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Wisconsin Sees Very Successful Spring Turkey Hunting Season

Tuesday, June 3rd, 2025 -- 9:00 AM

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(Paul Smith, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) Turkey hunting in Wisconsin has long been world-class.

According to Paul Smith with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the 2025 spring wild turkey hunting season has added evidence to that claim. Hunters registered 50,071 wild turkeys this spring in the Badger State, according to preliminary data from the Department of Natural Resources.

It's the fifth time the spring turkey harvest has topped 50,000 birds and the fifth highest seasonal kill since the DNR began a managed hunt for the species in 1983.

And once again, it will be among the highest spring turkey harvest of any state or province in North America. The registration total is preliminary and does not include birds taken with depredation permits or at Fort McCoy.

In 2024 126 turkeys were registered at military property. The 2025 spring season opened with the youth hunt April 12 and 13 and was followed by six, seven-day periods starting April 16 and concluding May 27.

Tags are specific to a time period and a geographic zone. This year the DNR awarded or sold 228,520 turkey authorizations (or tags), including 150,098 in the winter drawing and 78,422 beginning in March.

The statewide hunter success rate this year was 21.9%, And the harvest was comprised of 45,659 adult toms, 4,068 jakes and 344 hens. Overall for the 2025 Wisconsin spring turkey hunting season Zone 1 had 13,800 turkeys registered, followed by Zone 3 with 12,311, Zone 2 with 10,982, Zone 4 with 8,452, Zone 5 with 2,440, Zone 6 with 1,361 and Zone 7 with 725.

In addition 3,979 birds were taken during the youth hunt and 331 during various Learn to Hunt programs. Twenty-five were listed as "unknown." The 2025 spring hunt numbers are very similar to 2024 when hunters registered 50,435 turkeys on 224,116 authorizations and had a 22.5% success rate.

The 2024 Wisconsin spring turkey harvest was highest of any state.

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