West Virginia
100,000 (NWTF estimate)
Wild Turkey Population
Easterns
Turkey Subspecies
Not available
Number of Licenses Sold Annually
Varies (check regulations)
Cost of Resident License and Permit
Varies (check regulations)
Cost of Non-Resident License and Permit
West Virginians love their turkey hunting, and there's a significant tradition for it, spring and fall.
The state's turkey population might not be what it was a decade or so ago. The latest NWTF estimates put it at about 100,000. However, there are plenty of reasons for optimism. 2021 production was very good — the highest in the past five years. And anecdotal turkey observaitons are also good.
Spring hunters took 9,366 turkeys in 2022, which was a 7.6 percent decrease from the 2021 harvest. However, those numbers might be misleading, as poor weather during the first two days of the 2022 season knocked the harvest down by about 50 percent.
All counties in the state have turkeys. The southern and eastern panhandle regions had the best production in 2021.
West Virginia has good public land opportunities, too, with 500,000 state-owned acres and another million under U.S. Forest Service supervision.
Go here for more Realtree turkey hunting.
