Regional Strut Update 2024: Turkey Season in the South Kicks Off with a Bang

Gobblers are serenading the woods and meadows across the South. In some states, spring turkey season is already here; in others, it will be soon.

This is the first installment of our annual Regional Strut Update, a weekly from-the-field report on gobbler activity, tips and hunter successes in each region. Starting now and in the weeks ahead, you can count on us to report the latest intel to help you take full advantage of gobbler-hunting opportunities and simplify your scouting by pointing you toward the most productive areas near you.

SOUTH REPORT

Florida First

• Gobbler activity is heating up as Southern states welcome turkey season once again.

By Josh Honeycutt

Turkey season starts earliest in Florida, where a lot of hunters are already after it. “Backwoods Life” co-host Michael Lee is among those chasing toms in the Sunshine State.

“I tagged out on opening weekend with a bird on Saturday and another on Sunday,” he says. “Both were bagged before noon. My day-one gobbler came in strutting silently to the decoys and gave me a shot. On day two, I had four come into the decoys around 8 a.m., and I got one.”

Lee’s report suggests Florida turkeys are behaving as one would expect this time of year, which bodes well for us hunters. Kyle Barefield with “All Things Hunting” confirms this assessment. He filled his tag while hunting near Gainesville a week ago.

“We did not hear any gobbles during our one day of hunting, but saw toms and jakes fighting,” he says. “A pair of toms came to the call looking, but hung up at about 50 yards. I shot one and the other went to flog the dead turkey. I passed my gun to Anthony Virga and he completed the double.”

Texas Success

Texas turkey hunters are out in force, too. On Monday, March 25, Michael Lee was in the Lone Star State to get more gobblers in his sights. He reports shooting one with a harem of more than a dozen hens.

Kyle Barefield also traveled to Texas, along with a group of five other hunters. They killed a total of seven toms in three days of hunting. “The turkeys gobbled well, but the more mature toms were henned up,” he says. “There was a large number of jakes on the ranch that gave the toms a lot of problems and ran them off from time to time.”

Realtree’s Michael Pitts also bagged a Texas bird while hunting March 18 to 20. “The weather was not the best,” he says. “We dealt with high winds and rain the first day and rain the next two, which made things a bit tough. But whenever the weather improved, we were able to get on some birds. Most gobblers were henned-up and we did not see any signs of nesting. Weirdly enough, a lot of our best hunts were during the last few hours of light. The birds seemed to become very active before roosting. Once the area gets some nice weather and the hens start to nest, it should get good really fast.”

’Bama Begins

Spring turkey season opened on March 25 in Alabama’s zones 1 and 3, with the youth season taking place the previous weekend. Chris McCune with Whitetail Properties reports mixed results.

“The gobbling seemed to be good, with turkeys trailing off around 7:30 to 8 a.m. We got close, but not close enough to get my 13-year-old son his first tom. But we’re going to keep after them!”

Other Activity

While turkey season hasn’t yet opened in other Southern states, such as Georgia and Tennessee, hunters are out scouting and trying to pattern their local birds. In fact, Pitts is one of the many keeping an eye on Georgia’s gobblers.

“Things are looking pretty good,” he says. “Toms have been out in the fields strutting with their hens, putting on a show for weeks now. I did have a chance to go listen one morning before I left for Texas and heard a couple of birds gobble. Hunting should be good on opening day if the weather cooperates.”

Brodie Swisher, editor of bowhunting.com, resides in Tennessee and can’t wait for the start of the season.

“It’s been an early spring already,” he says. “Things are greening up way ahead of schedule this year. Gobblers are still bunched up on the places I’ve scouted, but they gobble hard one day and the next you don’t hear a peep. I heard a mean-talking, raspy hen cutting yesterday morning. Every male bird in the woods should have been gobbling at her, but there was no response.”

TAGGED OUT

Double the Fun in the Sunshine State

• Hunter: Rick White
• Dates: March 16, March 23
• Location: Florida
• Method: Shotgun
• Stats: Bird #1 (above, right): 10-inch beard, 1 1/4-inch spurs, 18 pounds; Bird #2 (above, left): 8-inch beard, 1 3/8-inch spurs, 21.5 pounds

Rick White, host of “Through the Eyes of a Hunter” and pro-staffer for Alpen Optics, has tagged out in Florida. Both hunts, a week apart, were action-packed, but in different ways.

“Some turkeys were working very well, while others were tough,” he says. “Patience is the name of the game on those tough ones. They’re not gobbling nearly as much as our turkeys back home [in the Midwest].

“I killed the first one on opening day. We had one turkey gobbling in front of us. The roost flew down and went in the opposite direction. But we stayed patient and kept calling every so often.”

Around mid-morning, a turkey gobbled within range. White looked out of the blind and spotted the longbeard standing about 15 yards away.

“He worked around us into the decoys and that’s when I shot him,” he says.

The second turkey White shot fell during a gobble-rich sit.

“That morning, we were set up and did not hear a turkey gobble on the roost,” White says. “In fact, we didn’t hear anything until around 10 o’clock. Finally, one answered, and he gobbled every time I called from about 200 yards out all the way to the decoy. We finally saw it about at 100 yards in full strut. He strutted all the way to the decoy and never broke strut until I shot him.”

VIDEO

Shot the Same Bird! Michigan U.P. Double Down

Thomas and Taylor Allen headed to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan on their annual turkey hunting road trip, and the first morning was nothing short of spectacular. As they often do, things didn't go as planned, but the hunt proved to be exciting nonetheless. But the footage on this fine morning was amazing and the hunt ended up being exciting.

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EAST REPORT

Turkey Seasons in Most Eastern States Yet to Open (See List Below)

• Live activity reports from the East are coming the week of April 8 to Regional Strut Update.

With spring turkey seasons approaching in the East, what will 2024 hunting look like? The answer may be somewhat mixed. In Massachusetts, there are only about 35,000 Eastern turkeys, according to Realtree Nation’s 2024 turkey report. Even so, Boston Magazine writer Steve Catechumen noted last fall that the birds are seemingly everywhere these days, even in urban areas. So the trend is your friend in the Bay State, where the wild turkey has been the state game bird since 1991.

Down in Virginia, upland game bird biologist Mike Dye believes that the 2024 season won't be as stellar as last year, but also notes there will still be pockets of good hunting action.

In New York, turkeys have declined from a quarter million birds years ago to between 150,000 to 180,000 birds now, according to Realtree. With a gradual decline most of this century, and a steeper decline for the past decade or so, New York isn’t the turkey hunting state it once was. But there are still plenty of gobblers and a wealth of public land, so scout thoroughly and hunt hard. — Lynn Burkhead

SEASON OPENERS

• First dates of allowed hunting. Click for more specific info on turkey seasons and regs by state.

Connecticut, April 24; Delaware, April 13; Maine, April 29; Maryland, April 18; Massachusetts, April 29; New Hampshire, May 1; New Jersey, April 22; New York, May 1; Pennsylvania, May 4; Rhode Island, April 25; Vermont, May 1; Virginia, April 13; West Virginia, April 15.

Top 20 U.S. Counties for Turkey Hunting

GOBBLER GEAR

Shotgun Review: Retay Gordion Turkey

It seems as though an increasing number of hunters relish having pursuit-specific firearms. While rifle hunters once led this charge, it’s becoming just as true for shotgunners, too. Certain attributes on a scattergun better fit some pursuits than others. Nowhere is this clearer than in the realm of turkey hunting, where purpose-built guns have become almost ubiquitous.

To be fair, turkey hunters do have distinct needs, and guns have evolved accordingly to meet them. Like all hunters, gobbler gurus want a reliable gun, but that’s just a starting point. They need a shotgun that can deliver dense patterns—often at extended distances—on a relatively small target. The gun should be comfortable to use and handy when sitting in the tight quarters of a blind or scrunched against a tree, too. Many also want the ability to easily mount an optic—perhaps a low-power scope, though more likely a non-magnified reflex red-dot sight. The Retay Gordion Turkey delivers on all these points, and it costs less than $1,000.—Drew Warden

Click to read more about the Retay Gordion Turkey shotgun

MIDWEST REPORT

Recent Big Snows Greet Scouters with Seasons Around Corner

• Live activity reports from the Midwest are coming the week of April 1 to Regional Strut Update.

After recent big snows, most Midwest turkey hunters have a couple weeks for the weather to stabilize, though it won’t be long until opening day.

In general, turkey numbers are still stable in much of the region. In Kentucky, for example, where Muhlenberg County is considered one of the top turkey counties in the nation, hunters should expect another great hunting season, Kentucky Fish and Wildlife said. Stable hatches in recent years led to an impressive 35,655 birds being taken last year; the second highest harvest on record.

Missouri, where Shannon County is also in the Game & Fish top turkey counties list, has more than 400,000 birds, a good amount of public land and a great 2023 harvest, according to the National Wild Turkey Federation.

That all being said, early-spring turkey hunting may be weather-dependent, with forecasters talking the possibility of more wintry weather heading into April. — Lynn Burkhead

SEASON OPENERS

• First dates of allowed hunting. Click for more specific info on turkey seasons and regs by state.

Illinois, April 8; Indiana, April 24; Iowa, April 8; Kansas, April 8; Kentucky, April 13; Michigan, April 20; Minnesota, April 17; Missouri, April 15; Nebraska, March 25; North Dakota, April 13; Ohio, April 20; South Dakota, April 13; Wisconsin, April 17.

WEST REPORT

Don’t Overlook the Hot Turkey Hunting Out West

• Live activity reports from the West are coming the week of April 1 to Regional Strut Update.

When hunters think of the West, they likely think of big game like elk or mule deer. But there's also some great spring turkey hunting, especially in the five counties featured in our recent report on the nation's top 20 counties for turkey hunting: Clearwater County in Idaho, Douglas in Oregon, Montrose in Colorado, Powder River in Montana, and Stevens in Washington.

According to Realtree, California has an estimated 250,000 turkeys that include Rios, Merriam's and even some Easterns. Western turkey hunters also will need to keep an eye on the forecast, as more winter weather was expected in parts of the region.—Lynn Burkhead

SEASON OPENERS

• First dates of allowed hunting. Click for more specific info on turkey seasons and regs by state.

Arizona, April 19; California, March 30; Colorado, April 13; Idaho, April 15; Montana, April 15; Nevada, March 23; New Mexico, April 15; Oregon, April 15; Utah, April 29; Washington, April 15; Wyoming, April 1.

WHEN TO HUNT TURKEYS THIS SPRING

Game & Fish Best Hunt Times

• This free interactive Solunar calendar offers the best turkey hunting times based on your exact date and location. Click to access before planning your next trip.

Search for the Best Hunting Times in Your Zip Code