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Some southern turkey hunters are reporting exciting gobble-filled days in the spring woods, while others are telling of tight-lipped, henned-up birds. (Photo by Tes Jolly)

Southern turkey hunters are experiencing everything from red-hot gobbling to frustratingly quiet mornings. From public-land successes to tough hunts that required patience and persistence, reports show a season full of changing conditions and memorable moments in the field.

Realtree.com Editor Will Brantley, who’s hunted in Texas, Tennessee, and Kentucky so far, says he and his family have enjoyed the best start to turkey season that he can remember in a long time. His son, Anse, bagged a big public-land bird during the Kentucky youth season, and then Brantley filled a tag of his own during a draw hunt in Tennessee the following week. He said the Kentucky opener, on April 18, was a washout in the far western end of state, where he lives, but things have improved since then.

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“The rain started early Saturday, and then the temperature dropped 21 degrees between daylight and noon, and it shut the turkeys down,” Brantley said. “But that was OK because we've been in a drought, and the rain was sorely needed. Sunday was clear and the coldest day we've had in a month. Gobbling was excellent on the limb, but they shut up fast upon hitting the ground.”

Brantley says the turkeys have been henned up pretty tight, which is the norm for this time of year, but it only takes one lonely gobbler to turn a hunt around. He filled a tag this morning (April 21) around 8 a.m. “I heard that bird gobble hard on the roost, and then he went quiet for about an hour,” he said. “When he fired up again, I called to him a few times and he came in fast. I think this weekend and next week could be pretty good, as more hens are going to nest.”

Cully McCurdy, NWTF district biologist for North Carolina, says according to the harvest figures, turkey hunters are having a great year in the state.

“To date, hunters have tagged over 10,000 birds. That includes the youth season on April 4-5, followed by the traditional opening on April 11-16. That is a 20% increase in harvest (2,000 birds) over the same time period last season. This number is particularly notable since the youth season was reduced from seven days to two days for the 2026 spring season,” McCurdy said.

The weather has been warmer than average and abnormally dry, according to McCurdy. “But, we definitely can't blame the weather for any woes this year.”

The North Carolina birds have been gobbling good on the limb and on the ground according to Tim Draughon, National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) regional director.

“Youth season was great after being reduced from a week to a weekend. Overall, harvest numbers were down naturally due to this, but I know a lot of youth who were successful. Based on what I am hearing and seeing, it’s shaping up to be an above-average turkey season here in western North Carolina. We aren't even a full week in, but it's been an exciting one so far,” Draughon said.

Tim Yates, NWTF regional director for Tennessee, said the state had a huge opening weekend for successful hunters.

“Hunters harvested over 3,500 more birds this year compared to 2025. I think the success was primarily because of the beautiful weather we have had this entire week. The birds are gobbling good and for the most part, have hens with them, but finding a lone gobbler is the key,” Yates said.

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Michael Arnold tagged this nice bird after it strutted in to his decoys on the Tennessee opener (Photo provided by Michael Arnold).

The Tennessee gobblers are henned up, but that didn’t stop Tennessee land manager Michael Arnold from having an exciting hunt and bagging a bird.

“Gobbling has slowed down, but on opening morning, they were tore up, well before daylight. I had a group to my right literally roosted above my truck, and a group to my left,” Arnold said. “There were at least eight or 10 gobblers going off. But they all had several hens. Both groups flew down and moved away from my setup. Around an hour after they hit the ground, I called and both groups answered. Then I heard them getting farther away from me.”

Arnold said 30 minutes later, he called and the group to his left gobbled but still moved off farther.

“Then I heard a really deep gobble just past the group. I called and he answered. I waited 10 minutes, hit the call, and he was directly behind me! I could hear him drumming hard. He circled around to my right and came in strutting right to my decoys. I made a good shot at maybe 17 yards. He didn't go anywhere. It was a great hunt. Most gobblers may be with hens, but when you find one alone, it shouldn't take long to get him in range.”

Turkeys for Tomorrow CEO Jason Lupardus hunted Alabama last week and said the birds were quiet on the roost. The gobblers weren’t getting active until mid-morning, but gobbling was still rather scarce.

“The lull is in full effect for central Alabama. We had some luck checking fields midday while looking for lone gobblers,” Lupardus said.

A young boy hunting with his dad and outdoor photographer Tes Jolly and her husband, Ron, in Alabama had more luck. She said the 6-year-old “walloped” his first tom with a 28-gauge shotgun while she and Ron captured videos and photos.

“We roosted the bird the evening before. He came in strutting for a single hen. His spitting and drumming were loud enough that young John Max heard it. JM was sitting in his dad’s lap and immediately dropped the honey bun he was snacking on. His dad helped get him on the gun and he made a perfect shot at 25 yards,” Tes said.

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Realtree’s Michael Pitts and Daniel Thomas had some luck in Georgia last week, although the hunting was tough.

“We have seen a decline in the population for the last 10 years here where I hunt in Georgia. We have some turkeys this year, but they have been very silent, and it is hard to hunt birds when they are not vocal. We were hunting last week and did not hear anything on the roost, so we started running and gunning,” Pitts said. “For about the first hour we struggled. I went to an area where I had killed a bird last year, hit a box call, and he sounded off about 200 yards up on a ridge. We set up right in that area off of a greenfield and were going to try and bring him to us. Once we had everything ready, I hit the call again and he cut me off and sounded a bit closer. I knew he was coming, so I slowed down and did not call much more. About 10 minutes later he appeared in the bottom of the food plot, and with a couple of soft yelps we were able to get him within range. It was a beautiful text book hunt that you don’t get too often in the Georgia woods!”

Jason Hardin, Texas Parks and Wildlife wild turkey program leader, says the Rolling Plains and south Texas are still dry but the areas did get some rain.

“We should see a rapid green-up to help get some breeding activity moving so we can recruit some birds into the population this summer. It will be a little late for hunting season in the South Zone, but we do have 10 days left in the South Zone season plus the youth weekend. Late-season hunting could be good if we get some green-up this week/weekend. I am headed to the South Zone again next week for one more hunt and I am hoping for some great hunting.”

Hardin says central Texas is still in drought, but timely rain events have produced ample greens across most of the Edwards Plateau and Cross Timbers.

“Hens should be in excellent shape. They should be laying or even incubating eggs by now. And speaking from personal experience, hunting has been excellent and should continue to be good for the latter half of the spring season.”

Timber 2 Table Editor Michael Pendley heard very little gobbling during his recent North Florida public land hunt.

“I hunted 13 mornings over two trips down and heard one gobble. I did see a gobbler with a hen yesterday afternoon. They crossed the road in front of me. I managed to call up a couple of lone hens over the course of the week, but no toms followed,” Pendley said.

With several weeks still ahead for many of the southern states, the outlook remains promising for those willing to stay flexible and keep after it. As birds transition deeper into the breeding cycle, shifting tactics will be key. For many hunters, the best part of the season may still be just around the corner.