Regional Strut Update: Get the Latest on Turkey Activity Across the U.S.

This is the third installment of the Regional Strut Update, our weekly report on turkey activity and hunter successes across the country. This mid-April report includes:

• In the South, Josh Honeycutt says that while some southern states' seasons have concluded, there are still plenty of opportunities to be had, especially during midday.  
• In the Midwest, Brandon Butler says the 2025 Midwest turkey season is at its peak, with flocks breaking up mid-morning, so look for toms on the search for receptive hens later in the morning. 
• In the West, Andrew McKean reports this season is shaping up to be a normal season, with terrific gobbling activity and fairly dispersed flocks. 
• In the East, Doug Howlett says turkey activity in the East is firing up, but hunters are going to put in the time and effort to down a bird. The last states in the region are set to open their seasons in the coming week. 

SOUTH REPORT

Stong Gobbling and Strutting Expected Through the end of the Month

• Turkey action has been hit or miss for many, but many opportunities exist for those still with a tag in hand.

By Josh Honeycutt

As we ease into late April, much of the southern turkey season is behind us. But it isn’t over, and many states continue well into May. If you’re still packing a turkey tag and the bell hasn’t rung, check out the following South region Strut Report.

In Florida, Jeff Budz with MoreTurkeys.Com says the Florida season just closed down. “It was another great season,” he said. “All sounds great from my sources.”

As a traveling turkey hunter, he’s hitting the road now. His route will include stops in Georgia, Kentucky and Tennessee.

According to his contacts, there are a lot of super jakes everywhere this year. That says multiple things. First, fewer 2-year-old birds signals a poorer hatch two years ago, which is likely due to bad weather. Secondly, next year, turkey season should be excellent, because there will be a lot of big, mouthy 2-year-old turkeys on the landscape.

Eventually, he’ll end up out West to hunt Rios and Merriam’s.

Jody Pagan, an avid turkey hunter who hunts multiple places in the South, said he hunted recently after a big storm. There was a little gobbling after daylight, but not heavy action. He got a few birds talking, but no tags were filled. Instead, he spent much of the morning with some conservation officers.

“I spent the morning with game wardens chasing poachers,” Pagan said. “A wonderful day! I don’t know if everyone knows how important game wardens are to our turkey resource, but they are critical. As a young teenager, my best friend’s dad and uncle were game wardens. We had no turkey season where I grew up until I was 17 years old. I had the opportunity to release turkeys and help preserve them. I’ve been passionate about ducks all over the continent, but turkeys are in my heart in the same category.”

Realtree’s Michael Pitts is in Georgia. “I went one morning, and it was very slow,” he said. “I did get on one bird but could not get him to commit. Hens should start to nest here soon, if not already, and it will leave some lonesome gobblers out there. Mid-day hunting can be good during this time.”

In central South Carolina, Turkeys for Tomorrow (https://turkeysfortomorrow.org) Board Member Stacy Boland says things have been hit or miss.

“Saturday was very quiet over a pretty broad area, but Sunday morning was the complete opposite,” said Boland. “Birds gobbled hard on the roost and up into the morning. I got to watch one up close that has gobbled his last.”

HuntStand’s Will Cooper is in Texas. “The birds were hot to talk on the roost, but then, as soon as flydown happened, pecking orders needed to be established,” said Cooper. “So, gobbling activity went to a minimum. As the morning wore on, closer to 9 A.M., pecking orders were established, and birds that didn’t have hens went to search mode. We found ourselves completely surrounded by gobbles, and birds were actually gobbling back and forth at each other. I had my buddy Chance Eckert with me, who had never killed a turkey before behind the gun.”

He killed quite the bird. (See Tagged Out below)

Looking Ahead

Those still hunting should look ahead to the days to come. Throughout the South, there are plenty of opportunities yet to have. According to recent reports, and based on historical knowledge, expect turkeys to continue gobbling and strutting well at least through the end of the month. Even as the calendar turns to May, hunters should expect to continue seeing good hunting.

Over the next couple weeks, the region forecasts rain and thunderstorms about one out of every two or three days. That might seem like a negative. However, stagnant weather tends to result in stagnant gobbling. These wetter days can do a “hard reset” on the action, effectively leading to better vocalizing and strutting when the weather clears. Be there when it does.

TAGGED OUT

Once-in-a-Lifetime Turkey

• Hunter: Chance Eckert
• Date: April 14, 2025
• Location: Gillespie County, Texas
• Method: Shotgun
• Stats: 10-inch beard, 1.25-inch spurs

“After calling in two jakes and watching a big longboard get taken away with a hen, we managed to get two birds coming in hot,” said Cooper. “After visuals, we could tell one was a good longbeard and the other a jake.

“The longbeard came by and wanted nothing to do with our decoys. It seemed he was on a mission before my buddy, Chance, was able to wheel his Savage Renegauge around the tree and put the Federal Premium TSS smackdown on him.”

After the shot, the crew realized the bird was a red color phase bird. It had a 10-inch beard and 1.25-inch spurs.

“It made for a great morning in Gillespie County, Texas, especially for a first timer!” Cooper concluded.

The erythristic (red) color phase turkey is extremely rare and occurs in about one out of 100,000 turkeys.

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MIDWEST REPORT

Midwest is at its Peak, with Good Mid-Morning Activity

• Sources report youth hunting seasons set a high bar for the rest of turkey hunters in the Midwest.

By Brandon Butler

Turkey Season 2025 is at its peak. Seasons are open region-wide. Youth hunters paved the way across the Midwest while putting on a show. Harvests were up in many states. Youth season hunts are special when kids learn about more than just pulling the trigger. Many special memories were made, and many lessons were taught about wildlife, habitat and traditions.

Reports from across the Midwest confirm gobblers are coming off the roost and following flocks of hens first thing in the morning. Those flocks are breaking up in the mid-morning with more and more females taking to nest each day. If you can’t intercept a big old tom off the roost, you may find your best chances of success a little later in the morning. Once the hens he’s with head for their nests, a gobbler will set out on a quest for a receptive hen. This is where your calling comes into play. A good lone hen decoy, or a hen with a jake, can also help lure them in. Give the gobblers time to arrive. Move slowly; patience is your friend. When most guys are heading for the truck, you might just strike a gobble. If you do, work it. Many longbeards bite the dust at midday this time of year.

South Dakota is a tale of two regions within the same state. The eastern two-thirds of the state is prairie and agriculture. The western third in the Badlands and the Black Hills. They hunt just as differently as they look, but both sides of the state produce turkeys. It’s really a matter of what sort of hunt you are looking to experience.

Brian Bashore of Sioux Falls lives and hunts about as far east as one can get in South Dakota. A professional walleye tournament angler and guide, Brian has the advantage of spending a lot of time on the water fishing, which also lends itself to a lot of wildlife watching on the shore.

“The public land around the reservoirs in South Dakota is overlooked for turkey hunting,” said Bashore. “I see a lot of turkeys from my boat. It’s not always the easiest way to get to your turkey hunting spot, but if you have access to a boat, you can slip into a lot of great unpressured turkey honey holes from the water. Right now, I can hear turkeys gobbling while I’m fishing. It’s pretty easy to locate a bird this way, then beach the boat and make a play.”

The Black Hills are a different monster altogether. Steep, rugged, tangled with fallen trees in the thickest reaches, the Hills aren’t easy to hunt. But tag Merriam’s out there, and you’re doing something. Most of the Hills are public land, so finding a place to hunt is easy. Finding a place with no other hunters and fresh birds is much harder.

Now, in the middle of the season, going further off the road can often make all the difference. Get up high and listen at sunrise. Chances are you’re going to hear more than one gobble. Go after the harder one to reach, because the other guys probably went after the easier one.

Missouri saw substantial rain in the days leading up to the season opener on April 21. Some hunters had to go to their backup plan because the area they originally intended to hunt was underwater. Not good news for the hens who were already on nests in the river bottoms, but hopefully, there is enough time left for them to nest again.

With the sun out on day two, the gobblers were much more vocal. Opening day might have been a bit slow, but for those waiting on the first weekend, things look promising. Especially, the number of birds out there in the landscape.

Youth hunters showed us the way when they checked 4,449 birds. The two-day harvest total was just 21 birds shy of the state Youth Season record set in 2015.

“Excellent turkey hunting weather and a large number of two-year-old gobblers on the landscape likely led to the 18 percent increase in youth harvest this year,” MDC’s wild turkey biologist Nick Oakley said in a released statement. “This bodes well for another strong regular season.”

Turkeys are a wonderful reminder of conservation outcomes to hunters across northern Indiana. There were no turkeys to speak of north of Indianapolis when my cousin and I were growing up as hunters in the early 1990s. Indiana was still reintroducing turkeys across the state’s northern tier as late as 2004. Today, turkeys thrive in all 92 counties in Indiana.

“It’s crazy how many turkeys we have around home (Jasper County) now,” said Derek Butler. “Maybe because it’s still a relatively new thing to be a turkey hunter in Indiana, but for whatever reason, there just aren’t a lot of turkey hunters around here. It’s not like deer season. You can still knock on doors and get permission to turkey hunt.”

Derek said he has been watching birds every day on his commute to work. He said they are still grouped up in fields early in the morning, but he sees a lot more gobblers out and about on their own in the afternoon.

“I know some purists think turkey hunting is all about working the bird and calling them in. I get it, but I find no shame in using deer hunting tactics for turkey hunting. If you can hunt after work, then hug a river or creek bank or the face of a woodlot. Gobblers are cruising right now, and it’s usually along the edge of cover,” he said. “A gobbler picked off on its way back to roost tastes just as good as one shot in the morning.”

Jasper-Pulaski, Kankakee, Tippecanoe, Willow Slough and Winamac fish and wildlife areas are all northern Indiana properties with established turkey populations. Down south, there are hundreds of thousands of acres of national forest and state forests. Finding a place to hunt turkeys in Indiana isn’t a problem.

Minnesota also has plenty of turkeys. They also have a lot of turkey seasons. With Youth Season and Season A now in the past, hunters still have seasons B, C, D, E and F ahead of them. We’re in Season B now.

David Ray, who 20 years ago was known as “Little Dave,” was often my youth hunting partner back home in Indiana. Not so little anymore, Dave is now taking his sons to the turkey woods.

“Oh, man, it’s the absolute best,” said Ray. “With them, I have to hunt out of blinds, but it’s perfect, because they can move around and play on the ground. Thankfully, they’re not tall enough yet for their heads to show above the windows, so we’re safe for a few more years.”

Minnesota has tons of public land, so finding a place to hunt is pretty easy. Finding a really good place is a little tougher. David lives just outside of the Twin Cities, and he focuses on hunting to the south.

“Where I hunt is dominated by agriculture,” he said. “We don’t have the large swaths of timber up north, so what I like to do is scout from the road, then ask for permission to hunt farms where I see birds. I still get told no a lot, but approaching people to ask for permission with a couple of little kids with me helps. The turkeys have been gobbling good lately. The boys love listening to them. I try to find a pinch point to set up in where a gobbler might pass through while on the move. They’re traveling now later in the day. I hope to get out soon and put my tag on one.”

TAGGED OUT

Second-Chance Tom

I headed into a new area around mid-morning. After hiking about half a mile, I heard hens alarm-putting, but I knew they weren't putting at me, as they were off in the distance over a hill. I tiptoed forward, and I didn't see any turkeys over the hill, but a tom suddenly gobbled. I was shocked to notice that they were in a tree. Turns out a coyote had been giving them grief, so they flew up out of harm's way. They flew back down shortly, and three toms were strutting and gobbling amidst a few hens. I started calling with my mouth call, and one of the hens immediately answered, as did the toms. I called more, and two hens and a tom broke off and came right into 40 yards where I shot a tom.

• Hunter: Darron McDougal
• Date: April 16, 2024
• Location: Western Nebraska
• Method: Shotgun
• Stats: 20 pounds, 9.5-inch spurs

WEST REPORT

Flydown Action is Hot, but Don’t Ignore the Afternoon

• The best turkey hunting of the day is off the limb, but as hens sit on nests, gobblers are roaming in the afternoon.

By Andrew McKean

Now that spring turkey seasons are fully open around the West, the picture of this year’s hot action—and localized disappointments—are starting to come into focus. The overall picture is a normal season, with excellent gobbling activity and fairly dispersed flocks.

The exception to that regional rule is Colorado and parts of the interior Rockies, which got a major spring snowstorm just as opening-day hunters were hitting the field. Across the Centennial State, the best action will be in lower-elevation private lands for another week to 10 days, say sources.

But elsewhere in the Rockies, the Northern Plains and the Pacific Northwest, this is a welcome return to normal. The last two spring seasons have been characterized by late snows and cold temperatures that delayed peak gobbling until the last week of April. We’re at least a week or even 10 days ahead of that, say upland bird biologists from New Mexico to Oregon.

“Bird numbers look strong in our core habitats in the Panhandle and Clearwater regions,” says Idaho Fish and Game upland game biologist Jeff Knetter. “And they’re coming on in our Southeast and Southwest regions.”

Washington’s northeast corner remains the state’s most consistent producer, but abundant birds, plus the fact that hunters can kill a third gobbler in Spokane County, means heavy pressure on the most accessible areas. The Colville National Forest is your best bet for abundant public access and good bird numbers, but plan to put the miles on your boots to find unpressured birds.

At least until early May, your best hunting strategy will be to locate roost trees the evening before you hunt, then plan to set up within 100-200 yards of that location well before dawn the following morning. Gobblers have been vocal on the limb before fly-down, and then strutting and gobbling once they hit the ground. But then, they tend to get bunched up and distracted by possessive hens for the next hour.

“We’ve noticed that if you don’t get a strike off the roost, you might as well take a nap, because those gobblers aren’t active again until late morning,” says Steve Lapost, a turkey guide in central Oregon. “I think hens are getting bred and then heading off to nests, and on nice sunny days, gobbling picks up about noon.”

That’s a trend–early and later gobbling activity–that will define the West’s seasons into the first and even second weeks of May.

By May 1, smart turkey hunters are sleeping in, but then cruising Forest Service roads, timbered ridges, and terrain where they can cover plenty of ground and call into timbered pockets and secluded meadows. The idea is that gobblers, once cut loose from their flocks of hens, are moving widely as they search for lone hens. It can be a great time to spark up a mid-day gobbler.

Being out in the field in the late afternoon will also give you key insights on where birds are gathering before they roost for the evening, enabling you to pinpoint your set-up location for the next morning’s fly-down action.

One note to consider: conflicts between spring turkey hunters and shed-antler hunters are becoming commonplace. This is a relatively new interaction, but as many Western states restrict shed hunting, hard-core shed hunters are spreading out into areas without limitations, and in some cases, that’s the very terrain where spring hunters are expecting to find few other visitors. When possible, contact each other and share your sightings, as well as your plans. Most turkey hunters are keen to avoid conflicts, just as most shed hunters have no interest in messing up a turkey hunter’s day.

A good alternative to busy weekends on public land is a mid-week hunt. Time a trip for the first nice day after a spring cold front, and plan to be out the evening before so you can put birds to roost and be ready for them in the morning.

TAGGED OUT

Easter Sunday Dinner

• Hunter: Andrew McKean
• Date: April 20, 2025
• Location: Montana
• Method: Shotgun
• Stats: 9-inch bear, 3/4-inch spurs

Regional Strut Update contributor Andrew McKean took this afternoon Montana gobbler on Easter Sunday. The 2-year-old bird had a 9-inch beard and ¾-inch spurs and was in a flock of five longbeards and nearly a dozen hens. McKean shot him at 18 yards with a Mossberg 500 and HEVI-Shot HEVI-13 in #7 shot.

Click to read "Top 20 U.S. Counties for Turkey Hunting"

EAST REPORT

Many States are in Full Swing, with Others Opening Soon

• Warmer weather should get gobblers going in the next two weeks.

By Doug Howlett

The spring turkey season is quickly crackling to life throughout much of the East, with hunters in Virginia and Delaware now in their second full week of hunting and turkey chasers in West Virginia, New Jersey and Maryland now going full tilt. Rhode Island hunters will be in the woods starting April 24, with Maine, Massachusetts and Connecticut next up before the rest of the region finally opens May 1. While the pre-season prognosis was good and there’s still room for a lot of optimism, the boys and girls in the open states are finding success, but not without putting some time and shoe leather into the effort. The word from nearly everyone who has already attempted to fill a tag, “it’s been tough.”

Virginia hunter Chris Barham says he and his son both managed to knock down birds the first week, but it took serious effort.

We had days we didn’t hear a single gobble,” said Barham. “Other days, we’d get one bird to talk where we usually hear four or five.

He suspects flocks of jakes and a high hen count are putting the squeeze on mature toms, keeping them quiet and cautious. It’s been the same in my family’s experience in the first week. Opening day, I heard one single bird gobble—and he was on the next property. But sign is everywhere. Still, birds are killable; you just have to work for them. Stay patient, cover ground, and hit fresh spots if you have them and you’re not hearing gobbles where you are.

Trevor Berwick of Connecticut got a jump on his spring by taking a drive south to Maryland and when asked about his experience, he replied, “It was a grind. We bounced from Western Maryland to the Eastern Shore—same result. Birds were tight-lipped.” He said you could forget about trying to roost any in the evening. He couldn’t buy a gobble. And in the mornings?

“They would gobble a little in the morning in the tree, but once they hit the dirt, forget it. Not a single gobble after,” he said. He has a friend who guides there and told him his clients killed three birds over three days, but all from patiently sitting on food plots and basically deer hunting them. It’s not the way most of us want to kill birds, but it can be effective if calling isn’t working. Initial reports are that it was much the same next door in Delaware.

One bright spot, Berwick said the youth hunters he knows who took advantage of Connecticut’s youth season were all largely successful. It pays to take advantage of that week’s early jump (See Tagged Out below). “The boys were dropping them like rocks,” Berwick reported. The rest of the state’s hunters can only hope the pattern holds true by next Wednesday (April 30).

In New York, still more than a week out from their opener, Braden Lindsey says flocks are still mostly intact.

“We’ve got them out and about,” said Lindsey, “But they’re still running together in pretty big flocks. I saw one group that had one tom tending to about 20 hens.”

Not ideal if you’re looking for a lonely longbeard, but with warmer weather and a little time, those hens should start peeling off to nest, and the toms will get vocal. Expect things to shift fast in the coming week, hopefully just in time as hunters take to the fields and forests. Further north, Michael Wheeler reports that birds in Vermont and New Hampshire are finally starting to break up into smaller groups.

“We’re still seeing big groups, but we’re spotting lone toms on trail cams and field edges,” he says. A few gobblers responded to calls near farm country, and some jakes have been spotted sparring in the timber. The youth season kicks off this weekend, with the full opener on May 1, and it looks like the timing could be right for strong early hunts.

If there’s a powder keg ready to blow, it’s Maine, and for hunter and guide John LaMarca, the opener can’t get her soon enough.

“It’s friggin’ on,” he says. “Hens are going nuts, and toms are chasing like crazy.” Youth day hits this weekend, and the regular season opens Monday. LaMarca’s already taken the day off for himself and will then guide the rest of the week. He expects Maine strutters to be fired up from the word go.

Here’s the takeaway for the coming week: The farther south you go, the more cautious and pressured birds seem to be right now. In the northern zones, things are lining up to explode just in time for opening day.

TAGGED OUT

Moving Locations Proved Successful

• Hunter: Cason Carpenter
• Date: April, 2025
• Location: Montana
• Method: Shotgun
• Stats: 10.75-inch beard, 20.5 pounds

Fourteen-year-old Cason Carpenter made this year’s Connecticut Youth Hunt one to remember, tagging a heavy, hard-gobbling tom that tipped the scales at 20.5 pounds and sported a 10 1/4-inch beard. One spur measured a full inch, the other just shy of an inch at 7/8. But while the smile on his face is all joy, as his dad Steve Carpenter tells it, the morning started out not looking so good.

Their first setup produced some early gobbles but quickly went cold. Instead of sitting it out, they made a move to a second property—and that’s when things turned.

“We saw a few turkeys while driving in, so we made a plan to try and get ahead of them,” Steve said. On the approach, they spotted a lone hen working the far side of a field. Figuring toms were likely in tow, they set up a pair of decoys on the close edge and tucked into the brush—Cason right on the field line, Steve a couple of yards behind.

After a few calls stirred up the hen, a gobble blasted off to their right—and it was close. “I didn’t even realize there were two birds,” Steve said. “The one I saw slipped behind us into the woods. I thought we were busted.”

Luckily, the second tom committed hard to the decoys, strutted straight in and stopped at just 8 yards away from the young hunter. That was a mistake. Cason dropped the hammer at 8:15 a.m., tagging his bird and sealing a picture-perfect youth season memory for him and his father.

WHEN TO HUNT TURKEYS THIS SPRING

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