New Hampshire
45,000 (NWTF estimate)
Wild Turkey Population
Easterns
Turkey Subspecies
20,834 (2022)
Number of Licenses Sold Annually
$48
Hunting, $32; turkey, $16
Cost of Resident License and Permit
$144
Hunting, $113; turkey, $31
Cost of Non-Resident License and Permit
Photo by Bruce MacQueen
New Hampshire, as with neighboring Vermont and Maine, offers quality turkey hunting. Turkey population trends have increased steadily since the late 1980s. Overall estimates are up to about 45,000.
The total land area open to turkey hunting is good to excellent throughout the Granite State and widespread. According to the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, "Based on long-standing tradition, nearly all lands in the state of New Hampshire are open to hunting. All state, federal, municipal, county and private land is open to hunting unless it is posted against hunting." Still landowner permission is a nice courtesy. And it's often granted. New Hampshire has 117 state forests, 100 wildlife management areas, 63 "other tracts," and 41 state parks where hunting is permitted. The White Mountain National Forest, with more than 751,000 acres covering 10% of the state's land mass, is almost all open to hunting, with the exception of campgrounds and tourist locations.
Flock numbers are strong because of habitat. Wildlife Management Unit H1, along the Connecticut River, Wildlife Management Unit J2, in the Lakes Region, and the southern wildlife management units (H2, K, L and M) continue to support the best bird numbers. New Hampshire hunters took 5,580 turkeys during Spring 2023.
