Image: sr_sr_3_b

Southern turkey hunters are reporting typical challenges brought on by weather issues and early breeding activity but say bird numbers are strong overall. Image by Clayton Worrell.

Turkey season is underway across much of the South, and although hunters are experiencing the usual challenges of spring hunting, early reports suggest a strong start. From Alabama’s productive opener to weather-driven slowdowns and early breeding activity across the region, hunters are seeing plenty of birds but learning quickly that patience and timing are critical.

Alabama’s hunting season opened Wednesday, and outdoor photographer Tes Jolly said it seems as if the turkeys got the memo, at least in her listening area.

“Enthused gobbling on the roost came to a screeching halt Wednesday and Thursday morning, which is crazy,” she said. “We’re seeing hens in singles, pairs and small groups. Egg laying is underway for some. We’re hearing toms late in the morning. From the number of happy turkey hunters posing for pictures, it’s obvious the first couple of days have been very good. Patience is key on setups. Good luck, everyone!”

Alabama’s opening day was an overall success for Chase Davidson, National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) regional director for Alabama.

“I watched two birds we had roosted fly down in an open field with two hens,” he said. “They never gobbled once but strutted with the hens for two hours.”

At about 9:30 a.m., Davidson and another NWTF regional director, Dillon Williams, struck three birds.

“Three calls and 20 gobbles later, Dillon and I doubled up,” Davidson said. “The cameras are full of gobblers strutting with hens from about 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.”

Tennessee land manager Michael Arnold said the early activity folks were experiencing in his area has slowed because of a couple of cold fronts.

“Birds seem to be grouped back up a little,” he said. “Gobbling has slowed some. They're gobbling on the limb and going quiet when they hit the ground. I've gotten reports from other hunters that have witnessed early breeding. So, some birds might be henned up already, which could be the reason for the decrease in gobbling. Its warming back up, so I'm sure it's going to pick up. But there’s another cold front on the way this weekend. I've been out brushing in blinds for the youth season on April 4 and 5. They're calling for it to be wet and stormy, but hopefully the forecast will change. Last year, we had flooding rains. Maybe we'll have better luck this year. One thing is for sure, turkey numbers are looking better than I've seen in a few years. I'm not sure who's more excited, the grandkids or me.”

Northern Florida birds are gobbling well in the mornings when the wind isn’t whipping up, according to Pete Muller, NWTF director of communications.

“Most gobbling birds do seem to have hens, so stay with them and be patient,” he said. “We’ve also seen a pile of jakes, so that is good news for next year.”

Gobbling has been very active in Louisiana for the past few weeks, according to Spencer Loe, NWTF Louisiana state chapter president.

“I’ve heard at least 10 to 12 different birds during pre-season scouting, which is encouraging over previous years,” he said. “The birds seem to be scattered throughout the landscape, which hopefully equates to more conducive habitat instead of them being concentrated in one area. We are also seeing some early nesting behavior from a few hens.”

Mississippi’s birds are on fire and are also very henned up, according to Johnny McKinion, NWTF regional director for Mississippi.

“If you are going to get him, its right off the roost or in the afternoon,” he said.

Jason Hardin, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department wild turkey program leader, said dry conditions are continuing in Texas, which is never great for turkey hunting and future recruitment in the semi-arid regions of the state, where most of Texas’ turkeys reside.

“We need rain soon to get a decent hatch this summer,” he said. “The South Zone youth weekend was March 7 and 8, and the general season in the South Zone opened March 14. The North Zone youth weekend was March 21 and 22. One youth hunter harvested his first bird in Mason County with his dad and two brothers in a blind with him. It was a bird TPWD staff banded as a jake in February 2025. He was very excited for his bird and even more thrilled to find it was banded.”

Hardin said that since the season opened, Texas turkey hunters have provided 2,056 mandatory harvest reports on turkeys despite the dry conditions. The North Zone opened March 28, additional counties will open on April 1, and the east zone will open April 22.

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“There are lots of hunting opportunities still to come,” Hardin said. “After three years of average to above-average recruitment, hunters are seeing or can expect to see a decent distribution of young jakes and lots of 2- and 3-year-old birds, with the occasional very old gobbler. Flocks are beginning to break up and spread out from their winter ranges. The dry weather delayed flock break-up a few weeks, but birds are now on the move. Gobblers have been gobbling on the roost but going quiet once they hit the ground until mid-morning. There is lots of strutting behavior, and there are lots of henned-up gobblers. Patient hunters will have success once hens move on from gobblers later in the morning. In dry areas, hunters may target water holes to catch birds on their way to get a drink late morning to noonish and then loafing at these sites until mid-afternoon.”

Hardin said the TPWD just launched the Dynamic Wild Turkey Harvest Map on its website. The map updates harvest by county every 24 hours during the season. The data is derived from mandatory harvest reports made by turkey hunters. Users can point and click on a county to see how many birds have been reported in that county in real time.

Realtee’s funny man Michael Pitts was in southern Texas this past week, and he said the hunting was pretty tough.

“When we arrived, we hunted that afternoon with the temperatures in the upper 90s, but our groups were able to harvest a couple of birds,” he said. “During the night, we had a severe temperature change, with it dropping to 38 degrees. This really affected the birds. We were not hearing much gobbling on the roost or after their feet hit the ground. We were primarily having to set up and make some soft calls, and they were coming in silent. This takes a lot of patience, but it was our only option for the next couple of days during the cold snap. The day we were leaving, we agreed to hunt till 11 a.m. and then we needed to get on the road and head home. The weather was perfect this day, and the birds were on fire. There was a total of three groups hunting that morning, and every group had a successful hunt. It was a great ending for the trip, as we celebrated with friends before embarking on the journey home.”

Although conditions vary from state to state, the overall outlook remains encouraging, with solid bird numbers and active flocks reported across the region. As the season progresses and breeding phases shift, hunters who stay adaptable and persistent should continue to find success in the weeks ahead.