****DNR Press Release***
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — According to preliminary data released by the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (WVDNR) today, hunters harvested 10,694 bearded turkeys during the spring gobbler season.
“Spring turkey season continues to be a valued tradition in West Virginia, where hunters have a strong commitment to wildlife conservation and responsible hunting practices,” said WVDNR Director Brett McMillion. “We’re encouraged by the strong participation this spring, especially from all of the youth hunters who bagged their bird during the two-day youth season.”
Youth hunters harvested 682 turkeys (502 on Saturday and 180 on Sunday), which is a slight increase over the 601 birds that were taken in 2024. This year, the youth harvest made up 6.4% of the total harvest. Those numbers are included in the table with county totals.
Despite a strong showing from youth hunters, this year’s total harvest was 8.2% below last year’s harvest (11,650), 1.1% below the five-year average (10,812) and 8.7% below the 10-year average (11,709).
All six districts harvested fewer birds than last year. District 1 harvested the most birds (2,459) followed by District 6 (1,945), District 5 (1,889), District 4 (1,641), District 3 (1,547) and District 2 (1,213). The top five counties with the highest turkey harvest were Mason (476), Jackson (366), Preston (362), Harrison (345) and Kanawha (306) counties.
Click here to see West Virginia’s county-by-county spring turkey harvests for the last five seasons.
Hunters are reminded that there is still time to report their spring gobbler hunting activity for inclusion in the 2025 Annual Spring Gobbler Survey. For more information about the survey, visit WVdnr.gov/surveys. To learn more about hunting in West Virginia or to buy a hunting license, visit WVdnr.gov.