Spring turkey hunting season begins Saturday with youth and novice weekend, April 25-26, and the regular season starts soon and runs May 1-31.
“The youth and novice turkey hunting weekend provides an excellent opportunity for experienced hunters to teach young or new hunters how to safely and successfully hunt wild turkeys,” said Toni Mikula, Vermont’s wild turkey biologist.
To hunt turkeys this weekend, a young hunter must be 15 or under. They must have completed a hunter education course and possess a hunting license, a turkey hunting license, and a free youth turkey hunting tag.
In addition, an individual age 16 or older who has purchased their first hunting license in the past 12 months also may hunt turkeys as a novice on April 25-26. They must have a hunting license, a turkey hunting license and a free novice tag.
The youth or novice must be accompanied by an unarmed licensed adult over 18 years of age. Shooting hours for the weekend are one-half hour before sunrise to 5 p.m. Landowner permission is required to hunt on private land during the youth-novice turkey hunting weekend.
The youth or novice may take one bearded turkey on the weekend and two bearded turkeys in the regular May hunting season.
Shooting hours during the May 1-31 turkey season are one-half hour before sunrise until noon, and two bearded turkeys may be taken.
A shotgun or archery equipment may be used to hunt turkeys. Shot size must be no larger than #2. Vermont Fish and Wildlife recommends hunters use highly effective non-lead shotgun shells.
Successful hunters in Vermont’s spring turkey seasons must report their turkey within 48 hours to the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department. This can be done at a local big game reporting station or online at Vermont Fish and Wildlife’s website.
Last year, youth and novice hunters took 617 and 26 turkeys, respectively, during the April weekend hunt. During the regular spring hunt, 5,131 bearded birds were reported.
“Combined with the 419 turkeys taken during the fall season, hunters harvested in excess of 150,000 servings of locally sourced, free-range turkey meat in 2025,” Mikula said.
Before 1969, Vermont had no wild turkeys. Vermont Fish and Wildlife re-established native wild turkeys when it released 31 wild birds from New York in 1969 and 1970. Today, Vermont has an estimated wild turkey population of more than 45,000.
“To go from essentially no turkeys in Vermont before 1969 to a booming population that can provide over a hundred thousand meals each season — as well as wildlife viewing opportunities statewide — is a conservation success anyone who cares about wildlife can be proud of,” Mikula said.
More information is online in Vermont Fish and Wildlife’s 2026 Turkey Hunting Guide and the 2025 Turkey Harvest Report.
Deer hearings scheduled for May 5, 7