Texas Turkey Season 2026-27: Spring and Fall Dates by Zone

Spring turkey season 2027

Texas has four spring openers. Find your county on the TPWD county pages to see which one applies.

Fall turkey season 2026-27

• Archery only: Oct. 3, 2026 to Nov. 6, 2026, in all counties with an open fall season, before the general fall season opens.
• Brooks, Kenedy, Kleberg and Willacy counties: the fall season runs to Feb. 28, 2027, the latest closing date in the state.
• 175 of the 254 Texas counties have a wild turkey season. The rest are closed.

Youth-only seasons

Youth hunters get four separate windows in the North and South zones: a fall weekend, a winter season right after the general fall season closes, and two spring weekends, one before and one after the regular spring season.

East Zone: Eastern wild turkey

The East Zone is open in spring only, April 22, 2027 to May 14, 2027. It covers these counties:

Bowie (north of U.S. 82), Cass, Fannin (north of U.S. 82), Grayson, Jasper (other than the Angelina National Forest), Lamar (north of U.S. 82), Marion, Nacogdoches, Newton, Polk, Red River (north of U.S. 82) and Sabine.

• Bag limit: 1 turkey, gobblers only.
• Shotguns, archery equipment and crossbows are the only lawful means.
• No hunting over bait.
• A harvested turkey may be field dressed but must otherwise stay intact until it reaches its final destination.
• Only one of your four turkeys for the year may come from the East Zone, and license tags 2, 3 and 4 are not valid there. Use tag 5.

One-gobbler counties

In the one-turkey counties, the season is spring only, April 1, 2027 to April 30, 2027, with a limit of 1 gobbler. TPWD lists Bastrop, Caldwell, Colorado, Fayette, Jackson, Lavaca, Lee and Milam counties in the Western One-Gobbler Zone, where no more than one gobbler may be taken per county each year.

The TPWD wild turkey page still lists Matagorda and Wharton in this zone, but the department's Sept. 4, 2026 release says both counties are now closed to wild turkey hunting, and the Wharton County page lists no turkey season.

Bag limits

• The annual limit is 4 turkeys in total, all subspecies and all counties combined. Only 1 may be from the East Zone.
• Each county sets its own limit inside that total. Counties in the North and South zones checked for this page (Bexar and Goliad) allow 4 turkeys, gobblers or bearded hens, in both fall and spring.
• Unbearded hens may not be taken anywhere in the state.

What changed for 2026-27

• Matagorda and Wharton counties are closed to wild turkey hunting.
• The harvest of unbearded hens is prohibited statewide.
• TPWD launched the Turkey Harvest App, which uses the mandatory harvest reports to show county-level harvest during the fall and spring seasons.

Mandatory harvest reporting

Every wild turkey taken in any Texas county must be reported within 24 hours of harvest. Report through the Texas Hunt and Fish app (Android or iOS) or online at the TPWD hunt harvest site.

Tagging and proof of sex

• Tag the turkey immediately with a tag from your license. Fill in the tag legibly, including the property name and county, and cut out the month and day of the kill.
• The license has four turkey tags. Tags 2, 3 and 4 are valid only in counties with a limit of 1 or 4 outside the East Zone. Tag 5 is valid in all zones.
• Where the limit is gobblers only, or gobblers and bearded hens, proof of sex must stay with the bird: for a gobbler, one leg with the spur or a patch of skin with breast feathers and the beard; for a bearded hen, a patch of skin with breast feathers and the beard.

Shooting hours and other rules

• Legal hours are one-half hour before official sunrise to one-half hour after official sunset.
• Hunting roosting turkeys by any means, at any time, is unlawful.
• Releasing turkeys without department authorization is unlawful.

Licenses

• A Texas hunting license, which carries the turkey tags.
• An Upland Game Bird Endorsement.

Frequently asked questions

When does spring turkey season start in Texas?

The South Zone opens March 20, 2027, the one-turkey counties April 1, 2027, the North Zone April 3, 2027 and the East Zone April 22, 2027. Youth-only weekends come first: March 13, 2027 to March 14, 2027 in the South Zone and March 27, 2027 to March 28, 2027 in the North Zone.

When is fall turkey season in Texas?

An archery-only season runs Oct. 3, 2026 to Nov. 6, 2026 in every county with a fall season. The general fall season opens Nov. 7, 2026 and closes Jan. 3, 2027 in the North Zone, Jan. 17, 2027 in the South Zone and Feb. 28, 2027 in Brooks, Kenedy, Kleberg and Willacy counties.

How many turkeys can you kill in Texas?

Four a year in total across all counties and subspecies, and only one of them may come from the East Zone. Each county also has its own limit, which is 1 in the East Zone and the one-turkey counties.

Can you shoot a hen turkey in Texas?

Not an unbearded hen. For 2026-27 the harvest of unbearded hens is prohibited statewide. Where the county limit allows it, bearded hens may be taken along with gobblers.

Do you have to report a turkey in Texas?

Yes. Every wild turkey taken in any county must be reported within 24 hours, through the Texas Hunt and Fish app or online.

What are legal shooting hours for turkey in Texas?

From one-half hour before official sunrise to one-half hour after official sunset, the same as for other game animals and upland game birds.

What do I need to hunt turkey in Texas?

A Texas hunting license with turkey tags and an Upland Game Bird Endorsement.

Turkey season in other states

Pennsylvania · Wisconsin · Georgia · New York · North Carolina · Tennessee · Alabama · Virginia.

Deer seasons are on the Texas deer season page, and duck seasons on the Texas duck season page.

Always check your county page in the TPWD Outdoor Annual before hunting. County limits and open seasons differ.