The 2023 spring turkey season, April 29 until May 30, has the potential to be noisier than usual, given the abundance of 2-year-old birds – the most vocal and likely to engage in back-and-forth chatter with hunters.
The roots of that go back to 2021. Pennsylvania’s summer turkey reproduction was excellent that year. The Game Commission’s summer turkey sighting survey, conducted statewide with the help of the public, revealed 3.1 poults – or young turkeys – per hen, on average. That was the highest in recent years.
Those males from 2021 are now out in the woods ready to strut their stuff, literally, in the competition to mate.
“There’s nothing more exciting than sitting in the woods in springtime and calling to a gobbler that answers with his emphatic gobble,” said Mary Jo Casalena, turkey biologist. “And with all those 2-year-old gobblers available, there’s great reason for optimism heading into the 2023 spring gobbler season. Hunters who do their homework ahead of time could experience some thrilling hunting.”
There are other gobblers out there, too, of course. That includes wily, mature birds 3 years old and older, perhaps the toughest to fool, Casalena said. With poult production in 2022 just as good as the year before, jakes, or 1-year-old gobblers, abound, as well.
None of that guarantees success. About 172,000 people, on average, hunt spring turkeys in Pennsylvania every year.
Regular season hunting hours begin one-half hour before sunrise and end at noon for the first two weeks of the statewide season (April 29 through May 13). Hunters are asked to be out of the woods by 1 p.m. to minimize disturbance of nesting hens.
From May 15 through May 30, hunting hours are from one-half hour before sunrise until one-half hour after sunset. The all-day season allows more opportunity at the point in the season when hunting pressure is lower and nesting hens are less likely to abandon nests.
During the spring gobbler season, hunters may use manually operated or semiautomatic shotguns limited to a three-shell capacity in the chamber and magazine combined. Muzzleloading shotguns, crossbows and long, recurve and compound bows also are permitted.
Only bearded birds may be harvested during the spring season. Hunters should refrain from knowingly harvesting bearded hens because they nest and raise broods.
There is no requirement for hunters to wear fluorescent orange during the spring turkey season, though wearing it is recommended while moving.
Blinds used while turkey hunting must be manufactured with manmade materials of sufficient density to block movement within the blind from an observer outside the blind. Blinds must completely enclose the hunter on all four sides and from above. It is unlawful to hunt turkeys from blinds made of natural materials such as logs, tree branches and piled rocks. Blinds that represent the fanned tail of a gobbler also are unlawful to use in Pennsylvania.
For safety, turkey hunters should not wear clothing that contains black, like the color found on a turkey’s body, or red, white or blue, like those on a turkey’s head.
The $21.97 license ($41.97 for nonresidents) may be purchased online but cannot be printed at home, so purchasing it directly from an issuing agent might be the best option. Licenses bought online are sent through the mail. The same goes for general hunting licenses.
For more information on spring turkey hunting rules and regulations, pertaining to the youth or regular hunts, check the 2022-23 Pennsylvania Hunting & Trapping Digest, which is provided with a hunting license and is available online.
Successful turkey hunters must immediately tag their bird before moving it from the harvest site and are required by law to report the harvest to the Game Commission within 10 days.
Hunters can report turkeys by visiting by calling (800) 838-4431; by filling out and mailing the harvest report card in the digest included when they purchased a license; or online at www.pgc.pa.gov.
The public is also asked to report any turkeys harvested or found with leg bands or radio transmitters. Not only does the reporter learn when and approximately where the bird was trapped, but the information received on those birds – which are legal to take – helps estimate spring harvest rate and annual survival rate by Wildlife Management Unit. Leg bands feature a toll-free number or email address for reporting.