News release from WV Division of Natural Resources
SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. — According to preliminary data gathered by the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources, turkey hunters in West Virginia harvested 12,274 gobblers this spring, which is a 15-year high and a 6 percent increase over 2017.
This year’s harvest also is more than 10 percent above the 10-year average, said Mike Peters, Game Bird and Small Game Project Leader for the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources.
All but two DNR districts reported an increase over 2017 harvest figures. Districts 4 and 5 were the only two districts with fewer harvested birds this year.
Counties in District 1 harvested the most birds again this year with 3,416, followed by District 6 (2,651), District 5 (1,811), District 4 (1,515), District 3 (1,805) and District 2 (1,076).
The five counties with the largest harvest were Preston (553), Mason (468), Jackson (460), Harrison (440) and Marshall (417).
Youth hunters harvested 431 turkeys during the one-day youth season on April 14.
Those numbers, along with county totals, are included in the table below.
West Virginia Spring Gobbler Season Results County 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 Barbour 178 127 165 204 250 Brooke 84 67 78 100 174 Hancock 110 89 98 106 87 Harrison 264 247 286 327 440 Marion 149 170 192 256 330 Marshall 220 174 207 255 417 Monongalia 174 199 197 266 346 Ohio 91 109 111 113 145 Preston 344 333 371 475 553 Taylor 87 72 101 135 189 Tucker 88 82 90 97 89 Wetzel 203 168 196 244 396 Dist. 1 Subtotal 1,992 1,837 2,092 2,578 3,416 Berkeley 112 124 115 147 162 Grant 129 131 161 145 160 Hampshire 138 156 170 184 166 Hardy 135 116 132 132 150 Jefferson 57 82 79 114 115 Mineral 96 118 134 132 148 Morgan 62 64 54 64 64 Pendleton 95 94 88 112 111 Dist. 2 Subtotal 824 885 933 1,030 1,076 Braxton 175 194 197 209 307 Clay 68 83 101 120 142 Lewis 180 194 211 249 286 Nicholas 164 213 330 311 287 Pocahontas 130 145 144 143 113 Randolph 186 225 250 248 207 Upshur 229 231 228 303 334 Webster 113 114 156 150 129 Dist. 3 Subtotal 1,245 1,399 1,617 1,733 1,805 Fayette 244 239 292 278 247 Greenbrier 245 242 308 269 224 McDowell 215 218 200 177 132 Mercer 170 161 176 192 150 Monroe 212 181 184 192 182 Raleigh 214 231 283 279 213 Summers 209 199 219 209 170 Wyoming 255 257 320 262 197 Dist. 4 Subtotal 1,764 1,728 1,982 1,858 1,515 Boone 159 138 157 157 125 Cabell 80 110 114 176 125 Kanawha 231 227 285 319 308 Lincoln 178 169 215 228 158 Logan 181 172 181 165 157 Mason 293 314 378 448 468 Mingo 93 91 131 143 106 Putnam 150 181 210 268 235 Wayne 103 108 139 186 129 Dist. 5 Subtotal 1,468 1,510 1,810 2,090 1,811 Calhoun 135 128 145 164 190 Doddridge 126 118 137 160 216 Gilmer 147 124 132 143 170 Jackson 293 264 302 408 460 Pleasants 73 71 80 89 122 Ritchie 245 218 216 263 327 Roane 232 210 231 256 279 Tyler 136 144 182 181 250 Wirt 177 153 174 206 230 Wood 271 248 328 380 407 Dist. 6 Subtotal 1,835 1,678 1,927 2,250 2,651 State Total 9,128 9,037 10,361 11,539 12,274