Wild Turkey2021-2022 Seasons & Regulations

Lawful Activity

It is unlawful to hunt roosting turkeys by any means at any time or to release turkeys without department authorization.

All turkey must be tagged with a tag from the hunter’s license immediately upon harvest, and in a secure manner anywhere on the turkey.

Tagging a Wild Turkey

Special Regulations for Eastern Spring Season in Certain East Texas Counties

Shotgun and lawful archery equipment are the only legal means of take; no hunting over bait; all turkeys must be reported to the department within 24 hours after they are killed. Harvested turkeys may be field dressed, but must otherwise remain intact until reaching a final destination.

All Eastern turkey harvests must be reported by mobile app or online:

• Report using "My Texas Hunt Harvest" app for Android or iOS
• Report online

Mandatory Harvest Reporting

Harvest reporting is now mandatory for wild turkeys in select south-central Texas counties. Harvest reporting for Eastern turkey remains mandatory.

Special Regulations for Western One-Gobbler Counties

No more than one gobbler may be harvested annually per county in the Western One-Gobbler Zone. Those counties in the Western One-Gobbler Only Zone include Bastrop, Caldwell, Colorado, Fayette, Jackson, Lavaca, Lee, Matagorda, Milam, and Wharton.

Proof of Sex

During a season in which the bag composition for turkey is restricted to gobblers only or gobblers and bearded hens, proof of sex must remain with the turkey, attached or unattached, until it reaches either the processor’s permanent residence or a cold storage/processing facility and is finally processed. Proof of sex for turkeys:

• gobbler (male turkey):
• one leg, including the spur or
• a patch of skin with breast feathers and beard attached
• bearded hen (female turkey): a patch of skin with breast feathers and beard attached

Turkey Hunting Zones

Fall Turkey Hunting Zones

Fall North Zone Counties: Archer, Armstrong, Bandera, Baylor, Bell, Bexar, Blanco, Borden, Bosque, Briscoe, Brown, Burnet, Callahan, Carson, Childress, Clay, Coke, Coleman, Collingsworth, Comal, Comanche, Concho, Cooke, Coryell, Cottle, Crane, Crockett, Crosby, Dawson, Denton, Dickens, Donley, Eastland, Ector, Edwards, Erath, Fisher, Floyd, Foard, Garza, Gillespie, Glasscock, Gray, Hall, Hamilton, Hardeman, Hartley, Haskell, Hays, Hemphill, Hill, Hood, Howard, Hutchinson, Irion, Jack, Johnson, Jones, Kendall, Kent, Kerr, Kimble, King, Kinney (north of Highway 90), Knox, Lipscomb, Lampasas, Llano, Lynn, Martin, Mason, McCulloch, McLennan, Medina (north of Highway 90), Menard, Midland, Mills, Mitchell, Montague, Moore, Motley, Nolan, Ochiltree, Oldham, Palo Pinto, Parker, Pecos, Potter, Randall, Reagan, Real, Roberts, Runnels, Sutton, San Saba, Schleicher, Scurry, Shackelford, Somervell, Stephens, Sterling, Stonewall, Swisher, Tarrant, Taylor, Terrell, Throckmorton, Tom Green, Travis, Upton, Uvalde (north of Highway 90), Ward, Wheeler, Wichita, Wilbarger, Williamson, Wise, Val Verde (north of a line beginning at the International Bridge and proceeding along Spur 239 to U.S. Hwy. 90 and thence to the Kinney County line), Young

Fall South Zone Counties: Aransas, Atascosa, Bee, Calhoun, Cameron, Dimmit, Duval, Frio, Goliad, Gonzales, Hidalgo, Jim Hogg, Jim Wells, Karnes, Kinney (south of Highway 90), La Salle, Live Oak, Maverick, McMullen, Medina (south of Highway 90), Nueces, Refugio, San Patricio, Starr, Uvalde (south of Highway 90), Val Verde (south of U.S. Highway 90 and east of Spur 239/277 S), Webb, Zapata, Zavala

Brooks, Kenedy, Kleberg, and Willacy Counties: Brooks, Kenedy, Kleberg, Willacy, Wilson

Spring Turkey Hunting Zones

Spring North Zone Counties: Archer, Armstrong, Bandera, Baylor, Bell, Bexar, Blanco, Brewster, Borden, Bosque, Briscoe, Brown, Burnet, Callahan, Carson, Childress, Clay, Coke, Coleman, Collingsworth, Comal, Comanche, Concho, Cooke, Coryell, Cottle, Crane, Crockett, Crosby, Dawson, Denton, Dickens, Donley, Eastland, Ector, Edwards, Ellis, Erath, Fisher, Floyd, Foard, Garza, Gillespie, Glasscock, Gray, Guadalupe, Hall, Hamilton, Hardeman, Hartley, Haskell, Hays, Hemphill, Hill, Hood, Howard, Hutchinson, Irion, Jack, Jeff Davis, Johnson, Jones, Kendall, Kent, Kerr, Kimble, King, Kinney (north of Highway 90), Knox, Lampasas, Lipscomb, Llano, Lynn, Martin, Mason, McCulloch, McLennan, Medina (north of Highway 90), Menard, Midland, Mills, Mitchell, Montague, Moore, Motley, Nolan, Ochiltree, Oldham, Palo Pinto, Parker, Pecos, Potter, Randall, Reagan, Real, Roberts, Runnels, San Saba, Schleicher, Scurry, Shackelford, Somervell, Stephens, Sterling, Stonewall, Sutton, Swisher, Tarrant, Taylor, Terrell, Throckmorton, Tom Green, Travis, Upton, Uvalde (north of Highway 90), Val Verde (north of a line beginning at the International Bridge and proceeding along Spur 239 to U.S. Hwy. 90 and thence to the Kinney County line), Ward, Wheeler, Wichita, Wilbarger, Williamson, Wise, Young

Spring South Zone Counties: Aransas, Atascosa, Bee, Brooks, Calhoun, Cameron, Comal, Crockett, DeWitt, Dimmit, Duval, Frio, Goliad, Gonzales, Hidalgo, Jim Hogg, Jim Wells, Karnes, Kenedy, Kinney (south of Highway 90), Kleberg, La Salle, Live Oak, Maverick, McMullen, Medina (south of Highway 90), Nueces, Refugio, San Patricio, Starr, Uvalde (south of Highway 90), Val Verde (south of U.S. Highway 90 and east of Spur 239/277 S), Victoria, Webb, Willacy, Wilson, Zapata, Zavala

Spring One Gobbler Counties: Bastrop, Caldwell, Colorado, Fayette, Jackson, Lavaca, Lee, Milam, Wharton, Matagorda

Eastern Turkey Counties: Bowie, Cass, Fannin, Grayson, Jasper, Lamar, Marion, Nacogdoches, Newton, Polk, Red River, Sabine