Bird ID | Season information | Hunting Tips

I O W A D E P A R T M E N T O F N A T U R A L R E S O U R C E S

Iowa Spring turkey Season Information

Eastern Wild Turkey

Harvest Reporting & Tagging Requirements: • Tagmustbeattachedtotheturkeywiththedateofkillshownwithin15minutesofbirdbeinglocated• Turkeymustbereportedbymidnightonthedayafteritistaggedatwww.iowadnr.gov,alicensevendororcallingthephonenumberlistedonthetag

Shooting Hours: One-halfhourbeforesunrisetosunset

Bag Limits: Daily&seasonpossessionlimitonebeardedormaleturkeyeachvalidlicenseandtransportationtag

Locations: Entirestateisopentohunting

License and Fees: Smallgamelicense,habitatfee&turkeylicense

TurkeyhuntingregulationsappearintheIowa Hunting&Trappingregulationsonlineandfromlicenseretailers.

Bytheearly1900s,unrestrictedmarkethuntinganddrasticreductionsin

habitathadeliminatedwildturkeysinIowa.Formanyyears,thethunderousgobblesofthewildturkeywereabsentfromIowa'swoodlandsandforests.Thissilencewasbrokenin1966whentheIowaDepartmentofNaturalResourcesinitiatedaprogramtoreturnthewildtur-keytoIowa.Wildturkeyswerereleasedatseveralsitesacrossthestate,withthefirstreleaseoccurringinLeeCounty,Iowa.Overthepast30years,therestora-tionofIowa'swildturkeypopulationhasresultedfromnaturalexpansionfromtheearlyreleasesites.

Turkey FActs Malesaretypically42-48inchestallandweigh17-30pounds;femalesaretypical-ly32-38inchesandweigh8-12pounds.

Turkeyscanrunupto25mphandflyupto55mph.

Turkeyspreferwoodlandhabitatsmixedwithagriculturalfieldsandfeedonwastegrains,insects,wildfruitsandtreenuts.

TurkeysnestfromApril-June,andlayanaverage11eggsinshallowdepres-sionsintheground.

Hunting Tips

Gun/Bow Choice: Shotgunsandmuzzleloadershotgunsnotsmallerthan20-gaugearetheonlylegalfirearmsforturkeyhunting.Archeryequipmentincludinglongbows,recurvesandcompoundbowsisalsoanoption.Arrowsmustbeatleast18incheslongandmustbetippedwithbroadheads,orwithbluntheadswithaminimumdiameterof9/16ofaninch.

Ammo Choice: PermittedshotsizesareNo.4,5,6,71/2or8inlead,ornon-toxicshotinsizes2through8.LeadshotlargerthanNo.4andnon-toxicshotlargerthanNo.2isillegaltopossesswhileturkeyhunting.

When to Hunt: Itisverycommonforhunterstogooutat‘0-darkthirty.’Yet,thereisnothingwrongwithheadingoutat10or11a.m.Thatturkeywillstillbethere.

Calls and Decoys: Thereareasmanyturkeycallsonthemarketastherearebasslures.Beginnersshouldkeepitsimple-aboxorslatecall-andpractice.Practicebuildsconfidence.Commercialdecoysarelegal;livedecoysarenot.

Which season to Hunt turkeys in Iowa:

Findregulations,publichuntingareasandmorehuntinginformationat www.iowadnr.gov

Safety and Etiquette: • Avoidwearingpatrioticcolors-red,whiteandblue.Thesecolorsarealsosharedbygobblers.• Bringablazeorangegamebagorturkeyvesttousetocarrytheharvestedbirdoutofthewoods.• Ifsomeonecomesintoyourarea,makealoudstatementlike"Heyhunteroverhere."• Ifyouwalkinonsomeone,turnandwalkaway.• Donotloadfirearmuntilatyourhuntingsite.• Alwaysbeawareofwhatisbeyondabirdbeforeyoushoot.• Avoidusingagobblecall.• Alwaysaskpermissiontohuntonprivatelands.

Iowaoffersfiveseasonsforspringturkeyhunters.Inearlyseason,whenvegetationisopen,thatgobblercanseeahenthroughseveralhundredyardsofwoods.Beinplaceandconcealed.Getintothickercover,atreeblowdown;breakupyourpattern.Later,whenitisgreen,youcanmovealittle;adjustyourposition.Turkeyswillmorelikely‘sneak’thecall.Sobeready.

Bytheendofthirdseason,hensarestartingtonest.Tomsdon’toftenreplytocallssotherecanbealotofsneakingoftenbythesub-dominanttom.Lateseasonsrunlonger,andthedaysarelonger,too,givingmorehourstohunt.Weatherisalsomorestable.

HabitatWildturkeysfoundinIowathriveinmatureoak-hickoryforests.Turkeyspri-marilyeatnuts,seedsandberries(collectivelycalledmast)producedingreat-estabundanceinmiddle-agedtomaturestandsofoaktrees.Turkeysarelarge,strong-walkingbirdscapableofcoveringarangeof1-2squaremilesinaday,searchingforsuitablefooditemsbyscratchinginleaflitter.

For more information onwheretohuntinyourlocalarea,

contactyourregionalDNRwildlifebiologist.

Box Call

Slate Call