Image: turkey_forecast_west

Favorable habitat conditions in many Western states have boosted turkey numbers. Photo by Danita Delimont.

Every turkey hunter deserves at least one trip out West. The stunning prairie or mountain scenery is reason enough. Throw in long seasons, and you have an excuse to extend spring. Finally, noisy Western birds often act a bit better than their frustrating Eastern cousins.

Really, every trip west of the Mississippi could be considered the adventure of a turkey hunter’s lifetime. And if you’re up for that in Spring 2026, prospects at most destinations look good.

Here’s what Western turkey hunters can expect this spring.

ARIZONA

Spring 2026 hunts might be tough across the state because of severe drought through 2025, according to Rick Langley, terrestrial wildlife program manager for the Arizona Game and Fish Department, Region 1.

“While we should have good overwinter survival from last year, since it was mild, the dry spring and summer resulted in lower poult recruitment, so hunters should find fewer jakes, but 2- to 3-year-old birds should be available,” he said. “So far, our winter has been nonexistent into the first week of January, so we could see good overwinter survival as long as the birds can find adequate food sources. Mast, in the form of acorns and pine seed, is really lacking.”

Langley said the North Kaibab (Unit 12A) should be productive, as turkey populations there have been increasing the past couple of years. The eastern side of the state (units 1 and 27) should also be productive, as those units are typically wetter and have more habitat diversity.

Arizona has Merriam’s, Gould’s and a very small population of Rio Grandes. In Spring 2025, hunters took 1,160 Merriam’s and 69 Gould’s.

Read More: Turkey Hunting in Arizona

CALIFORNIA

Prospects for Spring 2026 look good, as biologists’ models indicate the turkey population is stable statewide.

“Precipitation is currently 150% of the historical average for the water year, and upland game-bird populations have benefited from consecutive years with favorable winter rain after several dry years ending in 2022,” said Matt Meshriy, environmental scientist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Upland Game Program.

Meshriy said current turkey abundance indices are highest in the Sierra Nevada foothills and Central Valley, as well as around the San Francisco Bay. In northern California, hunters can find birds on U.S. Forest Service lands in the Cascade Range, and to the west in Mendocino and Central Coast Mountains.

Rio Grandes are the most widespread subspecies in California, and they’re found throughout the state’s oak woodlands, urban areas, and agricultural lands. Merriam’s and Easterns also inhabit the mountain regions in the northern part of the state. California turkey hunters shot 19,965 birds during Spring 2025.

Read More: Turkey Hunting in California

COLORADO

The Spring 2026 turkey season looks promising, with improved prospects driven by good poult production. Thanks to better reproductive success during 2024, there should be a solid class of 2-year-old gobblers.

Colorado has Merriam’s and Rio Grandes. The Gunnison Basin in western Colorado continues to be a top spot for Merriam’s, especially in areas where pine forests and meadows mix.

In 2024, Colorado hunters took 5,903 turkeys.

Read More: Turkey Hunting in Colorado

HAWAII

State biologists said current conditions suggest a limited outlook for Hawaii’s spring turkey season. They cited below-average rainfall and delayed precipitation patterns, particularly during breeding season, as factors. Also, they noted “unsustainable harvest levels resulting from daily and seasonal bag limits that allow the take of both hens and toms during the general game-bird season.”

No game units showed a better trend than others, but units G and A consistently maintain the highest population levels on Hawaii’s public lands. “Hunters should consider focusing on portions of forest reserves that border active ranchlands (the western portions of units A and G along Parker Ranch). Active ranchlands often support higher turkey densities, and under favorable conditions, birds might move into adjacent public hunting areas.”

Hawaii’s turkey population consists primarily of Rio Grandes. Other subspecies were introduced historically, but existing birds most closely reflect the characteristics of Rios. The majority of the state’s turkey population occurs on Hawaii Island (the Big Island).

Read More: Turkey Hunting in Hawaii

IDAHO

Spring 2026 prospects look bright for Gem State hunters. “Turkey populations in Idaho continue to be stable to increasing,” said Jeff Knetter, upland game and migratory game-bird coordinator for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. “Winter weather conditions have been very mild to date, so winter mortality should be low unless the current weather pattern changes.”

Knetter said the Panhandle and Clearwater regions consistently hold Idaho’s most robust turkey populations, followed by the Southwest and Southeast regions.

Most Idaho turkeys are hybrids. “In some places, a given bird may display characteristics of each subspecies,” Knetter said. “I like to refer to them as Idaho mountain turkeys.”

In 2025, Idaho hunters took about 8,000 turkeys.

Read More: Turkey Hunting in Idaho

MONTANA

“Spring 2026 looks to be a good year for turkeys in southeastern Montana,” said Justin Hughes, upland-game-bird habitat specialist for Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks in Region 7 (southeastern Montana). “The area has had favorable conditions for turkey production the past couple of years. The winter has been relatively mild this year, and habitat conditions look good, with lots of late-summer rain and not much for snow pack.”

Hughes said 2025 was a year of weather extremes across the prairie, affecting upland birds in a checkerboard or patchwork effect. Turkey populations in some areas might be severely affected, but birds “just over the hill” might have only experienced minor effects. Hunters typically experience good success with Merriam’s in Region 7. Areas of central and western Montana also hold turkeys. During Spring 2024, Montana hunters took 6,555 turkeys.

Read More: Turkey Hunting in Montana

NEVADA

Current Silver State hunting prospects look good, and overall turkey numbers in individual hunting units seem to be solid and improving.

“To reinforce current population numbers, ensure genetic resiliency and promote more hunting opportunities, we translocated an additional 149 birds from Utah during Winter 2025 and will continue this project for the Winter 2026,” said Justin Small, upland game specialist and statewide coordinator with the Nevada Department of Wildlife. “However, don’t put that in the context of Eastern states’ turkey numbers, because we just simply do not have the habitat to accommodate the population densities found in those states or other western states, such as California, Idaho, Oregon, Montana and Washington.”

Small said successful turkey permit applicants should find good bird numbers in central and eastern Nevada. Elko County, in the eastern part of the state, is still recovering from the winter of 2022-2023, but regional populations are increasing. Many of the turkeys received from Utah this past winter were used in Elko County to help rebuild and speed up population recovery.

Nevada has Rio Grande and Merriam’s turkeys. Rios comprise the majority of hunting opportunities, and some hybridization between the subspecies has probably occurred, Small said. During Spring 2025, Nevada hunters took 83 turkeys.

Read More: Turkey Hunting in Nevada

NEW MEXICO

Spring harvest success has dropped slightly the past few years in New Mexico, and Spring 2026 will likely see similar harvest rates, according to Casey Cardinal, resident game-bird biologist for the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish.

“Though not at high densities, Merriam’s turkeys can be found in most of the mountain ranges in the state,” Cardinal said. “New Mexico has had several years of average to below-average reproduction, so fewer birds are entering the huntable population. There were slightly better habitat conditions during 2025, so there may be more jakes on the landscape compared to the last few years. But it may be tough finding birds in 2026. Rios are found along river valleys in the state, but are often on private property. Rio Grande numbers have been down the last few years across much of their range in the state.”

Cardinal said the northern portion of the state has experienced better moisture and had slightly better production the past few years. Southwestern New Mexico had another year of poor summer reproductive conditions, so that area might be more challenging.

In Spring 2025, New Mexico hunters took 2,232 turkeys.

Read More: Turkey Hunting in New Mexico

OKLAHOMA

“The statewide outlook is good,” said Eric Suttles, Southeast Region supervisor for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. “The population has been seeing slight upward trends over the past few years.”

Suttles said the state’s central region might have experienced lighter recruitment because of heavy spring rains. However, that should not have a negative effect on mature birds in the area.

Rio Grandes inhabit most of Oklahoma, with Easterns in the eastern part of the state and a thin band of hybrids between. During Spring 2025, Oklahoma hunters took 8,602 turkeys.

Read More: Turkey Hunting in Oklahoma

OREGON

“The wild turkey outlook is very strong for Oregon,” said Mikal Cline, upland game-bird coordinator for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. “We have so far had a very mild winter coming off a strong showing last year.”

Cline said beardless turkey seasons on private land in the John Day, Willamette, Rogue and Umpqua valleys could curtail some population growth there, but so far, they seem to have had minimal effect. Those areas typically have the highest populations in the state. Biologists are also seeing some flock buildup in Harney County, with birds wintering in the Silvies Valley.

Oregon primarily holds Rio Grande and Rio/Merriam’s hybrids, along with some Merriam’s. In Spring 2024, Oregon hunters took 5,948 turkeys.

Read More: Turkey Hunting in Oregon

TEXAS

Lone Star State Rio Grande hunting always seems strong, and Spring 2026 will be no exception.

“Texas has a very low harvest rate across the Rio Grande wild turkey range, and therefore we have very good carryover of males each year,” said Jason Hardin, wild turkey program leader with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. “This results in a good distribution of age classes. We had a 10-year-old banded gobbler reported last year, for example. In addition, we had great recruitment in 2023 and 2024, and fair production last year. There will be a ton of 2- and 3-year-old gobblers across the Rio Grande range.”

Hardin said southern Texas and the Rolling Plains region saw the best recruitment in 2025 and will have excellent numbers. “That will also result in a mix of juvenile birds,” he said. “Juvenile hens put less effort into nesting and often distract gobblers from hunters, in my opinion.”

The Coastal Sand Sheet in Brooks, Kennedy, Kleberg and Willacy counties always has excellent numbers of birds, but access is limited, Hardin said. The Edwards Plateau (the Hill Country) also has excellent densities.

“Most of the Rio Grande range in Texas — the central third of the state — will provide great hunting if and when the weather cooperates,” he said. “Northern Texas has experienced some declines, but even at lower densities than what has been observed in recent history, it still offers excellent hunting.”

During Spring 2025, Texas hunters took 37,247 turkeys.

Read More: Turkey Hunting in Texas

UTAH

Prospects for Spring 2026 look pretty good, provided the weather and conditions cooperate.

“So far, winter conditions are mild, and no regions have noticed the occurrence of winter kill,” said Heather Talley, upland game coordinator with the Utah Department of Natural Resources. “However, if we receive heavy snowstorms later this winter, we may experience issues similar to last year. If we don’t receive more moisture this winter, we will likely observe a decline in recruitment this summer.”

Talley said the state’s Northeastern Region is experiencing its third consecutive mild winter, which has increased turkey survival and reproduction, leading to a population increase. In southwestern Utah, a lack of moisture this past spring and a dry summer caused decreased turkey production. There should still be some 2- and 3-year-old gobblers on the landscape. The Northern Region should have more turkeys than in 2025, as all game birds in that area have responded well to favorable conditions. Turkey populations also look good across the Central and Southeastern regions, thanks to good brood production.

Utah has Rio Grande and Merriam’s turkeys. The latter inhabit the south-central part of the state. Talley said hunters can find Merriam’s in the Ponderosa pine habitats of the La Sal and Abajo mountain ranges. During Spring 2025, Utah hunters shot 3,876 turkeys.

Read More: Turkey Hunting in Utah

WASHINGTON

“The outlook for turkey hunting in Washington continues to be very good,” said Sarah Garrison, small-game specialist with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. “Statewide success rates (harvests per 100 hunters) for the 2024 season increased to 52 in the spring and remained high at 56 in the fall compared to the previous year.”

During Spring 2024, Garrison said, the number of days hunted per harvest decreased in all eastern Washington regions, indicating better harvest rates than the previous year. The northeastern part of the state continues to produce the most turkey harvests — about 70% of statewide harvests in 2024. North-central Washington saw a big increase in harvest in 2024 from the previous year — more than 30% — from about 370 to 490 harvests.

Washington has Merriam’s, Rio Grandes and Easterns in pockets throughout the state. In 2024, state hunters took 6,515 turkeys.

Read More: Turkey Hunting in Washington

WYOMING

After several consecutive mild winters and strong reproduction, Wyoming is anticipating an excellent Spring 2026 turkey season.

“In recent years, hunters have experienced high success rates around 60% and low days per harvest (5.35), reflecting healthy and accessible turkey populations across much of the state,” said Brandon Werner, Casper Region wildlife management coordinator.

Werner said the Black Hills of northeastern Wyoming continue to offer strong turkey numbers and ample public access. Populations are expanding statewide, with good numbers being observed in the Laramie Mountains, Bighorn Mountains, and throughout the Powder River Basin and Bighorn Basin. However, turkey populations remain limited to nonexistent west of the Continental Divide.

Most Wyoming turkeys are Merriam’s, but the state has some Rio Grandes and hybrids, depending on the location. During Spring 2025, Wyoming hunters shot a record 4,762 turkeys.

Read More: Turkey Hunting in Wyoming