringing Ohio's youth season total to 2,058 turkeys.

Wild turkey hunting is open in the 83 counties that make up the south zone. The season kicks off for hunters of all ages in Ohio’s northeast zone (Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, and Trumbull) on Saturday, May 2. Hunting hours during the first nine days of each zone are from 30 minutes before sunrise until noon. Beginning Monday, May 4, hours in the south zone are from 30 minutes before sunrise until sunset until the season closes May 24. The northeast zone’s hours are from 30 minutes before sunrise until sunset from May 11 to 31.

The season bag limit is one bird statewide. Check the Ohio Hunting and Trapping Regulations for more information.

Hunters are required to have a valid hunting license in addition to a spring turkey permit unless exempted. Successful hunters are required to game-check their turkey no later than 11:30 p.m. on the day of harvest. Game check, licenses, and permits are available on the HuntFish OH app, via the Ohio Wildlife Licensing System, or at a participating license agent. Game check can also be done by phone at 1-877-TAG-IT-OH (877-824-4864).

As of Sunday, April 26, the Division of Wildlife has issued 41,669 turkey hunting permits that are valid throughout the spring season.

Each summer, the division collects information on young wild turkeys, called poults. Brood surveys in 2022, 2023, and 2024 showed positive results that will benefit Ohio’s wild turkey population numbers this spring. The average poults per hen observed was 2.9 in 2024, 2.8 in 2023, and 3.0 in 2022, with a long-term average of 2.8. Ohio’s turkey biologists have found that spring turkey hunting success is closely tied to the hatch productivity two years prior. Hatch productivity in 2025 was 2.7 poults per hen.

Wild turkeys disappeared (extirpated) from Ohio by 1904 and were reintroduced in the 1950s by the Division of Wildlife. Ohio’s first modern-day turkey season opened in 1966 in nine counties, and hunters took 12 birds. The turkey harvest topped 1,000 for the first time in 1984. Spring turkey hunting opened statewide in 2000.